FARMER AND STOCKBREEDER.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 114, 15 May 1926, Page 24

FARMER AND STOCKBREEDER.

WINTERING DAIRY COWS. ] FEED AVD SHELTER. j ■By PLOUGHSHARE.: j j There sre two ways of wintering \ dairy cows, one consists in looking after! them, the other in forgetting about. them. The latter is the line of least, resistance, but i: is ap: to prove rather ; expensive, for even if no deaths ocrur, there will be a grievous loss of butterfat • next season. ice winter months are essentially a season of res: and re-cu- . peration 'for the dairy cow, and as these ! months are characterised t- inclement weather and short feed, the owner must be at some pains to s?e that condition i= grained and not lost. So impor- ' tant is the influence of the dry period on the succeeding lactation that it is the practice of American breeders to "stoke up"' their <~<jws for at least six months before they commence their records. While it i= quite undesirable to go to this extreme, it must at least be admitted that the principle must be borne in mind. A cow that comes to calving in low condition is gravely handicapped in the following season; Ehe will use much precious feed in recovering flesh. Care Well Repaid. Farmers with a good area of rough '• feed are "on a good wicket," more es- j peeially if this feed is a change to the cowb. A change is as good as a tonic, and the man with a large mixed holding is here at an advantage. Dry cows will do, well on rough grass of fair quality pro- ! vided they have shelter, though in wet ■weather, it is decidedly advantageous to feed a little hay. j As regards farms which have no rough ■ feed —farms used almost entirely for' dairying and heavily stocked through- J out the Eeason, artificial feed of some > description must be used. Ilay should form the foundation of all winter rations, and if it is of good quality, cows will do well on it, even with nothing else. Hay-racka are often used, but generally entail more waste than the simpler method of laying the hay on the ground, because the ground around the racks becomes badly trampled, and hay falling into it is not eaten. Provided the ground is fairly dry, the hay should be laid in a rough windrow, a fresh area being used each. day. A few farmers bale their hay, and find that very little

waste occurs, as the cakes are cleaned up well by the stock, but it is not every farmer who can afford a baler. Best Of All. Lucerne hay is, of course, the best of all, but good meadow hay is admirable, and oaten hay not far behind. A point to remember is that where the hay contains a good deal of seed, this will be tramped into the ground and will germinate. This will be advantageous if the hay is composed of good grasses, but if it contains much rubbish such as Yorkshire fog or docks, it should be fed on pastures where a thick turf will militate against the strike of seed. The quantity of hay fed will naturally depend oncircumstances, but half a ton per, cow for the winter is a good average allowance, more being necessary in the King Country, and less in the North Auckland districts. Good hay is unsurpassed for keeping cattle in good. condition during cold wet weather. Use Of Roots. Turnips are used less now than for- , merly, partly because they have become difficult to grow in some districts, and partly because the modern practice is to , make hay and ensilage from grass, , rather than to break it up for cropping. , Fed in moderate quantities and in con- j junction with hay, turnips, more es- , pecially swedes, are very useful for ] cows in winter, but a diet consisting , entirely of turnips is not to be mended. It contains too much water and too little nutriment. Turnips should always be pulled and carted— the practice of wintering cows in the ewede paddock belongs to the pioneering age, and can only be countenanced on j back country farms where the bulk of > the labour must be directed towards "breaking-in." Mangels have come to the fore in' recent years, and are very suitable for the small, well-improved farm, where a high yield per acre is obtainable. Their chief value, however, lies in the fact that they ripen slow'.y and will keep till well into the following season. They are of most value after the herd has commenced to come in. In any case, they should be kept until after the end of June, for if fed before this they not only have a lower feeding value (being unripe) but they may cause indigestion.. Mangels are best pulled, heaped, and ; covered before winter, but where they | are left in the paddock they must be' pulled from the ground at least a week before they are given to the cows. Knsilage is now coming to the fore, nnd where properly made is very good fodder. Cows do well on ensilage alone, but a littlo additional dry food in the form of hay is valuable. Ensilage may be spread on the grass in the same way

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I Cboti tnoellier is another form of win- ' ter feed that has become popular, but here again the addition of some hay is to be advised, because the leaves, which I are often wet or frosted Deed some ! counteracting. Shelter Essential. Every bea=t requires ■warmth as well ;as food, and nothing is more heart- , breaking than to see a herd of good cows standing in a bare paddock exposed I to the fall force of driving rain. A dairy 1 cow i= by nature more highly-strung , than are either bullocks or sheep. Her skin i= thinner, and she is far more | sensitive to cold and wet. Of all forms of shelter, a piece of j standing bush is best. Cows always do ; well when allowed such shelter. An j artificial wind-break or plantation of ' pines or wattles is also good, but has the defect of being open at the bottom. "hereby causing draughts; this may be i overcome by lacing cut-off boughs or; pieces of manuka between the stems of the trees. A well-grown hedge of cupres- | sus. lawsoniana, or rose-thorn is hard j to beat, because it is dense right down ! to the ground; overhead cover from rain is of less importance than protection from cutting wind. Where natural shelter is lacking or is : imperfect, rugs ehould be provided, j Some fanners reserve their rugs till , after the cows have calved, but it is a j wise policy to put them on as Boon as 1 the weather becomes increment. If pos- | sible they should be removed during the day whenever warm Eun shine occurs, but where this is impracticable, an effort must be made to remove them at , least every few days; otherwise the i health of the cow will suffer. It is as well to inspect rugged cows every day, j as rugs are apt to slip, and an animal I may become badly tangled up. j PASPALUM PASTURES. I The opinion is held by many farmers that paepalum—which so many others despise, or affect to despise—will prove' the salvation of the North. Certainly on the poorer gum land areas it will thrive and provide an abundance of feed where ' the English grasses will die out, unless ! very heavily manured at sewing and afterwards regularly and liberally top- ! dressed. But even on Euch pastures i (and there are only a few which receive • such generous treatment) the paspalum i constantly encroaches. The natural gerJ mination of paspalum seed is put down