FEEDING TEST COWS 419 



should be thoroly disinfected and well bedded. At calving time she 

 should not be disturbed, unless it is necessary to aid her. She should, 

 however, be observed quietly at intervals to see that all is going well. 

 The day after calving, often no feed except perhaps a bran mash is given. 

 In any event, the feed should be very limited in amount and laxative and 

 cooling in nature. The water should be warmed for the first 3 or 4 days, 

 and the cow should be blanketed before and after calving, if necessary to 

 keep her warm. Extreme care must be taken to watch for any signs of 

 milk fever, which is especially apt to affect test cows which calve in high 

 condition. An apparatus for the air treatment should always be at hand. 

 The udder should not be milked dry until the third or fourth day, or 

 the tendency to milk fever will be increased. 



676. Feeding cows on test. In making a record, much depends on the 

 feed and care a cow receives early in her lactation period. The second 

 and third days after calving the cow may be fed 3 to 4 Ibs. of the same 

 mixture of concentrates used in the cooling ration before freshening, or 

 bran mashes may be continued. Her feed should never be increased 

 beyond this limited allowance until she has " cleaned, " or the after birth 

 has come away. If all goes well, beginning about the fourth day the 

 concentrate mixture which is to be fed during the test may be gradually 

 substituted for the other concentrates, the change being made at the rate 

 of 0.5 Ib. to 1 Ib. a day, and the allowance of concentrates gradually 

 increased. When the cow is on a liberal ration, the daily milk record 

 should be watched carefully to see whether she responds to an increase 

 in feed by an increase in milk. If there is no such response, the concen- 

 trate allowance should be decreased 0.5 Ib. a day, to find whether the 

 previous allowance was slightly greater than required for her maximum. 

 The object should be always to feed only as much concentrates as are 

 needed for maximum production. By crowding them on rich feeds 

 beyond the safety point in an attempt to secure a little higher production, 

 a large number of valuable animals have unfortunately been sacrificed. 

 In such cases they have failed to breed afterwards, their udders have been 

 spoiled, or their digestive systems have been injured. 



After three weeks the cow will be practically on full feed, consuming 

 15 to 20 Ibs. of concentrates a day or even more. Any further increase 

 should be exceedingly gradual not over 0.25 to 0.50 Ib. a day. The cow 

 must never be given more concentrates than she will clean up with a good 

 appetite, else she may be thrown off feed. 



The concentrate mixtures used by various feeders for test cows differ 

 quite widely, but nearly all have certain general characteristics. They 

 are usually made up of a considerable variety of palatable feeds ; they 

 include a goodly proportion of such bulky feeds as wheat bran, ground 

 oats, dried distillers' grains, and dried beet pulp, and in addition con- 

 siderable protein-rich feeds, especially linseed meal, cottonseed meal, 

 and gluten feed. A mixture such as the following is often used : Ground 

 oats, 100 Ibs.; ground corn or hominy, 100 Ibs.; linseed meal, 100 Ibs.; 



