Page 22 Advertisements Column 1

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21175, 28 May 1934, Page 22

AUCTIONS. H. MATSON AND CO. DRYi: ~-OFF COWS. COMPLETE "ESSATION OF MILKING A SAFE AND SIMPLE PROCEDURE WITH COWS GIVING LESS THAN TWO GALLONS. By N. S. Newbury. PA DRY period at the end of each lactation is both a period of rest and preparation. The udder takes a holiday from producing milk, and the energy so saved goes to build up the bodily condition of the cow and to assist in the maturing process ol' the calf lying in the womb. No hard-and-fast rule can be laid down as to when drying-off should be commenced. Some cows show an early drop in their milk, and their yield may reach a level regarded as uneconomic comparatively soon. However, generally speaking, drying-ofl one month to nix weeks before the next calf is generally regarded as sound practice. From investigational work in the problems of milk secretion, it seems that the milk drawn at any one milking is there ready at the time of milking and is not secreted during the process. The greatest stimulus to further secretion of milk appears to be exerted immediately after milking out—that is, after completely removing all the secretion of the gland. If any appreciable amount is left behind, it exerts a depressing effect 011 further secretion —a kind of back pressure. It is on •this effect that the various methods <uf drying-off are based. Recent tests comparing four different methods of drying-off cows have produced some interesting data. The methods employed were as follows: (1) Incomplete milking, about half the total quantity of milk present being removed once every 12 hours. (2) Intermittent milking, the udder being emptied at ever-increasing intervals >once every 24 hours for three days end then at the forty-eighth, seventysecond hour, and so on). (3) A combination of (1> and (2>. f4) Complete cessation of milking. Now upon what factors can a comparison of these methods be based'.' Upon the cell count and the bacterial count during the drying-off period and at the next lactation, and lastly, but not the least important, upon time. American workers have shown that, although the number of cells and bacteria increase in methods (1\ (2), and <3) up to the time the cow is dry, yet ihe milk is normal in these respects at the onset of the next lactation under Ell four methods. WHEN MILKING IS CEASED. Let us turn our attention more particularly to the complete-cessation method. Although recommended a ;;ood many years ago (Boutflour, 1926), it seems still to be regarded with scepticism, although without doubt it is the most rapid and simple. What happens is this. An immediate increase of pressure occurs in the udder which may cause the animal to show signs of uneasiness, but these are not long in passing off. The contents of the udder become firm as the result of the absorption of the fluid portion; there is a marked chemical change, and shrinkage of the tissues follows. Reference has been made to the inhibiting effect of milk in the udder upon further secretion. To draw off all or part of the milk, therefore, has the effect of encouraging further activity, and the logical procedure is thus to decide when to dry off and to stop milking together instead of prolonging the drying-off process to some extent by the alternative methods. But can this be safely clone and arc there not risks? It can safely be done when the milk yield is as much as two gallons per day, and it is not uncommon to find experienced dairymen adopting this method when the yield is considerably more. It would, of course, be unwise to apply this procedure to animals showing signs of mastitis, v.-here the drawing off of the altered nilk is an essential part of the treatment. One application of collodiom. after cleansing the teat and particularly the orffice of the teat duct with methylated .spirits, can be carried out as a precautionary measure, especially in the : ummer time. It is probable, however, that the rapid changes which occur in the- contents of the udder are unfavourable to the growth of mastitis germs. —'Extract "Farmer and Stockbreeder." I THE SHORTEST ROUTE TO \ ! BIGGER RETURNS FOR YOUR | LIVE STOCK. ! I The quickest, best, and safest way j ! to all-round satisfaction in selling | i your Sheep, Cattle, and Pigs, is to j Consign to MATSONS, | ADDINGTON. j Here at your service is a private | organisation with a keen know- | ledge of your needs backed by 70 j years' experience in the Stock | and Station Business. 1 CONSIGN TO "MATSONS," i CONSIGN TO "MATSONS," ; ! ADDINGTON. | j ADDINGTON. | I ! Wastage in dairy herds is due mainly to disease, including sterility. How far may disease be reduced by an improvement in feeding'. Recent work has shown that the nutrition of an animal, as determined by the nature of its diet, is an important factor in determining its resistance to disease. Many pathological conditions are due entirely to the lack of certain substances in. the ration, and there is now evidence to show that, in animals suffering from malnutrition, the susceptibility, to at least some diseases, is increased. Animals most affected by deficiencies of essential nutrients in their food are young growing animals, and pregnant or nursing females producing from their reserves the nutrients required for the growth of their young. One would expect that the cow would be especially liable to suffer from the effect of a deficient ration on account of the fact that the modern animal is producing "unnaturally" high yields under artificial conditions of housing and management. Further, she is usually both nourishing a calf in utero, and suffering the strain of milk production at the same time. In America experiments 011 rations abnormally low in lime showed that deficiency of lime in the food was followed by the birth of dead or weak calves, and sterility. Other work, in which rations were exceptionally rich in calcium, but very poor in phosphorus, showed that the animals suffered from decreased milk yield and bone weakness. In an experiment carried out at this institute some years ago it was found that, in a group fed on a ration poor in both minerals and vitamins, the wastage from disease was much greater than >jn a comparable group fed on a well-balanced, adequate ration. It is ouly under experimental rondi<:ii>n>. mul iu certain areas abroad tliat the rution may be mo deficient hi one special nulricuf. I l iat a deficiency disease duo to lack of thai nutrient occurs; but a partial deficiency of ;:fverut nutrients may be th« cause of .such (oiiimon Mjrns oi' unthrittiness as decreased appetite, iowered vitality, dull coufs, subnormal growth, and production, and it M possible that it may predKpo-se soino inif ec {ions diseases. -M the Duthie I'a-ni, "V.hero the of the ration for (lu* maintenance of heallh W the mam ob.irc li\e. the amount of disease has been nhnor inally low. Thus in n herd of fifty milk in? cows there has been no comi of diM-a-.« or ill-health of any kind in the iaM, y^r. VAM/F, OP GUKKN Observations on dairy <;.aro <•;' [nth; Tiiluo unless they ur<- ♦•xfunied over UoT hole lifetime oi ihn animal, and one must speak with caution in view of tho fact tbaf. our information is limited. It has breiproved, however, that sreen food contains "nli tho nutrients essentia for health in the hen jioasible form, and <>nr limited observations, fli, far as they en. indicate the value of feediiisj food through tho winter in tho form of green forujfe crops and perhaps lined gra«s, together with as nnieh sunshine oxtrcus as possible. Minerals are as eijvnlatcd nmch wore easily in tHo form in Ayhioh they are present in foodstuffs, atul on V'ssible to balance a mixture ■Which Will contain a sufficiency of these rutrlentß without resource to inorganic sup ■elements, e.g., by usin» good hay as a •ourco of_ phosphorus. For this reason ttie manuring and selection of crops which ?"1. '""ease the mineral content of tho ( «oods grown on the farm it of the greatWt imporlnnce. H. "WATSON arid CO.