THE FAK\iliR'b MAGAZINE. 



401 



THE BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF SHORTHORN STOCK. 



BY A PRACTICAL MAN. 



After calving, and when giving milk, cows should be 

 well fed. If on inferior grass, 2 lbs. of linseed cake per 

 day should be given when the cows are brought in to be 

 milked ; and if any of them are poor, double the al- 

 lowance of linseed cake, and give a quart of oatmeal 

 with hay-chafF. For winter food, Swedish turnips are 

 objectionable when the milk is required for cream and 

 butter ; but if the milk is given to the calves, the cow 

 should have one bushel of cut swedes, given at twice, 

 3 lbs. of linseed cake, and a quart of oatmeal per day, 

 with as much hay-chafF as she can eat. Orange-jelly 

 turnips, or drumhead cabbage, are good substitutes for 

 swedes, whsn sweet cream and butter are required. In 

 February, wurtzel can be given instead of turnips, begin- 

 ning with a small quantity, and never exceeding half-a- 

 bushel at a meal. The value of wurtzel as food for milk- 

 ing cows can scarcely be estimated, as it increases the 

 supply of milk, and tends to keep the cows in health. 

 Wurtzel will keep well until midsummer (and some 

 until Michaelmas), so that, if the crop of grass is short, 

 wurtzel can be given to the cows once or twice a day 

 until the pastures improve. But neither wurtzel nor 

 turnips should be given to cows in a. frozen state ; and in 

 the event of these roots being frozen, cabbages, bran, and 

 brewers' grains can be substituted. Potatoes are consi- 

 dered good food for cows ; but since they have been sub- 

 ject to disease, potatoes have not been suflSciently cheap 

 for this purpose. As previously suggested for heifers, the 

 cows should be turned into yards during the day, (if 

 they are kept tied up), or, better still, into a sound 

 grass field near to the homestead, exercise being very 

 desirable for them in cold weather. It is not advisable 

 to expose them on cold wet days, or to searching east 

 winds. Whether in the yards, sheds, or fields, cows 

 should at all times have access to pure water ; one or 

 two strong rubbing posts are very useful in the yards 

 and fields, and lumps of rock salt should be liberally 

 placed in the mangers, for stock to lick at will. A 

 gradual change of food for cows in-calf is always de- 

 sirable, more particularly from dry food to moist, when 

 the grass is young. 



So many persons have written on the treatment 

 of cows when in labour, and after calving, that I 

 cannot add to the mass of information on this sub- 

 ject ; but I may be allowed to say, that if the case 

 appears favourable, and the presentation natural, the 

 cow should be left to herself, in the field if the weather 

 is dry and fine, but not in the hot sun ; nor should she 

 be touched until the calf is sufficiently forward to be 

 taken away. If the presentation is not natural, and the 

 case beyond the skill of the master and cowman, it is 

 far better to send for a veterinary surgeon, than to dis- 

 tress the cow with long and futile efforts to extract the 

 calf, too frequently endangering the lives of both. To 



understand the management of cows at this critical 

 period, a man imist have experience. The study of 

 writings on the treatment of cows at this time is of little 

 avnil, unless the habits of the cows themselves are inves- 

 tigated. Some cows invariably have long and painful 

 labours, others calve quickly and easily ; and the owner 

 of a herd of cows, by practical application, will gam 

 additional information from each case. The cow should 

 be allowed to lick the calf if she is quiet and appears 

 fond of it ; as sometimes a cow will destroy her off- 

 spring whilst the pains are strong upon her. In an 

 hour or two the calf will be on its legs, and with a little 

 assistance from the cowman it will soon learn to suck, 

 and be out of harm's way. The cow must be milked 

 soon after calving, and her udder be well and frequently 

 fomented with warm water, and rubbed with fresh lard 

 for several days. If it is a heifer's first calf, particular 

 attention should be paid to the udder, or inflammation 

 may ensue, and destroy her for milking purposes. If 

 the cow seems exhausted after calving, a drink of warm 

 oatmeal gruel, with a quart of good ale, can be given 

 her, succeeded by a warm bran mash. Warm oatmeal 

 gruel should be continued for three or four days with 

 some sweet hay. 



It is desirable to keep the cows daily cleansed 

 from dirt, without rubbing off the hair. Cows can 

 be cleaned at a trifling expense when they are kept in 

 yards, as they can then lick and clean themselves. Their 

 feet occasionally require paring and trimming, which 

 can be readily done when the cow lies dowu ; or her 

 coarse hoofs can be sawn off, placing one foot at a time 

 on a flat board. Few animals show the effects of ill- 

 treatment more than the cow, which from improper 

 usage becomes restless, timid, or savage, when wanted 

 to be milked ; refuses to give her milk ; and allows 

 no one to approach her when in the field ; whereas 

 the cow which is kindly treated is very quiet and docile, 

 and can be " handled" at any time. Cows do not like 

 fresh hands to milk them, and the same persons should 

 be regularly engaged amongst them, as far as it is prac- 

 ticable. 



I do not think that cows are affected by the season, 

 so far as weather is concerned, in holding to the 

 bull. A sudden change from mild or warm weather to 

 extreme cold and wet within 24 hours after the cow has 

 been bulled would, doubtless, have a great tendency to 

 prevent conception, as the blood of the animal would 

 experience a sudden chill, which is opposed to the theory 

 of conception. But these cases are exceptional, and in 

 the event of a whole herd frequently breaking their 

 bulling, I should advise the state of the bull to be in- 

 vestigated, as the fault is more likely to rest with him. 

 Cows cease to breed at different ages ; many fail after 

 producmg one, two, or three calves, whilst others breed 



