The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
997 
Live Stock Questions 
Answered by Prof. F. C. Minkler 
Trouble with Sows 
Wo have fed sows garbage and some 
have boon fed just grain. Now when 
these pigs farrow they seem to have no 
milk. Some will not own their pigs. 
Ho W long after farrowing should one 
wait before, feeding pigs and what, should 
be fed? l. w. ii. 
One would not be justified in changing 
the ration of a sow that has been fed 
garbage to a grain ration immediately pre¬ 
ceding farrowing time. In fact, any sud¬ 
den change in the ration is likely to dis¬ 
turb the digestive system and bring about 
just such a condition as you have de¬ 
scribed —a failure to own her pigs or come 
to her milk after farrowing. It would be 
better to include some grain in the gar¬ 
bage mixture previous to farrowing, then 
continue the same mixture through the 
critical period, reducing the quantity and 
increasing the bulk, in order to avoid any 
possible excess production of milk during 
the early stages of her lactation. 
Brood sows that are in good condition 
at farrowing time will usually lie quietly 
during the first 24 hours after the pigs 
are horn, and no feed should be given 
until the sow apparently requests it. Ex¬ 
cessive feeding of any grain mixture is 
very apt to bring about the fevered con¬ 
dition <>f the udders that would have a 
tendenev to dry them off and thus cause 
the sow to go through the sensation that 
appears when the pigs are old enough to 
wean ; hence she refuses to own her brood. 
Laxatives in diet, accompanied by the 
use of either Epsom salts or raw linsed 
oil. is necessary where brood sows are 
inactive and where they persist in keping 
to their beds unduly at farrowing time. 
A ration consisting of equal parts of oats, 
bran and middlings, to which has been 
added 10 per cent of tankage or oilmeal, 
is well suited for feeding brood sows 
previous to and following farrowing. If 
skim-milk is available it should be fed in 
liberal quantity during this period. 
Handling Cream 
I have very good success with churn¬ 
ing, following the Government rules, 
which call for heating the cream to 70 de¬ 
grees the day before churning. I have 
noticed in your answers to questions that, 
you suggest heating to 140 degrees. 
Would this improve the keeping qualities 
of the butter? I would like to sell cream 
in limited quantities, but do not. want to 
have it too light, nor do I care to give 
heavier cream than necessary. Is there 
a way of testing the grade of cream as it 
comes from the separator? I should 
think that there might, be a hydrometer 
test at a given temperature. H. F. s. 
The only object in heating cream to the 
suggested temperature of 140 degrees is to 
unify the consistency of the material and 
hasten the proper ripening of the product. 
It would not under any conditions im¬ 
prove the keeping qualities of the butter. 
Concerning your second question, as t<> 
the means of testing cream to determine 
its quality and consistency, you are 
aware, no doubt, that the value of the 
cream, as well as its consistency, is based 
upon its percentage of butterfat. This 
cun best, be determined through the agency 
of the Babcock test, which involves the 
use of the so-called Rabeoek tester, and 
a little hand machine can be purchased 
at any dairy supply concern. It would 
not be safe to rely upon any other means 
of determining the quality of cream as 
it comes from the separator. 
Corn and Cob Meal for Horses 
I have quite a lot of corn on hand and 
am having it ground, cob and all. and 
about the same amount of oats. I feed 
horses when working from four to six 
quarts three times a day. with what hav 
they clean up. I have been told such 
rations would cause horses to have worms. 
Schenectady, N. Y. \v. c. \v. 
There is nothing to be gained by sup¬ 
pling corn and cob meal to work horses. 
There is no feeding value in the corncobs 
themselves, and, owing to their porous 
nature, they absorb the digestive juices of 
the stomach and are very apt to invite 
colic if fed in generous amounts to idle 
horses. The mixing of equal parts of oats 
with the corn and cob meal would increase 
the feeding value; but I should much 
prefer to feed corn on the cob and the 
oats hy themselves, if it is not possible 
to adfl some bran and oilmeal to the mix¬ 
ture. 
I'he exclusive feeding of corn to hors 
when it is accompanied by Timothy h 
is very apt to cause worms; but these c 
he eliminated by using equal parts 
iantinn and powdered ferrous sulpha 
niid 'reding a tablespoonful in the fe 
i wire a day for four or five days. A mi 
'nre consisting of five parts of oats, t* 
luiits of corn, two parts of bran and 
M'l'iukhng of oilmeal makes an excelle 
combination for feeding work horses. T 
amount of grain should be reduced 
nut on idle days and Sundays, in ore 
" pievent the accumulation of au exn 
wye amount of nitrogen material, whi 
7 1 *! a ^ distress when the hor.* 
au. pub to work again. 
Raising Calf 
We are expecting one of our 
" Mien soon, ami want to 
As we are ' 
10 cure for 
cows to 
raise the calf. 
t " i —inexperienced, we would like 
' mw just how to cure for and feed 
the calf. We have no skim-milk. IIow 
shall we care for the cow before and after 
coming fresh? a. l. o. 
New York. 
If the cow in question is in good flesh 
there is very little that you can do at 
calving time that will contribute to the 
comfort of the cow. provided you give 
her a roomy box stall to calve in, and are 
careful to keep the stall freshly bedded 
and dry. Let the calf have its mother’s 
milk for the first three days, after which 
it should be taught to drink out of the 
pail, and if it is desired to raise the calf, 
it. should be fed on straight' mother's milk 
for three or four weeks. The calf will 
take to drinking more readily in case it 
is denied all milk for a full day. If. should 
be given its milk three times daily, and 
should, not be fed more than two quarts 
of milk at a feeding until it is two or 
three weeks old. 
Feeding Dogs 
Will you advise me about feeding my 
two dogs 10 months old? Their mother 
is a pedigreed collie, and their father a 
shepherd. Never having owned a dog 
before. 1 do not know much about the 
food. Do they need meat all the time? 
Should they be fed three times a day? 
How much food should they have a day? 
They are on a farm and will get a great 
deal of exercise. M. j. p. 
Virginia. 
There is nothing particularly puzzling 
about the feeding of a dog that has the 
run of a farm. It is doubtful whether 
there is anything better for dogs than 
table scraps that, have been perhaps di¬ 
luted with skimmed milk; or, if it is 
necessary or desirable to prepare some 
special feed for them, cooked oatmeal per¬ 
haps heads the list. Two feedings a day 
would be sufficient, although a dog very 
seldom overeats, and it would be prac¬ 
tical to let him have the table scraps fol¬ 
lowing each meal if he relished them. 
I recently talked with a dog fancier 
who has produced a number of noble 
specimens, and his mixture consists of 
equal parts of cornmcal and oatmeal 
cooked, and fed in such quantities as thpy 
would clean up with relish twice daily, 
all of which was supplemented with skiin- 
rnilk whenever it was available. 
Persistent Milker 
» 
I have a cow that absolutely refuses to 
dry up. I have owned her about six 
years, and she has never been dry a day. 
She has freshened each year in July, and 
is due at that time this year. I have 
taken her grain away and do not milk 
her dry. This has been my practice each 
year, finally milking hut once a day. yet 
she gives some milk all the time—a groat 
deal too much to have in the udder, and 
a week or two before the calf is due she 
gives a great deal. I feel she must go 
dry this year or be spoiled. She is an 
excellent cow—not old. She had trouble 
with one teat last Winter. I am still 
use a milking tube on it. The following 
recipe has been found in an old cow book. 
Do you think applying this to her udder 
would aggravate the condition in the 
teat? One ounce powdered alum; boil in 
two quarts milk until it turns to whey, 
then boil in this whey a large handful of 
sage until reduced to one quart. Rub the 
udder with a little, and give her the rest 
to drink. it. o. f. 
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As the cow has a tendency to garget it 
would be unwise to “dry her off.” That 
would be likely to induce a severe attack 
which might ruin her udder for milk pro¬ 
duction. The prescription quoted has no 
special merit. Belladonna and camphor 
are the two drugs par excellence for .stop¬ 
ping milk secretion, and are used exter¬ 
nally and internally. The milking tube 
will be almost certain to cause ruinous 
garget (mammitis I bv carrying infective 
matter into the teat. A veterinarian 
should be employed to use a teat bistoury 
if he finds the dilators do not succeed. 
The greatest possible care must be taken 
to sterilize such instruments by boiling 
for IH or 20 minutes each time before use. 
or they will cause infection. Let the cow 
run on poor pasture and if necessary also 
allow bran, to regulate her bowels, but 
give no other feed. A. 8. A. 
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