FEEDING WHILE MILKING.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume V, Issue 586, 22 December 1897, Page 4

FEEDING WHILE MILKING.

Whfuller it is better to feed the cows in the held or in the shed while the milking i* being done, is a subject that Ims engaged the attention of English and American dairy farmers. The arguments in favor of the latter courso of procedure are weighty and convincing, as it is easy to understand that a cow, with a supply of appetising fodder before her which she is consuming, is in a pleased frame of mind, and will, therefore let down her milk quickly and easily. It is well known that the milking function is intimately connected with the nervous state of the animal, cow 3 that are naturally irritable being liable to have their milk yield suddenly decrease, and that, everything considered, a calm tempered cow is best for the dairy. Professor Primrose McConnel, who has given this subject a deal of consideration, sums it up in these words :—“ One cf the very few enjoyments the lower animals are capable of appreciating is that of consuming tasty food, as we know that with the human kind a good dinner is the surest means of putting into a genial mood, it is likely to be so in a greater degree with our cows. Very naturally, therefore, our American friends have come to the conclusion, both from theory and experiment and regular practical experience, that the feeding and milking should go on simultaneously. A good quiet cow will do her best, and a kicker or nervous animal will unconsciously become quieter and let down her milk while her attention is taken up with the contents of her manger.