Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 277, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 November 1911 — WEEDING THE DAIRY CALF [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WEEDING THE DAIRY CALF

By H. C. MUIS, Dairy Field Man.

PwJm fajMirfwißt State

Pmh* Agricdtaral Extettsio*

The importance of successfully rear-’’ Ing heifer calves on Indiana dairy farms increases each year. Owing to a constantly growing interest in milk production, it to becoming difficult to purchase good dairy cows. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that for the average dairyman, the best means es maintaining and improving the dairy herd is the use of a good dairy bull, and the raising of the best heifer calves selected from the most productive cows. The objection usually offered by the dairyman to this method to, that good calves cannot be raised by hand, and that whole milk to too valuable to allow them to be raised on the cow. • It to well to keep in mind that the treatment the calf receives must necessarily have an influence upon her future usefulness, but it has beea proven that good heifers may be reared without the use of whole milk. Where only butter and cream are sold from the dairy, the problem or rearing 'the calf Is Indeed a very simple one, because as good calves may be grown on skim milk as on whole milk. When we consider that only the fat has been removed from the milk in skimming and that it forms only a small per cent ot the food value of the milk, we can readily realize that this alone is not the cause of the poor results frequently obtained with handled calves. The following table shows the average composition of skim milk and whole milk. Whole » Skim Milk. Milk. Water . 87.10 80.60 Fat 8.90 .10 ProteMs 8.40 8.67 Sugar 4.75 4.96 Ash 75 .78 Poor results in calf raising come from improper methods in feeding, and may occur when feeding whole milk

r By halfflgo well as when teeing skim milk. The fat in the milk does not produce the growth in the young animal, but goes to maintain the heat in the body and to supply fat for body tissue. This fat can be more cheaply supplied In the form of corn meal or grain. ■. \ Taking Calf From the Mother. The best time to remove the young calf from the mother must necessarily depend upon the condition of the cow. If the udder is feverish and caked, it might prcive beneficial to allow the calf to remain with the mother three or four days. The sooner the calf to removed from the cow the less trouble will be in teaching it to drink. One point should be borne in mind, that the first milk or colostrum milk of the mother, and not the milk of some other cow should be fed to the calf because of its effect upon the digestive organs of the young animal, stimulating them into action. Changing From Whole Milk to Skim Milk. - The first two or three weeks ot the calf’s life it should receive whole milk. The ration may then be gradually changed by adding more skim milk each day until at the end of one week it is receiving all skim milk. Amount of Milk to Feed. The common mistake made, in rearing calves on skim milk, to that of feeding too much. When this to done, Indigestion results. Each calf should be fed in a separate vessel so it will get the same amount of milk each day. For the first two weeks the calf should receive from four to six quarts, depending upon the size of the calf, in two feeds per day, or better, three. As the -calf grows older, more milk may be fed, but at no time does it need more than eight to ten quarts per day.

Skim Milk Calves.