Feeding and management of dairy cattle for official production

Introduction

FIRST-HAND information, the result of practical experience gathered on one of the most successful and best equipped dairy farms of this country — this is what the author here lays before the public.

Mr. Morris H. Roberts, Jr., is not a writer of books. He is a practical farmer, trained at the New Jersey State College of Agriculture, since the establishment, several years ago, of the present herd, he has been manager of the large estate of Brookwood Farms ( Barry ville, N. Y.), owned by Mr. William Ross Proctor. At the request of the publishers and in response to numerous inquiries from dairymen throughout the country he has taken the pen in hand in order to place at the disposal of the general public his valuable knowledge and experience in the breeding and rearing of the highest type of dairy cattle, and in the efficient management of a modern and a model dairy farm.

The Brookwood herd numbers over one hundred of the finest Jersey cattle, headed by the famous bull "Imported Golden Fern's Noble." The health of this herd — a matter of the highest importance alike to the producer and to the consumer — is attested by the excellent record both of calves and of vi ' Introduction

cows. The number of deaths among normally born calves has averaged less than one a year. Among the cows colds have been unknown and certain digestive troubles almost completely eliminated since the present method of giving them outdoor exercise throughout the year was adopted. There has never been a positive reaction for tuberculosis in the herd, which is on the Government Accredited Herd list.

Such successes are not gained by haphazard. They are the result of careful and systematic attention to detail in selection of stock, in breeding, feeding and management.

In order that the reader may judge for himself of the value of the methods developed and practised at Brookwood Farms on Mr. Proctor's estate, which will be set forth in the pages to follow, a brief survey of some of the mest significant records obtained will now be given.

The true measure of the standard of attainment of a herd is not to be seen in occasional extraordinary records of a few individuals, but rather in the general average maintained by the herd as a whole. At Brookwood, taking an average of the test herd the year round, each cow produces her own weight in milk every month.

The average production per head for the 26 cows that completed official tests during the year ending June 1, 1919, was 11,259 pounds of milk containing 619 pounds of butter fat or 728 pounds of 85 per cent butter, as follows:

Introduction vii

Cow Age

yrs. mos. Milk

Beechland's Champion Lily 291462 11 9 14,355.6

• Oxford's Wexford Spot 289464 6 8 14, 140 .

• Golden Fern's Benedictine 355742 5 13,050 .0

Dorothy's Noble Fern 353250 6 6 11,066.4

Plymouth's Financial Lassie 416895 7 9 13,390.8

Campanile's Golden Maid 349938 8 2 11,436.8

Golden Champion Brown Maid 378906.. 10 1 11,611.1

Dorothy's Oxford Pearl 371524 5 4 11,021 . 1

Warder's Fern Blossom 271118 5 9 10,723.5

Golden Fern's Claire 349944 5 10 9,516.9

Wexford's Gipsy Maid 370521 7 1 11,878 . 8

Agatha's Oxford Rosy 382636 5 2 10,166 . 9

Agatha's Maiden Fern 271121 5 7 8,256.6

Golden Fern's Carita 370664 2 2 5,075 . 3

If every one of the 23 million cows in the United States produced at this rate there would be available for every man, woman and child, over three quarts of milk per day. The amount actually obtained in 1909 was less than one twelfth of this. It is not merely that the average cow of our national herd fails to yield the profit attainable under the right conditions. One third of the dairy cows of the United States are actually kept at a loss amounting in the aggregate to 50 million dollars annually, according to an estimate made by Professor Fraser of the University of Illinois. The cost of these "boarders" is, of course, ultimately defrayed in part

? A. J. C. C. Gold Medal, 1918

Fat 85% butter

829.26

975.13

786.10

924.84

745.14

876.46

740.98

871.73

731.27

860.33

723.56

851.25

703.61

827.78

700.03

823.47

692.60

814.81

671.75

790.07

653.26

769.53

647.09

761.27

645.00

758.83

637.88

750.44

628.25

739.11

614.09

722.47

606.02

712.98

598.34

703.81

591.16

694.47

676.14

677.81

554.43

662.26

526.39

619.25

463.14

534.87

440.95

518.87

308.55

363.00 viii Introduction

out of the pockets of the consumers, in part the loss is borne by the producer. That these unproductive cows remain undiscovered and are thus allowed to continue to burden the herd, is of course a severe LQdictment of the methods or lack of methods of cost-accounting in the dairy industry, and shows more forcibly, perhaps, than any other circumstance, the need of radical reform.

Care and judgment in the selection of stock and breeding ; proper methods of feeding, calf raising and general management; these factors all contribute and are essential to success. This is very clearly shown by the Brookwood records for the last two years. In 1917, with 95 per cent of the cows newly imported, an average of 38 per cent of the test animals produced 50 pounds or more of butter fat per month. In 1918, after opportunity had been given for the imported cows to become acclimated, the average number on the 50-pound list had risen to 54 per cent, with a maximum of 73 per cent for the month of May.

Several cows that specially distinguished themselves had shown no indication of exceptional merit before coming to Brookwood. This is true, for example, of Beechlands Champion Lily, who in 365 days, beginning the test at 11 years, 6 months of age, produced 14,355.6 pounds of milk containing 829 pounds of butter fat, equivalent to 975 pounds of 85 per cent butter. This record makes her the highest testing Island cow beginning test at this age. The Gold Medal Cow, Oxford's Wexford Spot, who has to her credit a year's production of 14,140 pounds

Introduction ix

of milk, 786 pounds of butter fat, or 924 pounds of 85 per cent butter, also came to Brookwood without any established previous record. Her month's record now is 1,703 pounds of milk. In two years she dropped three calves, produced 24,206 pounds of milk and 1,311 pounds of butter-fat, the equivalent of 1,542 pounds of butter, in 665 milking days. The total absence of anything in the nature of forcing is firmly established by the fact that in the eleventh month of her test she produced more than in the first month.

Golden Fern's Benedictine in the month of March 1918 returned a profit of $50.58 above cost of feed. The average profit for the entire test herd that month was $21.42 per cow.

While the evidence presented points conclusively to the excellence of the general methods developed and practised at Brookwood, the farm is, of course, fortunate in the possession of the splendid herd sire Golden Fern's Noble, whose virtues are so well known as hardly to require mention. He has 50 tested daughters and 15 proven sons. Of the cows in the 50-pound list in October, 1918, over 15 per cent were descendants of his sire. Noble of Oaklands, and of these nearly 21 per cent were descended from Golden Fern's Noble himself. Of the 156 cows on the list that month eighteen or 11.5 per cent belonged to the Brookwood herd.

In the pages which follow the author has placed at the disposal of the reader his knowledge of the dairy industry, but it is not knowledge alone which is needed for success. As Mr. Roberts has pointed out

X Introduction

elsewhere, the requirements for a successful dairy farmer are, first and foremost, that he should be a lover of live stock and an honest business man. He must realize that dairying is a big business proposition, and that the secret of success in dairying is a well-developed systematic plan of organization, well carried out.

He must be a willing worker ; there are times when it is necessary to work day and night.

He must have the ability to plan and knowledge and experience of the many phases of farming. For he will need to take care not only of his live stock, but also of crops; he must know when and how to economise by employing home-grown feeds ; he must keep himself well posted on market conditions and be able to superintend the care and construction of buildings. He needs judgment in preparing and placing advertising matter.

Last, but not least, he must have in his mind a definite aim to build up a vigorous herd of good type, high producers, and economical producers.

To lay the foundation for success in this aim there must be a prearranged plan or system, based on such a scheme as the following:

Introduction

XI

AIM

FACTORS

Proper selection and breeding.

The development of a vigorous, economical < and high-producing tj'pe herd.

Proper development of the calf.

3. Proper feeding and management ment of the herd.

DETAILS

A breeding system worked out with due regard to production, prepotency and type, and based upon the record of the ancestors and the present production of the indi- ^ vidual.

The best methods of feeding, to keep the calf in vigorous condition, always growing, with no setbacks. Prevention of avoidable sickness and disorders, etc.

The selection of the best possible rations and methods of feeding. Systematic determination of the proper amounts of feed for the most economical production; management of men; attention to buildings, market conditions, costs, etc.

It is with such a scheme as this in mind that the study and the practise of dairy farming should be approached.

Contents

CHAPTER FAGB

Introduction v

I. Establishing and Developing a Pure

CHAPTER I Establishing and Developing a Pure-Bred Herd

IN THE business of dairy farming we may distinguish two types of establishment. There is first the farmer, whose main object is the profit derived from the sale of dairy products alone. Secondly we have the dairy farmers, or breeders, who are establishing or who have established a herd of registered cows, and whose main object is the improvement of the breed and the distribution of the surplus progeny, and with whom the sale of dairy products is secondary. The farmer who is in the second class is naturally doing more to increase production because he is improving his herd by selection and breeding and official testing. A farmer of the first of these two classes will as a rule try to select a bull whose dam was a good milker, and he uses this bull for the purpose of having his cows freshen at a time of the year when his trade demands the most milk. The male calves are usually sold for veal, and enough of the heifer calves raised to replenish the worn-out milking cows. If there happens to be a shortage of milk to feed the calves and the pastures are poor, he will dispose of all of his calves, and when necessary buy fresh cows.

a living or he would not couun...

reads agricultural literature, the vaiiie o. ..■ ,. v

sire, and that by using one on his herd he woui.,,

greatly increase the milk yield. The Iowa State

College found in crossing scrub cows with pure-bred

sires that an increase was obtained of 71 per cent in

milk and 42 per cent in fat.

_

X

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V

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N li^ h^

N

"n k -

S N k- i u"-Z

-- s

T 1

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T

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i J

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Chart illustrating how the 'progeny of two foundation cows can build up a herd of forty in six years time.

Three methods of establishing a herd are: (1.) The purchase outright of a herd consisting of mature animals; (2.) The purchase and development of a calf herd; (3.)The purchase of a few foundation cows and one bull and building up of a herd consisting of descendants of this foundation stock.

Usually a farmer's excuse for not attempting to develop a pure bred herd is that it costs too much to invest in that kind of stock, but if he could in-

Establishing a Pure-Bred Herd 5

crease his production 71 per cent by the use of a pure-bred bull, as the Iowa State College have done, and further increase his profits by keeping accurate records on each cow of the cost of feed consumed and milk produced, and determine whether the cow wiU produce enough milk to pay for an additional pound of grain consumed, he would undoubtedly succeed, providing that he had the necessary qualifications for a successful manager.

This chart illustrates how it is possible for two foundation cows and one bull to increase to a herd of 'in -i]''p-K^"''j -"i'hin a period of six years. This is the d be followed in the establishing

of a her-l under the third method noted above. It is the most economical and satisfactory method in that it requires the least outlay, and if the best foundation cows are selected a good herd can be developed within six years, paying for its development as they go. The likelihood of importing disease as compared v/hh that incurred when buying a number r f rows Js very smiU.

a herd it can also be used for improving a lieri. If a farmer has a grade herd, his aim should be to have eventually all pure-bred cows. lie should not attempt to make the change too suddenly, but to gradually work in to pure-breds by replacing two of his grade cows with two registered cows and one regi:-- tered bull, if he does not already possess one, and then follow the schedule as outlined on the chart. While it is possible for the original two foundation cows to multiply to forty, we should be entirely satisfied after allowing for losses and breeding troubles, to figure on from 25 to 30. It is to be assumed that the buU calves are sold, and registered heifers purchased from the proceeds.

Once the farmer has thus established a herd of high quality, he renders himself practically independent of external resources so far as breed is concerned. He may, of course with his increased profits, desire to purchase stiU better stock at higher prices ; although by continued attention to his own stock there is no reason why he should not improve it from within to the highest standard which his resources enable him to maintain. In the meantime his income will have been augmented not only by the increased productivity of his milch cows, but also by the sale of pure-bred calves at proportional prices.

Picture to yourself the result if every farmer were to do his part in raising the standard of milk production to what it should be. He could at least relieve us of the wholly unnecessary burden of that unproductive third of the country's herd. That would be his part in a national service, a part for which he would be very liberally paid by his increased profits.

The two foundation cows marked X are bred so that they wiU have a calf each year. In six years time they will have six calves each, marked 1. When the first calves are two years old they will each have a calf, marked 2. It will not be advisable to breed the original bull to his own daughters, but to use his own son, out of another cow. If any of the calves marked from 2 to 8 on top of the circles are

OSWALD'S PET AND FOUR OF HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS

NOBLE SULTAN'S GOLDEN FERN

Establishing a Pure-Bred Herd 7

bulls, they will be sold and the money used to purchase heifers, to replace them for breeding.

We have seen that the progeny of one cow may, not allowing for losses, reach in six years a total of twenty head; calculation shows that in twice that time, assuming one calf each year for every cow two years old or over, and not allowing for deaths, the number would swell to one hundred and eightyseven.

CHAPTER II Calves, from Birth until Two Years Old

THE ACCOMPANYING calf schedule {See page 24) should be hung in a convenient place in the calf barn, so that it can be studied and referred to by the man who is caring for the calves. It has been prepared as a guide and can be followed very closely, but a large share of the success in raising calves is due to the feeder, who by experience and good judgment knows when to feed more or less than is called for on the chart.

Just before the calf is born the cow should have a dose of epsom salts, about one pound in two quarts of water ; f is helps to cool the blood and acts as a laxative. /i.fler the first signs of calving, if yo j a:'e sure that all of the conditions are normal, it is best to leave the cow entirely alone in the maternity stall until immediately after calving, at which time the foetal membrane that covers the nose is removed so that the calf will not suffocate. If it is apparently strong and healthy it will require no further immediate attention. If the presentation is abnormal, the condition should be attended to at once by an experienced man. After the cow has licked her calf dry, she should be tied in one corner of the stall,

CALF ONE MONTH OLD

BULL CALF FOUR MONTHS OLD leaving the tie rope long enough for lie. t- She should be left there until she hso cir . jiacenia is, of course, removed from the staL.

Ihe calf should have the first or colostrum milk, which it will usually nurse naturally and without assistance. If the udder is exceptionally hard, or the calf nniisually weak, it ma/ be necessary to assist the calf to nurse, whi;/ ilking the

cow and feeding it to ^.u: _.,.; ji.x j bottle and nipple, or by holding the calf up to the udder and allowing it to nurse itself. Under no condition is the calf permitted to remain with the dam longer than 24 hours. There are no material advantages to be gained by allowing the calf to remain longer than this. On the contrary, the calf is very apt to suffer if it stays longer than this with the mother, as it is liable to drink too often or to take too much milk at one time. In the case of channel island breeds, the milk may be too rich and cause scours. Moreover if the calf is left with the dam for several days or weeks, there will be a setback or loss of flesh when it is weaned, which is contrary to our aim to keep the calf growing without any setback. When weaned within twenty-four hours, the calves learn to drink from the pail at the first or second feeding, and the change does not affect them in any way. Another reason for immediate weaning is that the whole milk available for sale is correspondingly increased, an item worth considering. Then again cows that are placed on official test are usually started the fourth day after calving, and if there is not a long enough interval between weaning time and the start of the test, a cow will hold her milk back for the calf.

If the dam is in good condition the calf is fed mother's milk for the first ten days. It is allowed to nurse twenty-four hours only, and for the following nine days the dam is milked by hand and the milk modified as follows: two pounds of the dam's milk and one half pound of skim milk, fed three times a day. It is very important that the temperature be about 100 degrees. If the milk has stood and cooled, it will be necessary to heat it again, either over a stove or by allowing live steam to run through it.

In some instances we may have to wean the calf immediately or very soon after birth. It sometimes happens that heifer with her first calf refuses to let it nurse and she may even severely injure it by kicking; or the dam may have an attack of milk fever and be unable to nurse. Under such conditions the calf is immediately removed and placed in a separate stall. If it has not had any of the colostrum milk, give it a dose of castor oil (1 to 2 ounces in a little milk, and repeat again later if necessary) . This will have the same effect as the colostrum milk in cleaning out the calf and leaving its digestive system in a better condition to digest the herd milk which we have been forced to use. The results from this substitution will, however, be just as satisfactory as though the dam's milk had been used, provided the bowels are kept in a. normal condition. In this emergency start feeding according to the schedule for the first ten days on the chart.

As a preventive of white scours or other infectious diseases that may enter the system through the navel of the calf, it should be painted with iodine as soon as possible after birth, and this operation should be repeated before weaning.

While the calf is still with its dam, it should be identified, so that there will be no possibility of its

Brookwood Farms Herd BIRTH RECORD

Marks '■<^^^^'^ TJ^f-y'cJLc^a-J^. KxIl^ a^u^^/^-ty

Tbb stip to be sent to FUm Officeimmediately after caU is dropped.

getting confused with other calves of the same size and description. A very simple and successful method is to have a collar or light chain securely strapped around the neck and locked with a small padlock, which is stamped with the identification number of the calf. This lock can be used permanently. When the horns are large enough to support a chain, the collar is removed and a chain is locked around the horns. After the calf is three or four days old the same number that has been given as a lock or herd identification number should be tattooed in the ear as a fixed identification mark.

The birth record card is then filled out for future reference in applying for birth certificate, identification, etc.

The calf should now be placed in. a separate box stall with solid partitions, so that it cannot come in contact with other calves, and it should remain so isolated for at least the first six weeks. This is to prevent the spreading of any infectious disease that might develop in one of the calves.

After the tenth day replace the dam's milk with the regular herd milk and gradually increase the amount until at the end of the fifteenth day the mixture consists of 3^ pounds of whole milk and ^ pound of skim milk. At this time we can start feeding twice a day. The amount can be continued unchanged until skim milk is substituted, at the age of from four to six weeks, according to the progress and condition of the calf. The change from whole to skim milk is to be made gradually, over a period of at least one week, lessening the amount of whole milk at each meal and adding skim milk. During this time the calf will begin to eat hay and some grain.

The skim milk is increased according to the chart until the calf is six months old, at which time it receives 9 pounds to a feed, or 18 pounds daily. The following standard grain ration is used; Parts by weight, of

BULL CALF 12 MONTHS OLD

Calves from Birtli until Two Years 13

Corn Meal 3

Ground Oats 3

OilMeal 1

All grain is fed in small wooden boxes measuring 12 by 12 by 6 inches, which are placed on shelves or racks in the box stalls so that they will be off the floor and easy to remove for cleaning. This cleaning and sterilizing should be done daUy. A small amount of the grain ration should be placed in the boxes after each milk feeding. Never give them more than they will clean up between the milk feedings. For instance, if we give three-quarters of a pound of grain for the morning feed, and at noon notice that there is some grain left in the box, we would cut the next feeding down to one half pound. As a rule the young calf wiU not overeat grain, but it should be watched closely and fed accordingly. When we first teach the calf to eat grain it will eat about ^ of a pound a day; it will gradually take more until at the end of six months it receives not over two and one half or three pounds daily.

One of the most important things to watch in the young calf is the condition of the bowels, and to treat it promptly in the first stages of trouble. At the first sign of scouring, cut down on the feed supply, in particular cut the amount of milk in half. If the attack is sudden and violent take all of the milk away for at least two feeds and give a dose of castor oil, one to three ounces in a pint of milk (according to size of calf) ; and as the calf shows signs of recovery increase the feed very slowly.

Constipation is sometimes as serious as scours and should be treated just as promptly by giving castor oil; in some cases an enema of soapy water, with a little salt added, may be necessary.

An ailment that is very often fatal with calves, is a form of indigestion due to curdled milk or casein in the calf's stomach. The lump of undigested milk finally becomes so hard and tough that it cannot pass into the bowels. In advanced stages this disease seems to affect the brain, and the calf dies as though in a fit. A preventive of this trouble is to give a pinch of baking soda in each feeding of milk. The first symptoms may be hard to distinguish from those of other forms of indigestion ; but usually the action on the brain sets in very soon, and the calf appears dizzy, throwing its head back and to one side and finally it falls over as though in a fit. The first treatment upon noticeable signs of dizziness is to give the calf one teaspoonful of bromides in a teaspoonful of water (equal parts of the bromides of Ammonium, Strontium, Sodium, Potassium). The dose should be repeated two or three times if necessary. If the calf is unconscious get a veterinarian as soon as possible and have him inject hypodermically 1/20 grain of Lobeline Sulphate, and repeat this treatment in one hour if necessary. After recovery do not give any feed for at least 24 hours, and in no case should feeding be commenced until you are satisfied as to the state of the bowels. For three or four weeks fed equaf parts of whole milk and water (as it was the casein in the milk that Lad formed the curds). It is also well to feed one part

CALF BARN

HORN TRAINERS of lime water, to seven or eight parts of the whole milk and water, and for the first few days give also one teaspoonful of essence of pepsin in the milk at each feeding.

In addition to the above, the foUowiag is a list of common ailments with their remedies. The latter should be kept on hand in a medicine closet hung up in a convenient place in the calf barns, to be used for mild cases, and also for emergency cases when the veterinarian cannot be secured at once.

Bloat. } teaspoonful formaldehyde in one cup of milk. Follow

shortly with | teaspoonful of baking soda in warm water. Cold or Pneumonia. 4 tablespoons whiskey, 1 tablespoon sweet

spirits of nitre.

Cold and Fever Above 102.5. One five-grain Aspirin tablet twice a

day.

High Temperature, 1 teaspoonful of epsom salts in four ounces

of warm water, 3 times a day.

Eczema, Loss of hair, Scabs. 1 tablespoonful of sulphur to four

of lard; rub externally.

Fits, Convulsions. See description above for treatment of curd in

stomach.

Scours and Bloody Discharge. § teaspoonful of Salol, | teaspoonful

of Subnitrate of Bismuth in milk. Sour Stomach. 2 teaspoons of milk of magnesia in two pounds of

milk, or 1 part of lime water to seven parts of milk. Sore Eyes. Wash with Boric Acid solution (1 ounce to 1 quart of

boiling water; apply when cold).

Toxic condition of the Bowels. Saline injection (2 teaspoons of salt

in 2 quarts of warm water), also give f teaspoon Creolin Parson

in 1 cup of milk.

Vomiting. 2 teaspoons of essence of pepsin in milk 3 times a day.

If the calf does not clean up with relish the scheduled amount of milk, reduce the amount to one half at the next feeding, and gradually increase the amount as the appetite returns.

The chief difficulty that feeders are likely to have with calves is indigestion, and in raising calves, as in other matters, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and especially in the matter of feeding and attention to sanitary conditions is this the rule. The preventive measures in feeding are, first: do not over-feed ; second : do not feed too rich milk. Most calf men who have had good results in raising calves will attribute a large share of their success to their attention to these two factors. Aim to keep the young calf growing and in a vigorous, thrifty, but lean condition. During the first six months our object is to build bone and muscle for a good frame, and to develop the barrel for large capacity give plenty of good hay. We can add 100 pounds to the body weight after we get the foundation built. It is almost impossible to tell whether a calf is being over-fed or under-fed unless the quantity of feed is either weighed or measured. If not controlled, a calf will drink two or three times the quantity that is good for it, with disastrous results eventually.