BRAN IN COW FEED

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17994, 12 April 1930, Page 22 (Supplement)

BRAN IN COW FEED

FOOD AND PHYSIC. 'To make a good bran rnasli for Cows add a tablespoonful of salt to the bran put into the pail, and pour over it as much hot water as it will absorb. Set it aside and cover the pail with a bag to keep in the vapor. When ready to feed, add cold water, < and stir the contents of the pail. It should be slightly warm when fed. If too cold, add a little hot water to take the chill off. For fattening cattle the bran may be fed dry, and mixed with other concentrated feeding stuffs; but for milch cows it is always best to give it in the form of a watery mash, because milk-produc-ing animals require to consume a large quantity of water. There is no surer way to make a cow dry off or reduce her flow of milk than to feed her on dry meals and fodders, notwithstanding the fact that she may have access to drinking water regularly or continuously. Certain kinds of dry meals are difficult of digestion; but when mixed with a good watery bran mash digestion becomes easy. Unlike dry meals, a bran mash has no tendency to lodge and form a caked mass within the cow’s stomach. In fact, a soft bran mash with a little linseed oil added is one of the best remedies for impaction, or gorged stomach, in cow or bullock, if given in time. Black treacle, say * to lib., in a soft bran mash, is a remedy for costiveness or stomach disorder. A little black treacle is generally beneficial, except for cows that are pregnant or in calf. [Nevertheless, Jib of treacle or half a bottle of linseed oil may be given in a soft bran mash just before calving.