CHAPTER XVIII 

 MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY CATTLE (Continued) 



Shall the Cow be given a Rest ? In practically every large 

 dairy herd the common practice is to have all cows dry for a 

 short period before calving. Others, more especially less 

 experienced dairymen, make a practice of milking their cows 

 continuously. The objection to this practice is that the cow 

 needs a period in which to recuperate. The production of a 

 liberal amount of milk is as much of a tax on the cow as 

 heavy work is on a horse. The cow will produce more milk 

 if dry six weeks than she will if milked continuously. It is 

 often expected that milking up to the birth of the calf will 

 result in the calf being weak and small from lack of proper 

 nourishment. The author's observations do not bear out 

 this statement. The mother and not the fetus seems to suffer 

 most in case of insufficient feed. 



A cow that is not given a rest before calving will begin at a 

 much lower level of production than will be the case when she 

 has had opportunity to recuperate, and this means a lower 

 level throughout the lactation period. Under ordinary condi- 

 tions the cow should be dry six weeks ; and if she is in a thin 

 condition, it is better to make it two months. 



Drying up. the Cow. Where certain cows are milked con- 

 tinuously, it is sometimes claimed they cannot be dried up. 

 There is little difficulty about this if properly handled. The 

 common method of drying a cow is to lengthen the interval 



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