CHAPTER 4 



MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY CATTLE 

 C. H. ECKLES 



58. Decline of Milk Production in Summer. Milk pro- 

 due tion of the average herd falls off rapidly in the latter 

 part of the summer. It is not uncommon for the amount 

 of milk sold by a farmer in August to be no more than half 

 tha t marketed during June. At the season when this rapid 

 decline of milk occurs the animals are greatly annoyed by 

 flies. The flies are often looked upon as the main cause of 

 this decline. There are good reasons for believing that the 

 eff( ct of the fly is overestimated. Where soiling or grain 

 feeding is practiced, the decline at this season is little more 

 than the normal one for the stage of lactation represented 

 by the cows. The main cause for the decreased production 

 at this time of the year is undoubtedly the failure of the 

 cows to eat a sufficient amount of feed. This lack of feed 

 may come from poor pasture due to dry weather, or it may 

 result from the fact that the cows do not graze sufficiently 

 because of the hot weather and the annoyance of flies. The 

 cow is sensitive to excessive heat, and this is probably in most 

 cases a stronger factor than the flies. The main precaution 

 to be observed is to make certain that the animals have 

 plenty of feed easily accessible. 



59. Protection from Flies. Cattle in this country are 

 troubled most by two kinds of flies, known as the stable 

 fly and the horn fly. The stable fly resembles the house fly 



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