460 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE ST OCR 



MISCELLANEOUS FEEDS 



In addition to the standard feeding 

 stuffs, mentioned in connection with 

 dairy cows, a large number of other ma- 

 terials are occasionally fed to a greater 

 or less extent, and brief notes may be 

 given on a few of them in this con- 

 nection. 



Sugar feed — This material has been 

 tested in Maryland by Patterson. As 

 used in his experiments it seemed to 

 contain ground corn fodder or hay as a 

 base; the taste was sweet and the odor 

 agreeable. The manufacturers claim 

 that it contains 12 per cent of sugar. 

 None of the cows which received this 

 ration seemed to be satisfied with it. 

 Only one cow relished the food from 

 the beginning, and 30 pounds seemed to 

 be about the limit for any of the cows. 

 The unsatisfactory nature of the ration 

 appeared from the fact that the cows 

 attempted to eat their straw bedding and 

 seemed nervous and hungry. The cows 

 which ate reasonable quantities of the 

 feed gained in the size of milk flow 

 and it appears, therefore, to be suitable 

 for use as a complete ration, provided 

 cows can be induced to eat proper quan- 

 tities. 



Dried molasses beet pulp — I n an ex- 

 periment with this feed in Vermont, 

 Hills found that when 2 2-3 pounds 

 were substituted for an equal quantity 

 of wheat bran in an 8-pound grain ra- 

 tion, 4 per cent more milk was pro- 

 duced and 1 per cent more fat. The 

 dried molasses beet pulp appeared to 

 give economic results when the price 

 was not above $12 a ton. Occasionally, 

 however, the price asked for this mate- 

 rial is $20 a ton, and Hills considers 

 that at this figure it would not pay to 

 feed it for milk. In fact, it seems 

 doubtful whether it is advisable to use 

 this material, even at the price of $12 a 

 ton, if good corn silage is available. 



Cane sugar — Hills added sugar to the 

 rations of dairy cows in Vermont, but 

 little effect on the quantity of milk was 

 observed and the quality of the milk 

 was not changed at all. The economy 

 of feeding sugar is therefore quite 

 doubtful. 



Condimental feeds — As stated under 

 the discussion of Beef Cattle, condimen- 

 tal feeds have been found in nearly all 

 careful tests to be worth much less than 

 the price ordinarily asked for them. 

 These feeds have been tested in Con- 



necticut, Maine, Massachusetts and else- 

 where, and it appears beyond question 

 that the claims made for them are 

 absurd and the prices extravagant. 



Bone meal — Even herbivorous ani- 

 mals like cows may be induced to eat 

 considerable quantities of animal feed. 

 Hills tested the use of bone meal in 

 Vermont and has found that when added 

 to rations for dairy cows it had but 

 little effect on the ash content of the 

 milk, but increased the quantity of 

 phosphoric acid. 



Skim milk — If calves, pigs or chick- 

 ens are not available for using skim 

 milk, it may be fed to dairy cows. It 

 has been found to exercise a favorable 

 effect on the churnability of cream and 

 on the quality of the butter. In Sweden, 

 however, it appeared that coagulated 

 skim milk had little value for this pur- 

 pose. 



Salt — This is a necessary part of the 

 ration with dairy cows, as with other 

 animals. A supply of salt must be con- 

 stantly accessible to the cows, either in 

 the form of granulated salt or large 

 pieces of rock salt. According to Cana- 

 dian experience, the withholding of salt 

 from cows soon causes a falling off in 

 the milk yield to the extent of 14 per 

 cent. Similar results have been obtained 

 in Mississippi and elsewhere. 



Water — Cows appreciate an abundant 

 supply of cool water in summer and 

 water from which the chill has been 

 taken in winter. Otis and others have 

 observed that in summer cows prefer to 

 drink where the water enters the trough 

 thus getting it as cool as possible; and 

 in winter near the tank heater, thereby 

 getting water from which the chill has 

 been removed. Cows cannot be expected 

 to do their best if forced to drink cold 

 water through a hole in the ice in some 

 pond or creek during winter. It is really 

 no more work to heat water enough to 

 take the chill from it than to break the 

 ice. Likewise in summer the best results 

 cannot be obtained if cows are forced to 

 drink stagnant water, overheated, and 

 carrying a disagreeable flavor and odor. 



The average cow will drink from 60 

 to 100 pounds of water a day, according 

 to the nature of the ration. Hills found 

 that cows allowed to drink at will gave 

 2 per cent more milk that when watered 

 at more or less frequent intervals. The 

 quality of the milk was somewhat poorer 

 when cows were watered in stanchions 

 than when allowed to drink in a yard. 



