CALVING.
I generally manage to have the cow come in about the first of September; by that means the six weeks time she is allowed to go dry, occurs during the warmest portion of the summer, viz., in July and August, when, with the facilities the person who keeps but one cow possesses, it is difficult to make good butter. This is also the season when butter most generally sells the lowest.
The calf is taught to drink after it is a week or ten days old, and fed on a porridge made from skim-milk and wheat middlings, or shorts; by the time it is six weeks or two months old it will be well fattened, and can be sold to the butcher for veal, at a good price, for at that season of the year veal is scarce and in demand. The cow being in full flow of milk all winter, when butter is most always high, will pay a good profit for her feed and care. A couple of weeks prior to the time the calf should be born, I make a box stall on the barn floor, and permit the cow to run loose in it until the calf is taken away to learn to drink. During this time she should have a good bed of leaves, and the stall be cleaned each night and morning. So far at such times I have experienced no difficulty, or trouble; should any occur, it is better to apply to an experienced person, than to try and “doctor” her yourself. After the calf is born, I feed the cow on warm slops a day or two, permitting the calf to suck until the swelling has gone from her bag, and it has assumed its natural condition. Then, as before stated, teach it to drink, which can easily be done by inserting the finger in its mouth, and putting its head in the dish, cautiously withdrawing the finger a few times, and in a short time you will have no difficulty, as it will help itself.
In conclusion, I can say I have tried to state just how our cow is managed and kept. I presume there can be improvements made on our system. I shall be glad to take advantage of the experience of others, at any and all times. No record is kept of the milk obtained, or of the butter made. We know we always have plenty for the family’s use, and considerable to spare. Bread and milk furnish the children half their food a portion of the time. Pure milk and plenty of fresh fruits, in abundance, we consider afford one of the principal reasons why our family is so healthy, and we have so few doctor’s bills to pay.
From our acre and a half, all the food has been grown for both cow and horse, except the three dollars expended for straw. The “sugar meal” given the cow has not cost five dollars during the past year. It is safe to say, that one half, and probably more, of the clover, corn fodder, green rye, etc., has been fed to the horse. Consequently the keeping of the cow can all be credited to the small area of about three-fourths of an acre of land, in addition to an outlay of not exceeding seven dollars for meal, bran, and straw. This land, about one half of it, has also produced, in addition, full crops for the use of the family, or market, while the sour milk and buttermilk have largely assisted in making six hundred pounds of pork. The calf, at less than two months of age, was sold for eight dollars, which more than paid for the extra feed bought for the cow. The family which has never kept a cow can hardly realize the satisfaction and benefits derived from such a source. Children, whose appetites are often capricious, will almost always relish a cup of cool milk. Cream, for our coffee at breakfast, is much enjoyed by all, but realized by few, and what can be more delicious than a nice dish of strawberries smothered in rich yellow cream. When we consider the small expense, the little trouble and care, contrasted with the great benefits derived, it is, so to speak, surprising that any family should rest satisfied without possessing a cow.
Fig. 2.—THE AYRSHIRE COW “OLD CREAMER.”