264 DAIRY CATTLE AND MILK PRODUCTION 



some value as a reserve material to be drawn upon at some 

 other time when feed is not supplied in sufficient amounts; 

 but it is not economical nor desirable to fatten dairy animals 

 with the expensive feeds which are fed cows in milk. That 

 portion of the feed represented by the line cd should be 

 taken from the ration. This means reducing her feed to take 

 off the amount used for storing fat on the body; in other 

 words, to feed her only what she will utilize for milk pro- 

 duction. This means feeding enough to maintain a practi- 

 cally uniform body weight. In every large herd where the 

 amount fed is not carefully regulated, we find errors made in 

 both these classes. We find the heavy-producing cows being 

 underfed, and we find the light-producing cows being over- 

 fed and allowed to accumulate fat. 



Relation of Live Weight to Proper Feeding. The live 

 weight of a cow is one good index of whether the cow is being 

 fed a proper amount or not; but good judgment must be used 

 in regulating the ration by observing this condition. We 

 must expect that a cow will lose weight in the first few weeks 

 of her milking period ; but after this period is past, there is no 

 reason why she need to change much in weight for several 

 months, and this is the period when the greater part of the 

 milk production is secured. It will not mean, of course, that 

 the animal should not be allowed to gain in weight during 

 the latter end of the milking period. This is necessary on 

 account of the development of the fetus, and since it is 

 natural for the animal to carry some fat on her body at 

 calving time. 



It does mean, however, that in order to feed a herd of cows 

 economically it will not to do feed them all the same quantity 

 of grain whether they are giving a gallon of milk a day or 



