WINTER FEEDING OF COWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 21

WINTER FEEDING OF COWS.

The winter feeding of dairy cows is a subject upon which dairymen p have to devote a great amount of attention,' because upon it depends in a measure their balance at the bank. , f As. " affording guidance in the matter, the .general conclusions published by the Highland and ' Agricultural Society, arrived at as Ihe - result of investigations into th-> influence of food on milk may be studied with advantage : — 1. A heavy allowance of ' concentrated food, of not less than 121b per cow per day, may cause an, increase in the milk yield as compared with a more moderate allowance/ v > _ 2. Tho increase thus caused will be in a great* measure of a temporary character, and is much .more marked early in the lactation period than it is as the period advances;

j ■ 3. Although a heavy ration will produce more milk at 'first than a moderate ration, "there is a -limit beyond which the ration cannot be increased with profit.

4. An allowance of as much as 121b pe>10001b- live weight ~yer day may as a rule be regarded as* excessive, having regard to profit. 5. When cows begin to fall off in their, yield- a«N the 'lactation period advances, an increase m the concentoate.d food does not check this falling, off except temporarily; and conversely a decrease in the concentrated food under similar conditions does not cause a more rapid falling off in the yield. " ' ■ -_ ' 6. ' With regard to the butter-fat in milk, it --is doubtful^ provided the cows receive a sufficient amount of concentrated food 'to keep -"them in good condition, whether -an additional amount in the ration has any appreciable influence in increasing the percentage. The same applies even in a greater degreV to the " solids not fat."

7. The morning milk of an average lot of cows, '• even when well fed, may frequently be under the standard in butterfat during- the earlier- part of the lactation period, when the day interval between miikings 'is shorter; an augmented ration of concentrated food causes but little improvement in- this respect. . _ , 8. A heavy ration causes a greater increase in -the average live weight of {he cows than. a moderate one, the gain being greatest -towards the end of the lactation period, when the cows are falling off in yield. . ' 9. The character of the cpws has much more to do with determining the quantity ■ and quality of the milk than the actual amount of concentrated food in the daily ration so long as the cows receive enough to keep them in" a .thriving condition, -and it is a mistake to suppose that, once this -limit is* reached,' an increase >in the" concentrated food^ results- in a-perma-nent increase and improvement in the milk. It may, indeed, have the opposite effect.

10. Finally, as the results obtained in the experiments indicate,- a heavier ration oi concentrated food may be employed with profit sarllaf in the lactation period j&»n can ba dfess# se the period advances;

J\ ' ' ! it. seems probable that, the most econo- j mical' method of feeding dairy [cows, having regard only ' to' the milk { would be to make the ration largely dependent upon the amount of milk the • cows [ yield. In other words, the full ration i should be given when the cows^tre in full milk, and as they fall off inN;he yield - the allowance should be gradually curtailed, until, at the end of the lactation period, it reaches the minimum necessary to keep the cows in good condition. It is difficult "to say at present what quantity of concentrated food constitutes a full ration, further than -that, having regard to profit, it is certain that it should not, on the average, reach as much as" 121b per 10001b' live weight per," dayl "" \' '