THE DAIRY HERD.

Waipa Post, Volume II, Issue 72, 22 December 1911, Page 4

THE DAIRY HERD.

PROCESS OF BUILDING UP. In building up a dairy herd the selection of a sire is the first consideration, says Mr A. Conlon, Government Dairy _ Instructor, writing in the Agricultural Gazette of Tasmania. The choice of breed will depend upon the particular fancy of the dairyman, as with any of the orthodox dairy breeds success is more likely to follow on the selection of one for which he has a partiality ; but environment must be studied with a view to choosing a breed suitable to the local conditions of country and methods of farming. When a particular line of dairying is followed, such as cheese-making or milk-selling, further consideration is necessary, as it is obvious that under such circumstances quantity of milk rather than high per centages of fat will be the object in view. Having chosen a breed — and by way of. illustration say the Ayrshire has been decided on —the dairyman should, if not already an expert, carefully study all available literature on the subject of Ayrshires with a view of acquiring a knowledge of the main points which go to form the ideal type of the breed. Conformity to type is iof the greatest importance where purebred animals are concerned, and obviously with respect to sires which are intended to be used for the purpose of grading up a herd of the type selected. Non-conformity to type suggests a want of purity in breeding, and, as a corollary, a lack of prepotency —'that hereditary power of transmitting his own characteristics to his progeny, which all well bred sires should possess. A careful study should next be made of the milking pedigree of the animal selected. Inquire closely into the performance of his dam as a deep and pei-sistent milker, ascertain from the records both the number of gallons and the average test of the milk required for the season. Follow this up by a scrutiny of what his sire's dam could clo, and should there be any difficulty in this (should no records be available) have no hesitation in passing on to the selection of another animal. The up-to-date breeder is keeping records; deal with him alone. By so doing you will be assisting the good work of preventing breeders focussing the show ring to the detriment of the milking qualifications of the animals bred. Conformation and ' milking pedigree being satisfactory, the animal should now be examined with a view to gauging his excellence or otherwise in those external points not generally included under the above terms.

The eyes should be wide set, bright, and prominent. The false, or rudimentary teats should be well developed in front of the scrotum; the skin yellow, soft and elastic, with no suspicion of harshness when handled. Finally, the animal should be constitutionally sound, especial care being taken to make certain that it is free from tuberculosis.

Having taken every possible precaution in the selection of the bull, and being quite satisfied with his purity of breed, ancestral records, conformity to type, and soundness of constitution, the dairyman will watch with anxiety the gradual development of the animal's female progeny until they mature and join the herd as milkers, as it is unfor tunately only too true that this is the period at' which he will be able for the first time to gauge the true value of the. animal selected. Notwithstanding' thatevery precaution may be taken, the final result is always something of a lottery, but the winningchances are greatly enhanced in the case of a purebred bull owing, to his greater prepotency; • that" qualification which* he has in'-' herited through a long line of ancestry. Erom what has been stated it is obvious that the age of the bull should be closely considered before finally deciding to purchase. Many dairymen deprecate the use of aged bulls, but many of the best of every breed have lived in full vigour until 10 or 12 years old. In purchasing an animal five years old or over the dairyman has the advantage of being able to view the bull's female progeny, and inquire into their milking qualifications ; whereas in the'case of a young animal being purchased his true value will only be known when his progeny, but should he prove to be a successful sire it is satisfactory to know that with due precautions used the owner can reckon on a good few years' service, and witlvthe full knowledge that the longer he is kept the better for the herd. It will be readily understood, from what has been said with respect to the prepotency of. purebred animals that with such :i sire and crossbred cows_ of good milking qualifications, it should be possible to attain the result looked for more quickly even than if the females were themselves pure bred, as under those circumstances-there might be a , strong prepotency in the females I which might act in the- Opposite [direction to that desired. The

absence of such characteristics in the females of crossbred origin must add to the certainty oi the desirable traits of the sire and his ancestry being reproduced in the progeny.