OCR Text |
Show SHIPPING STOCK IN ALL SEASONS Make Careful Inspection of Car and Remove Refuse. Before loading a car for shipment Df live stock, it should be thoroughly cleaned of all manure and refuse. The car should also be carefully inspected I to eliminate all defects such as holes j In the floor, projecting nails, etc. In winter it should be well bedded with straw and if the weather is extreme- ' ly cold, the north side should he cov- pred with building paper. Covering ' all sides Is not advisable, however, because It may smother the stock. In summer the car should be bedded with sand rather than straw and thoroughly thorough-ly wet down for cattle and hogs hut need not be wet down for sheep. For hogs in hot weather it is a good plan to suspend 50-pound cakes of ice in sacks at intervals of about four feet along the center line of the car. The motion of the car sprays the hogs with ! cold water. Handle the stock carefully care-fully and do not get them overheated, j Load uniform grades If possible. The following details should be observed ob-served for the different classes of live stock : Cattle. Keep grain-fed cattle on their accustomed ration up to loading time as nearly as possible. Take grass- j fed cattle off pasture for a few days. Reduce silage if a heavy silage ration Is being fed. Feed timothy hay or wild hay in addition to other roughage rough-age as much as they will clean up. If near market keep them off water for 9 to 12 hours before loading. If not, allow it up to finish. Use a slapjack made of canvas or leather instead of a club or prod for handling cattle. Ship cattle that have been fed together togeth-er rather than mix them from different differ-ent feed lots. Pen off cripples and tie bulls securely when shipped with Dther cattle. Hogs. Reduce the last regular feed before shipping and hogs that are fed on slop rations might be benefited by changing the last feed to middlings and ground oats. The hogs should be rested after the last feed to prevent pre-vent indigestion. Use short, strong pig hurdles instead of clubs for moving mov-ing and separating hogs. It is a serious seri-ous mistake to feed hogs heavily before be-fore loading. Sheep. Reduce the grain ration about one-half on the day before shipping ship-ping and feed wild hay or timothy. Water right up to the time of shipment. ship-ment. Withholding water before shipping ship-ping in order to get a bigger fill on arrival at the market is not only cruel but usually reacts to the disadvantage of the shipper since it causes blue-ness blue-ness of the skin and may result in bloating and similar digestive troubles. trou-bles. Feeding salt before shipping is likely to cause similar disorders. |