THE DAIRY COW 139 



Mineral Matter. — What was said above in regard to protein 

 and water also applies to mineral matter. Cows should have 

 salt before them at all times. If they desire other minerals 

 these should also be supplied. 



Other Factors. — In addition to the feeds mentioned the 

 cow should be fed timothy, meadow, millet or prairie hay, 

 corn silage or corn fodder, corn, oats and barley. ^This is for 

 variety and for energy and heat production. Enough should 

 be fed at all times to keep the cow in good flesh and at the 

 highest possible point of production. 



A cow should be allowed to go dry about six weeks. During 

 this time she should be fed enough to keep her in good condi- 

 tion and give her considerable flesh at calving time. She 

 will then with good care at calving, give the largest quantity 

 of milk of which she is capable. 



Since the act of giving birth is difficult, requiring considerable 

 energy and reducing the cow in vigor and vitality, she cannot 

 eat large quantities of feed immediately after calving. The 

 feeding, therefore, should be limited at first and gradually 

 increased. Several weeks time should be consumed in getting 

 the cow up to full feed. During this time she is using the 

 store of food in her body for making milk. After this period 

 of two or three weeks, however, the cow should be fed enough 

 to keep up her milk flow to the highest point possible but not 

 enough to fatten her. 



Since a cow must be fed in accordance with the amount 

 of milk she gives, since all cows do not give the same amount 

 of milk, and since all cows in a herd do not freshen at the 

 same time, it is necessary to practice individual feeding. 

 This is usually done by giving the cows all the roughage they 

 will clean up and then varying the grain part of the ration in 

 accordance with the amount of milk they give. 



A cow has two functions: (1) that of making milk; and (2) 

 that of making fat on her body. The amount of work she 

 will do relatively in these two lines depends on how she is 

 built (upon her breeding for generations). If she is a good 

 dairy cow she will give relatively more milk; if she is inclined 

 to be a beef cow, she will give less milk. Even some well- 

 built dairy cows do not give as much milk as their appearance 



