FEEDING AND CARE OF DAIRY COWS 263 



it is no colder than that from a deep well. However, it is advan- 

 tageous to warm the water for heavy-yielding cows, for unless this is 

 done they may not drink enough to make possible the maximum pro- 

 duction of milk. In regions with severe winters cows should be 

 watered indoors when the weather is so bad that it is not desirable 

 to turn them out for exercise. 



Salt. — We have already seen in Chapter IV that dairy cows re- 

 quire salt to thrive. An allowance of 0.75 ounce daily per 1,000 lbs. 

 live weight, with 0.6 ounce in addition for each 20 lbs. of milk is 

 generally sufficient.^* The salt may be regularly mixed with the 

 feed, or the cows may be allowed free access to it. 



Preparation of feed. — Since 'the cow giving a large flow of milk is 

 working hard, her grain should be ground or crushed if not otherwise 

 easy of mastication and digestion. Corn and oats should generally, 

 and wheat, rye, barley, kafir, and milo always, be ground or crushed, 

 and roots should be sliced or pulped. There is no advantage in cook- 

 ing or soaking ordinary feeds. 



Frequency and order of feeding. — On account of the large 

 capacity of the cow's paunch and the considerable time needed for 

 rumination, the common practice of feeding cows twice daily, with 

 possibly a little roughage at noon, is a reasonable one. In the roomy 

 paunch hay and grain, eaten separately, are thoroly mixed by the 

 churning action and gradually softened in the warm, abundant 

 liquid the paunch contains. This true, the particular order of feed- 

 ing roughages and concentrates is not important, tho the same order 

 should be followed from day to day and the cows should be fed at 

 regular intervals. Hay and other dry forage is usually not fed till 

 after milking, because they fill the air with dust. Silage, turnips, 

 cabbage, or other feeds with a marked odor should be given only 

 after milking. 



Cows need a rest. — Dairymen agree that it is best to give the dairy 

 cow a rest by drying her off 6 to 8 weeks before freshening, for she 

 will then produce more milk annually than if milked continuously. 

 To avoid injury to the udder she should be dried off gradually. She 

 should also be in good condition at calving, for this insures a good 

 flow of milk and lessens the trouble i,n calving. Only sufficient con- 

 centrates should be fed to put her in proper flesh, and if she has been 

 heavily fed with rich concentrates while giving milk, a helpful change 

 may now be made to a ration which will rest and cool the digestive 

 tract. Just previous to calving the feed should be slightly laxative, 

 tho if on pasture no especial attention need be given to this point. 

 For cows that freshen while housed nothing is better than legume 



i4Babcock and Carlyle, Wis. Rpt. 1905. 



