DAIRY HERD MANAGEMENT 121 



Exercise. Many dairymen believe that a cow receives all the exercise 

 she needs in producing milk, but on many farms it is desirable to turn the 

 cows out for a part of the day. It not only gives a better opportunity to 

 clean out the barn, but also gives the cows an opportunity to rub them- 

 selves, and their feet and legs keep in better condition. Too much exercise, 

 of course, requires energy at the expense of milk production. Cows that 

 are required to walk long distances do not do as well as those that are 

 more confined. Cows should not be turned out during bad weather and 

 exposed to rains and cold winds. 



Grooming. Cows kept in the stable all, or nearly all, of the time 

 should be carefully groomed at least once a day. It is believed by many 

 that grooming has an effect upon the milk flow. Cows seem to do better 

 for having been groomed. 



Milking. A good milker has a fairly rapid, uniform stroke which he 

 continues throughout the milking period. The whole hand should grip the 

 teat and the pressure should come from the whole hand. The practice of 

 using the thumb and first finger is not recommended. The milking of 

 diagonal teats is thought to give best results. The Hegelund method of 

 the manipulation and milking has been found to stimulate milk production. 

 A cow milked by this process gives more milk. The steps are described as 

 follows : 



" First Manipulation: The right quarters of the udder are pressed 

 against each other (if the udder is very large, only one quarter at a time is 

 taken) with the left hand on the hind quarter and the right hand in front 

 on the fore quarter, the thumbs being placed on the outside of the udder 

 and the forefingers in the division between the two halves of the udder. 

 The hands are now pressed toward each other and at the same time lifted 

 toward the body of the cow. This pressing and lifting is repeated three 

 times, the milk collected in the milk cistern is then milked out, and the 

 manipulation repeated until no more milk is obtained in this way, when the 

 left quarters are treated in the same way. 



"Second Manipulation: The glands are pressed together from the 

 side. The fore quarters are milked each by itself by placing one hand, 

 with fingers spread, on the outside of the quarter and the other hand in 

 the division between the right and left fore quarters; the hands are pressed 

 against each other and the teat then milked. When no more milk is 

 obtained by this manipulation, the hind quarters are milked by placing 

 a hand on the outside of each quarter, likewise with fingers spread and 

 turned upward, but with the thumb just in front of the hind quarter. 

 The hands are lifted and grasped into the gland from behind and from 

 the side, after which they are lowered to draw the milk. The manipulation 

 is repeated until no more milk is obtained. 



" Third Manipulation: The fore teats are grasped with partly closed 

 hands and lifted with a push toward the body of the cow, both at the 

 same time, by which method the glands are pressed between the hands 



