248 MANUAL OF FARM ANIMALS 



natural food for pregnant animals, and need not receive so close 

 attention as would be necessary were she confined to the stable 

 and fed dry foods. The warm weather approaching, the calf 

 is more easily cared for than in the winter. There is natural 

 grass for the calf to feed on, and nothing is better. 



Fall calving is much to be preferred on dairy farms or where 

 high production is desired. There are many reasons for this. 

 By having the calves dropped in the fall the cows are giving 

 their maximum yield when the price of dairy products is high. 

 While the calf is more trouble to care for in winter, this is the 

 idle season, and more attention can be given it. Again, on the 

 average the flow can be kept up longer, and the total produc- 

 tion made much more when the cow freshens in the fall. This 

 is due, in part, to the fact that she is turned to pasture just as 

 her flow begins to wane, which causes it to rise again. On the 

 other hand, if the cow freshens in the spring, the animals give 

 their maximum yield when the price of dairy products is low, 

 and then the dry fall coming on cuts their flow, then later they 

 are put on the dry food of winter, which still further reduces the 

 yield, so that at the time dairy products are high, the animals 

 are giving very little or no milk at all. 



A cow bred Jan. 1 should calve Oct. 10, or one bred June 23 

 should calve April 1, according to the table on next page. 



Parturition time. — ^The average period of gestation in the cow 

 is properly placed at nine months, more accurately perhaps two 

 hundred and eighty-three days, but it may vary either way. 

 A calf born at the two hundred and fortieth day may live, and 

 a case is reported where a thrifty calf was dropped on the three 

 hundred and thirty-fifth day. Because of the uncertainty of the 

 period, the cow should be closely watched from the eighth month 

 until calving. There are certain signs of the near approach of 

 parturition that rarely fail. The udder becomes enlarged, firm 

 and resistant to the touch, with more or less swellingin front, and 

 secretes a milky fluid ; the vulva becomes enlarged and swollen, 



