158 DAIRY HERD MANAGEMENT 



tities •wall continue until the new calf is born. This is detri- 

 mental to the calf and the cow also. Such cows need carefully 

 to be forced to go dry. 



Drying Off the Cow. — To hasten the drying process a large 

 part, or all, of the grain may be withheld from the ration, thus 

 forcing her to subsist largely, or wholly, upon roughage. To 

 this inducement may be added that of leaving a little milk in 

 the udder at each milking for a time, that is, not milking out 

 clean and shortly the milking of the cow only once a day. In 

 this way most cows may safely be dried off preparatory to their 

 rest period. To do this intelligently it is highly important that 

 a breeding record be kept. 



The dry cow should be looked upon as a prospective milker, 

 not as a mere boarder. If at all run down in flesh, grain or 

 other sufficient feed should be given to enable her to thoroughly 

 recuperate her exhausted condition. If pasture is ample no grain 

 will be needed, but she should not be allowed to approach the 

 next period of exhausting labor in a thin or indifferent condition. 

 In fact it is now considered good practice and economy to feed 

 some grain, if need be, while the cow is dry in order that she 

 may become well recuperated, in fact almost fat. Enough more 

 milk with a higher test will be produced during the next lactation 

 period amply to repay the expense of conditioning at this time. 



Preparing Cows for Record Making. — Since milk fever is 

 now little to be feared it has become the custom to " condition " 

 or partially fatten cows during the dry period in order to 

 enable them to produce a materially greater amount of milk and 

 fat immediately following parturition. It has for years been 

 known to a few, and more recently made generally public, that 

 not only will a cow in good condition produce more milk, but 

 that she will also yield milk of a somewhat higher fat content 

 while milking down than would be the case if she had freshened 

 in a lean condition. Thus, some Holstein cows, while weigh- 

 ing 1400 pounds, yielded milk testing close to five per cent 

 fat and so much of it that they were unable to eat enough feed 

 to maintain such a large flow of rich milk. Consequently body 

 tissue was drawn upon. The cows became thinner day by day. 



