USE OF ENSILAGE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3438, 3 March 1932, Page 2

USE OF ENSILAGE.

HARMFUL IN WINTER? A warning note in regard to the indiscriminate use of ensilage was sounded by Mr. R. Beverley, of Peria, a well-known breeder of pedigree Ayrshire cattle. In dry weather and in spring, the feeding of ensilage to stock was all right, he said, but in winter he found that ensilage was positively harmful to stock. It gave the animals indigestion and "staggers," or inflammation of the brain resulted. He had lost several valuable animals after feeding ensilage, and when he opened them up he found that the ensilage was packed like a stone in the stomachs to practically full capacity. This had been the cause of death. Cows were exceedingly fond of ensilage, and when fed in winter,, were apt to gulp it down, with the results mentioned. In spring there was a flush of grass which tended to counteract any ill effects, and there was less likelihood of ravenous eating. He was a keen advocate of making ensilage in November, when the grass was in the leafy stage, and last year a stack made at this period contained no waste when it was fed out. Mr. Beverly said he understood that many farmers in the Old Country were abandoning ensilage, though they had silos worth from £SOO to £6OO, because their stock would not fatten on it. Stock fed on swedes and hay put on fat internally and came away better in the spring. He had been making ensilage now for ten years. He, however, had not abandoned ensilage altogether, and in dry weather, and in spring, it would still be fed to the herds. He had reduced the area cut for ensilage, and at present had six haystacks and four ensilage stacks on his property. The ensilage, however, would be kept solely for dry weather feeding.