WINTER FEEDING OF STOCK

Southland Times, Issue 23182, 24 April 1937, Page 14

WINTER FEEDING OF STOCK

GREAT WEAKNESS IN DOMINION OFTEN FAR BELOW NEEDS OF ANIMALS Poor winter feeding of stock is one of the commonest and most grievous weaknesses in New Zealand farming, writes M. N. P. Connell, of the Fields Division, Palmerston North, ,in 'pie Journal of Agriculture. The feeding of developing dairy heifers and of hoggets is unfortunately often far below the needs of the animals. Such developing stock are readily susceptible to serious and possibly permanent setbacks as a result of malnutrition in the winter, and the harm which results is likely to be greatly intensified if the stock are infested with internal parasites. The permanent setback may take the form of stunting in size, which experience shows is associated usually with a corresponding stunting in production. Hence it may be expected to prove profitable eventually to give both heifers and hoggets the best food available. Feeding of straw, poor hay, or stemmy grass growth is not consistent with. this. Feed, such as leafy grass, good hay, roots and green crops, which is relatively rich in digestible supplies of body-building material is required. Usually July is a critical month in the feeding of pregnant dairy cows and ewes. During the period when she is not yielding milk the dairy cow should be fed literally enough to bring about what in Britain aptly has been called a “steaming up” process, which results in recuperation and renewal of bodily reserves, which are particularly likely to be depleted in heavy producers. Feeding that begets this result is considered to assist greatly in warding off udder and other disorders that commonly occur at about calving time. Fat Lamb Raising New Zealand investigations have demonstrated the importance of good winter feeding of ewes kept primarily for fat lamb production. It has been found that the economical production of fat lambs depends to a considerable extent upon obtaining lambs of good weight at birth, and this in turn, as might be expected, is determined by good winter feeding of the ewes. Field evidence which is being accumulated goes to show that the position in pig raising is essentially similar; that success with litters and profits from the winter feeding, and that while other matters, such as good housing, may also be essential to success, due attention- to these latter matters does not bring success if the feeding is neglected. The farmer who already has not made provision for the adequate feeding of his stock cannot at this stage do much to remedy the position apart from resorting to purchase feed. But, nevertheless, some good will be achieved by directing attention to the value of good winter feeding at this stage, if it leads to the planting of better supplies of feed for the following winter—a matter .which now should be receiving attention. In the feeding of roots, carrots and mangolds should follow swedes in the order given; the mangolds may be kept longest because of their particularly good keeping qualities. Choumoellier usually is in good condition for feeding in July, when it generally should be used, for sometimes in August it tends to run to flower stalks. Used With Silage Roots and silage may be / classed generally as somewhat watery bulky feeds, and so it is better to feed roots and hay than rations of roots alone or of roots and silage. Silage alone has been used at times as a winter supplement to pastures with good results, and this even when very little feed was obtainable from the pastures, but the prolonged feeding of roots alone may lead to disorders such as red water. Whether better results are obtainable from silage by using it alone or in conjunctioni with hay in winter is a question about which the evidence available does not allow of a definite answer. Probably much depends upon the respective qualities of the hay and silage: however, certain farmers feed silage alone successfully, especially at abont calving time, and claim that they have less calving trpuble than if they had substituted hay for the silage. Similarly silage has been fed successfully to ewes right up to lambing time. A typical satisfactory full-maintenance daily ration for a dry in-calf dairy cow is approximately 401 b mangolds together with 121 b of average hay. When it is remembered that the nutritive equipment of this ration is 501 b of ordinary grass silage, the cause of the tendency towards under-feeding of silage becomes obvious. Cereals sown in the autumn should be fed off before the growth becomes too long, in general two light feedings of short growth are more satisfactory and involve less waste than one feeding of heavy growth. Autumnsown green cereals have been used successfully at this stage for pig grazing when the amount of feed available for the pastures has been undesirably small.