66 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 164. 



Part II. 

 THE COST OF REARING A DAIRY COW. 



Food Cost. 



As explained in the first part of this bulletin, the station for the past 

 ten or more years has made a practice of raising its own dairy stock. It 

 is intended in what follows to show the complete food cost of the heifer 

 from the time it was dropped until it reached the age of two years. The 

 labor and other costs are also quoted from an authentic source. 



Some of the calves, until they were six to eight months of age, were 

 developed on skim milk, grain and hay, while others received small amounts 

 of whole milk, 4 to 5 quarts daily of skim milk, calf meal and hay. The 

 calves were usually dropped in the autumn, and fed as previously out- 

 lined until May, when they were sent to pasture, and returned to the 

 feeding barn some time in October. During the late autumn, winter and 

 early spring they were given such roughage as corn fodder, one peck to 

 one-half bushel of silage daily if the same was available, and what hay they 

 would eat. In case silage was not on hand rowen or fine hay was supplied, 

 care being taken to give no more daily than would be fully consumed. 

 They were fed also 2 to 3 pounds of a grain mixture daily, composed, by 

 weight, of one-third wheat bran, one-tliird corn or hominy meal or wheat 

 middlings, and one-third gluten feed; or one-fourth wheat bran, one- 

 half corn or hominy meal, and one-fourth cottonseed meal. In some cases 

 other grain mixtures were supplied, depending upon cost and availa- 

 bility. They were usually bred when fifteen to twenty months of age, 

 sent to pasture a second summer, and, on return, fed as previously in- 

 dicated, excepting that if not at pasture the grain ration was increased 

 in amount, in some instances, to 5 pounds daily during the last three or 

 four months previous to calving, in order to bring them into good phys- 

 ical condition and to aid in the development of the milk glands. During 

 the winter months they were carded daily, and usually turned into the 

 barnyard for a number of hours each day in pleasant weather. Here 

 follows a tabulated statement of the food cost. In the table P. B. means 

 pure bred, G. means grade, A. H. J. and G. mean A3Tshire, Holstein, 

 Jersey and Guernsey, respectively. It might be added that the station 

 herd has consisted mostly of grade Jerseys, with a few pure breds, al- 

 though of late some grade Holsteins and a niunber of grade Ayrshires 

 have been added. The herd has been kept for the purpose of studying 

 the nutritive effect of different feeds and feed combinations upon the 



