FEEDING FOR MILK PRODUCTION 265 



whether they are giving four gallons, and it means that when 

 a cow in the middle of her lactation period is putting on weight 

 she is being fed more than she needs and will give just as 

 much milk, if the feed is cut down somewhat. It also means 

 that if a certain animal is losing in weight sufficient feed is 

 not being given, and if the deficiency is not supplied it will 

 not be long before the milk production will come down to 

 correspond with the amount of feed available. 



Feeding as Individuals. In connection with the discus- 

 sion of the amount to feed, it needs to be pointed out that it 

 is only possible to feed a bunch of cows economically when 

 they are fed as individuals, and not as a herd. A too common 

 practice, even in otherwise well-managed herds, is for all 

 animals to be fed the same amount of grain, regardless of the 

 time they have been in milk or the quantity of milk individ- 

 ual cows are producing. Such feeding always lacks economy, 

 as the high-producing cow does not get enough, and while 

 she may milk very well for a short time, she soon comes down 

 to a lower level, while the lighter producing cow usually 

 gets too much and accumulates fat. The production of many 

 herds could be increased to a large extent without any in- 

 crease in the amount of feed used by distributing it properly 

 among the individuals. 1^ requires some attention to adjust 

 the ration to each individual, but the time spent in this 

 direction gives good returns. 



Amount of Grain and Roughness to Feed. The cow, 

 being adapted by nature for consuming bulky feeds, does not 

 feel satisfied unless there is sufficient bulk to the ration given 

 at all times. An animal that is fed too much grain in pro- 

 portion to the amount of roughness may seem hungry, while 

 she really has a sufficient amount of nutrients, but so con- 



