AT MILKING TIME

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume XLV, Issue 3174, 6 December 1927, Page 8

AT MILKING TIME

EATING AND DRINKING

Should the cows be fed or watered at milking time1? There is no doubt that in this as in other spheres of activity, circumstances alter cases (writes "J. MV.," in Live Stock Journal). A calv-ing-down heifer will often be less refractory if she is given a bucket of water, with a handful of meal on top, at time of milking. A newly-salved cow will generally respond with a larger yield of milk if treated with copious draughts of water and nourishing fodders. While it may be well in some cases to let young cows eat or drink while being milked, there are certain objections to the forming of any such habit. Usually the treating of newlycalved heifers with some tit-bit, or a pail of water, to claim their attention at milking time, can be discontinued after two or three weeks, when the udder assumes its normal condition. The worst drawback to the cows eating while being milked is that a certain amount of dust results if the fodders are dry. Roots should not, of course, be fed immediately before nor during milking. Silage is little better, for there is a certain amount of mustiness about the best of silage; and it seems to pervade the atmosophere of the cowhouse. Some farmers say the cows stand more quietly, and let down their milk more freely, if they are eating or drinking while they are being milked. Nevertheless, there are many milkers who from a wide experience claim that when the cow has nothing to attract her attention, she stands quietly when the milker settles down to his work. Different herds will, of course, fre • quently require different treatment. Some cows are more nervous than others; and, as a rule, the more highly strung the animal the deeper the milking capacity of the cow. This trai" of nervousness, not unlike that of milking strain, is a characteristic more so of some herds than of others. But kindliness and care go *a long way to make the cows feel at ease, happy and contented.