IIEIFEKS DUKIMG TKEGNANCV AND SUBSKOUENTLY 97 



ensilage, fodder corn may be given, but in such an event 

 some roots should also be given to supply succulence. 

 Pregnant heifers thus fed will usually carry enough 

 muscle and fat without any other grain than the corn 

 furnishes. Should the fodder be hay other than clover 

 or alfalfa, or essentially corn or sorghum fodder, or the 

 two combined, field roots added in ample quantity would 

 preclude the necessit}^ of feeding grain, but, in the ab- 

 sence of these, then a few pounds daily of such food as 

 ground oats, bran, and oilcake in the proportions of, 

 say, 3, 6, and i parts, will furnish a suitable supplement. 

 The quantity should be determined by the condition of 

 the animals. 



Breaking in to milk. — In some instances trouble is 

 experienced with heifers in what may be termed the 

 " breaking-in " process; that is, the process of making 

 them submit to being milked without any resistance 

 being offered by them. It is greatly important that this 

 shall be done in a way that will reduce the friction, more 

 or less usually present, to the lowest possible minimum. 

 The future usefulness of many prominent heifers has 

 been destroyed by improper treatment when breaking 

 them in to milk. The process is new to the heifer, and 

 it is almost certain that the first attempts to draw milk 

 from her will be met with some resistance. The degree 

 of that resistance will usually be proportionate to the 

 natural nervousness of the heifer, to the extent to which 

 she is unfamiliar with being handled, and to the degree 

 in which harshness is shown by the person who with- 

 draws the milk. 



Some heifers are possessed of a highly nervous tem- 

 perament, a positive recommendation in a milch cow, 

 because of the relation between this endowment and 

 abundant milk production. This temperament tends to 

 quicken physical action. Because of this a heifer thus 

 endowed will not only manifest more restlessness than 

 one of the opposite temperament when milking is first 



