The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
439 
Live Stock Matters 
Conducted By Prof. F. C. Minkler 
Silage for Calves Feeding Dry Cows 
Give me a ration for Jersey calves, two 
to five monts old. They are getting plenty 
of skimmed milk, and hay of fair quality . 
no clover or Alfalfa. I have cattle beets 
that I could give them, and good sweet 
silage that contains but little hard corn. 
These are calves of excellent breeding, 
and 1 want to give them the best possible 
chance to make good. c. B. 
Nothing is gained by feeding silage to 
calves tinder six month of age. While 
they will nibble away at this palatable 
succulence, it is relatively high in fiber 
and more or less indigestible for young¬ 
sters of this age. Youngsters require 
leafy products; clover or Alfalfa, second 
cutting, serves their purposes very nicely. 
I doubt the wisdom of giving the calves 
all of skim-milk that they will consume. 
A ration consisting of equal parts of 
cornmeal, white middlings, and ground 
oats to which has been added 15 per 
cent of linseed meal will be satisfactory. 
Allow the calves free access to salt 
and if you do not have legume hay 
then I should mix equal parts of ground 
limestone or bone meal with the salt and 
kept it available as a licking mixture. 
Keeping Up Production 
I aim to feed high-protein cow feeds 
in the recommended quantity of one 
pound of feed to each three or four 
lbs. of milk produced. Economical re¬ 
sults can usually be obtained the first 
few months after calving, but I am not 
successful in Winter in getting the 
proper quantity of milk for the “high- 
power” feed during the last three months 
of the milking period. I figure it would 
be more economical to dry some cows off 
several months before they calve, but 
want to keep them in milk the recom¬ 
mended length of time to prevent them 
getting in the habit of drying off too soon. 
I feed a fairly good quality of roughage, 
consisting of corn fodder and Soy-bean 
and cow-pea hay, but have no Alfalfa or 
clover hay available, and no silage. 
Maryland. g. b. f. 
Persistence in milking is an inherited 
quality and cannot be regulated entirely 
by the ration fed. It is natural for all 
cows to slacken up on their milk flow as 
their lactation advances. Oftentimes the 
use of a ration carrying an added amount 
of protein will stimulate the flow of milk. 
Much depends of course upon the condi¬ 
tion of the cow at calving time. If she 
is carrying much flesh at calving time, 
and provided she is of such a tempera¬ 
ment as to enable the literal melting 
away of this flesh, it is likely that her 
lactation period will be substantially ex¬ 
tended. It is the cow that is thin at 
calving time and that gains in flesh dur¬ 
ing her lactation period that usually lets 
up on her flow of milk. On the other 
hand, the cow that is in high flesh at calv¬ 
ing time and, in spite of generous feeding 
loses weight and condition, is the one 
which usually has a longer lactation 
period. 
You are right in assuming that if a 
cow does not produce milk enough to 
pay for the feed which she consumes it 
is highly desirable to dry her and dis¬ 
pose of her for beef. Cows that habitu¬ 
ally enjoy a long rest or dry period have 
no place in a modern dairy herd. 
Much has been said about getting the 
heifer in the habit of conforming to a 
short dry period. I think that this ques¬ 
tion is overrated. Unless a cow gives 
enough milk to pay for the feed and 
labor, there is no use milking her just 
because you are hopeful that she will 
milk longer next year. If I wanted per¬ 
sistent milkers and cows did not con¬ 
form to this standard I should invite the 
butcher to buy the undesirable indi¬ 
viduals. 
If you feed a 24-per cent feed then one 
pound of grain to each 3 or 3 y 2 lbs. of 
feed is quite sufficient. If your ration 
carries less protein than this and you 
still feed this quantity, the chances are 
that the cow will gain rapidly in weight 
and as she advances in weight she is 
likely to decrease in her flow of milk as 
the lactation period advances. Our guess 
is that you have been feeding a ration 
low in protein, that the cows put on flesh, 
get out of the habit of milking, and en¬ 
joy the luxury of an extended dry period. 
I would like to know what kind of a 
dairy ration and about how many pounds 
daily a cow should have during the six 
to eight weeks prior to freshening, cows 
being in good condition. l. ii. j. 
One of 'the best and easiest com-' 
pounded mixtures for feeding dry cows 
consists of: 30 lbs. ground oats, 30 lbs. 
coarse bran, 30 lbs. corn or hominy, 10 
lbs. oilmeal. 
For a cow weighing 1,200 lbs. it would 
be desirable to feed her from six to eight 
pounds per day. In fact, enough of this 
mixture should be fed so that the cow 
can gain in weight and improve in con¬ 
dition as her gestation period advances. 
The precaution of conditioning a cow 
during her dormant period always pays. 
Unfortunately many owners of cows feel 
that when a cow is not milking she 
should not be fed any grain and that she 
should be left to subsist largely on refuse 
materials which the milking cows leave. 
I hold that the feeding of a cow during 
her dry period is more important than 
feeding a cow during her lactation period. 
You say that your cows are in good 
condition. Under these circumstances 
it might be possible to reduce the amount 
of grain somewhat, but remember that 
scanting the grain feed during the dry 
period means reduced production of milk 
during the lactation period. 
'For cows that are persistent milkers 
then it is necessary to let up somewhat 
on the feed for a week or ten days pre¬ 
vious to calving. This will avoid un¬ 
due inflammation of the udder and milk 
fever which frequently is encountered 
among cows in high condition which are 
fed a generous amount of grain during 
their rest period. 
What Is Balanced Ration? 
Will you please give me the formula 
for figuring a balanced ration for cowsV 
Explain just how to figure it, and if there 
is any difference between a balanced 
ration for Jerseys or Ilolsteins. L. A. p. 
By a balanced ration we mean a com¬ 
bination of grains and protein concen¬ 
trates which will enable a cow to main¬ 
tain her weight and condition and pro¬ 
duce the maximum flow of milk. Fully 
one-half of the feed consumed by a dairy 
cow is utilized for body maintenance. 
In order to stimulate milk production it 
is necessary to have a ration that car¬ 
ries a stipulated amount of carbohydrates, 
proteins, and mineral matter. 
In compounding rations we consider, 
among other things, the following fea¬ 
tures : sufficient digestible nutrients In 
the right proportion, palatibility, digesti¬ 
bility, sufficient ash and mineral matter, 
derivation of the proteins from a variety 
of sources, and the selection of a unit 
of protein or a unit of carbohydrates 
from the sources which are believed to 
be the most economical. Naturally we 
cannot select all of the protein from cot¬ 
tonseed meal, even though a unit- of pro¬ 
tein from cottonsead meal costs less than 
a unit of protein from any other source. 
For the same reasqn it is not wise to 
choose all of your carbohydrates from 
a given feed like corn or hominy, even 
though this product will supply a unit 
of energy at the lowest cost. Such quali¬ 
ties as bulk and texture must be given 
consideration. In order to combine mix¬ 
tures that are suitable for the several 
classes of animals one must be familiar 
with the standard requirements of the 
animals themselves and then he must 
know the analysis and comparative feed¬ 
ing value of the basic ingredients. 
The ability of a cow to produce milk 
high or low in butterfat is a breed char¬ 
acteristic and is not governed by the 
ration fed. A ration which is suitable 
for a Jersey cow might not be equally 
suitable for Holstein cows. Much would 
depend upon their condition, their stage 
of lactation, and the amount of milk 
that they were producing. Under aver¬ 
age conditions it is safe to provide for 
cows in milk giving less than 40 lbs. of 
three and a .half per cent milk a ration 
carrying approximately 20 per cent of 
protein. 
No Chance for Human 
Carelessness in Making, 
Each ingredient in Larro is 
continuously and accura tely 
weighed as it flows through 
these poidometers to the 
mixer All poidometers 
are driven by a single shaft. 
If one stops, they all stop. 
Every pound of finished 
Larro passes over this big 
electro-magnet. It keeps 
Larro free from nails, wire 
and "tramp iron " 
Warehouse and tank stand¬ 
ardizing of each separate 
ingredient are exclusive lea 
tures This diagram of one 
of 14 blending tanks shows 
how it com bi nes many dif¬ 
ferent carloads of the same 
ingredient into one umfor m 
blend of unvarying quality 
arrp 
The Safe Ration for Dairy Cows 
Human mistakes in making dairy feed are paid 
for, dearly, by the man who feeds cows. 
Right there is where Larro offers you a tremend¬ 
ous saving. For Larro is made where they take 
no chance on human carelessness. 
After being inspected, analyzed and approved by 
the chemists, each ingredient is standardized by 
blending to insure an absolute uniformity. These 
standardized ingredients flow continuously to the 
mixer through super human machines called “poid¬ 
ometers” which weigh (not measure) the propor¬ 
tions with a most uncanny accuracy. 
From the mixer the feed goes to the Jumbo Electric 
Magnet which removes all nails, tacks and wire 
from the finished Larro. 
The Larro Mill is a great machine that never 
tires or forgets. If something goes wrong the mill 
automatically stops until that thing is made right. 
It can t work at all unless it works the right way. 
The Larro Mill at Toledo, Ohio, is open to visitors 
all day every working day—no permits or letters of 
introduction necessary 
Feed Larro for the biggest profit, for safety, for 
healthy cows and keep for yourself the money you 
may now be paying for some one else’s carelessness. 
The Larrowe Milling Company 
Dept. 7. Larrowe Bldg. Detroit, Mich. 
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