The Stock-Feeder's Manual / the chemistry of food in relation to the breeding and feeding of live stock

by Sir Charles Alexander Cameron

1. A certain amount of warmth is an indispensable condition for the maintenance of the life of animals.

2. The internal heat of the bodies of animals is supplied by the chemical combination which takes place between the oxygen of the atmospheric air which they inspire and certain of the constituents (carbon and hydrogen) of the food which they consume, or, to speak more accurately, of the tissues of their bodies, which are formed out of their food. It is very much in the same way in which our houses are heated by the burning of coal, turf, or wood in their fire-places, since the heat derived in the latter case is obtained from a similar source as in the former one—namely, by the union of the oxygen of the air with the carbon and hydrogen of the fuel. The only real difference between the two kinds of combustion is, that in respiration the process is conducted with an extreme degree of slowness, whilst in the ordinary fire the combinations take place rapidly, and the heat being evolved in a much shorter time is proportionately the more intense.

3. The temperature of the external parts of the animal body varies with the nature and quantity of the food supplied to it, and also depends upon the state of the weather and the character of the protection afforded to it.

The colder the air, the greater will be the quantity of food required, and the more complete the shelter. In other words, a diminution of temperature, no matter how caused, will necessitate an increased amount of food and more perfect shelter, in order to maintain at the proper degree of heat the fluids of the body. It is only the external parts of the body that become cold: so long as the animal is in health its blood always maintains the same degree of temperature; but in cold weather the blood is subjected to a greater cooling power than it is in warm weather, and this cooling power it can only resist by taxing more extensively the heat-producing resources of the body.

4. Exposure to wet, even in warm weather, will tend to reduce the temperature of the body, since the conversion of water into vapor can only be effected at the expense of heat, which heat must be in great part extracted from the body of the animal itself.

5. No possible increase of food, however nutritious it may be, can suffice to keep up the due warmth and healthy condition of the animal frame in winter, if shelter from cold and rain be not simultaneously effected. On the contrary, an animal well protected from the winter blasts will require much less food than if it were placed in an exposed position. The reason of this is, that the amount of food which an animal exposed to great cold consumes to maintain the temperature of its body would, under opposite conditions, be stored up in the form of permanent "increase"—beef or mutton for the butcher, in fact.

The fat-forming constituents of the food of stock are in no case converted into permanent fat, except when they exceed in quantity the amount required to keep up the internal heat of the animal; but when this is constantly reduced by exposure to a wintry temperature, the food becomes insufficient for even that purpose, no matter how much aliment is given. What, then, must not be the condition of the unfortunate animals whose fate it is to be the property of a farmer who neither shelters them from the weather nor provides them with a sufficient quantity of nourishing food!

Milch Cows.—When dairy-farming is conducted on pure pastures, the cows are altogether dependent upon the grasses; and in winter, the animals suffer much from scarcity of food. This is the very worst system of cow-keeping, but it is prevalent amongst many small farmers in Ireland, and is to be met with even in England and Scotland. I am strongly of opinion that it would be far more economical to keep cows (and other cattle) altogether in the house, and feed them with cut grass, than to allow them to remain out altogether in the field. There are several disadvantages resulting from the depasturing of cows. In the warm weather, the animals are greatly annoyed by the attacks of flies: there is a considerable waste of muscle, caused by the movements of the animals whilst in search of their food; and the excrements of the animals and their footmarks injure a large portion of the grass. It may be somewhat troublesome and expensive to cut the grass, and convey it from the field to the house; but the labor and the cost will be more than repaid by the greatly-increased yield of food. A grass-field, mowed, will produce from 20 to 30 per cent. more food than it would if it were trampled upon and soiled by cattle. Exercise for an hour or two in the cool of the evening, or early in the morning (during the hot weather), will be quite sufficient to keep the animals in health. This may be taken in a field, better in a paddock, best of all in a roomy yard. When cattle are supplied with cut grass, or clover, care should be taken not to give it to them when very wet, for otherwise there is danger of the excessively moist herbage producing the hoove. Neither should large quantities of the green food be given to them—the supply should be "little and often." Should the food be too succulent, the addition of a little straw will correct its laxative effects. When the stock is about passing from the winter keep to summer food, the transition should be gradual; a well-made compound of straw or hay with grass (natural or artificial) is much relished by cows. A supply of good water is absolutely necessary; but sufficient attention to this important point is seldom given. Cooked food is well adapted for milch cows. Mangels, kohl-rabi, and cabbages are each of them better food than turnips, as the latter is apt to impart a disagreeable flavour to the butter. Three feeds in the day is a sufficient number for cows. The first meal should be early in the morning, and may consist of roots, mixed with straw or hay. Some feeders prefer using dry fodder, or cooked food of some kind, and not raw roots. The second meal is given at mid-day, and the third in the evening. The daily allowance of roots varies from 2 to 8 stones, depending upon the quantities of other foods used. Mr. Horsfall's diet is as follows:—Hay, 9 lbs.; rape-cake, 6 lbs.; malt-combs, 1 lb.; bran, 1 lb.; roots, 28 lbs. These substances are mixed and cooked, and the animals receive them in a warm state. In addition to this food, Mr. Horsfall's cows get bean-meal—a cow in full milk 2 lbs., others from ½ lb. to 1½ lbs.; cost per week per cow, 8s. 7d.^{[!--20--][20]} Mr. Alcock, of Skipton, feeds his cows as follows:—Raw mangels, 20 lbs.; carob beans, 3 lbs.; bran and malt-combs, 1¾ lbs.; bean-meal, 3½ lbs.; rape-cake, 3 lbs.; per diem. A steamed mixture of wheat and bean straws and shells of oats ad libitum. Oats, to the extent of 2 or 3 lbs. daily, are an excellent food for cows.

An important point in dairy economics is the feeding of the cows at regular intervals. If the usual time for the feed be allowed to pass, the animals are almost certain to become very uneasy—to worry; and every feeder knows, or ought to know, that a fretting beast will neither fatten nor yield milk satisfactorily. The cow-house ought to be kept as clean as possible; and the excreta, therefore, should be removed several times a day.