Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 132, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 June 1916 — CARE OF DAIRY CALVES [ARTICLE]

CARE OF DAIRY CALVES

The Production of a Profitable Cow Depends Largely Upon the Methods of Handling tho Calf. Carerul attention on the part of a dairyman during the two week! that follow a calf’s birth'will often mean the ultimate addition to hia herd of • large, well developed milking cow, instead of sickly, undersized stunted animal. The probleqt of raising calves i today a more complicated one than when it was customary to feed a larger amount of whole milk. The dairyman will therefore find It to his advantage to take the best possible care of his calves from the very beginning. Immediately after birth the naval of the calf should be washed with an antiseptic solution and tied with a silk thread in order* to prevent Infection. For the first feed the calf should have the first milk from the cow after calving and should have its mother's milk for several feeds thereafter. The sooner the weaning takes place the better, but ordinarily it should not be postponed later than the fourth day. The sooner the calf is weaned the more easily it Is taught to drink. When first fed from the pail, 8 to 10 pounds of milk a day, fresh and warm from the coJr and divided into two feeds, are sufficient. The feeding times should be as nearly regular as possible, and at first it is advisable to feed more than twice a day. The amount fed be constant; and to insure this, scales should be used, as variation tends to get the digestive organs out of order. At all times the utmost care should be taken to prevent any digestive disorder, as all such trouble hinders the growth and development of the animal. Calf scours is the most common indication of this condition. The following named precautions to a great extent, tend to prevent

scours: Feed regularly. Be sure that the milk is always sweet and warm. In feeding use only clean pails. Feed the calf a little lesrf than It wants. ' Reduce the amount of milk onehalf if the animal becomes sick. The amount of milk fed can be gradually increased until at the end of the second week the calf receives from 14 to 16 pounds of milk a day. At tliia. time the gradual substitution of skim milk for whole milk may commence. Hay and grain should be placed before the calf at this period, and it will be found to nibble at them a little. At the end of the third week the substitution of the skim milk will be complete. By slow changes the milk can be Increased thereafter until 20 pounds a day are fed; this amount will be found sufficient when fed with the grain and hay. If skiin milk is plentiful more may be fed, but the added amount will not give proportionately better results. Corn meal, bran, and oil meal, mixed in the proportion of three, two, and one, make an excellent grain mixture. This grain when fed with plenty of fine clover hay makes an ideal supplement to skim milk in balancing the ration. Calves should be allowed all the grain that they will eat until they consume three pounds a day, from this point the feeder should use his judgment as to whether an increase is justified. The calf, from the time it is two weeks of age, should always have access to plenty of clean, pure water. The general practice is to feed calves skim milk for from two to six months. In the latter case, with fall calves the time of final weaning from milk cbmes in the spring when pastures are ready. * Under this system the calves usually make excellent growth during the entire period without any break in gains.