Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-08-18
Rearing Of Calves.

Calves are the seed of the dairy. No
one can have good stock. or improve
what he may have, unless he gives his
best care and attention to rearing his
calves. A calf is made or spoiled in
the rearing, and it matters less what the
parentage is than what the rearing and
training may be. There is no difficulty
whatever in the rearing of calves in
dairies, where the skinned milk may
be used as food for them. In butter
diaries it is an absolute necessity to rear
the calves, because good cows cannot
be purchased at any reasonable price or
for less than a large advance upon their
actual cost. The skill and care expended
in rearing calves to good COWS must be
paid for, as all skilled laboris, at high
price. But the dairyman can easily
rear a young animal to a productive con-
dltlon at two years of age, in the best
manner, for no more that S25 or $3.50.
Skinned milk is a sufficient food for
calves. During the first four or five
days they may have the milk fresh from
the dam, but after that skinned milk,
may be substituted gradually, until in q
week none but skinned milk is used.
1t is necessary, however, that the milk
be fed warm, and this is a specially in
d%ispensable point. Cold milk must be
warmed in the stomach, and the alb
straction of SO much heat from this
organ necessarily weakens digestive ac-
ton as well as wastes the food.
The milk should be warmed to 900
for the first two months. The food
should be given no more copiously than
can be digested. Three quarts ut a
meal is ample for the first feeding, and
two meals a day are sufficient. Fat is,
not required to any large extent bya
calf that is to be reared for the dairy,
and whatever fat is needed to fill out
healthful tissue will be easily furnished
by n or two per cent of it left in the
skinned milk, OF by the heterogeneous
matter of the milk. Six quarts
a day is equal to thirteen pounds;
which will furnish sufficient nourish-.
ment for a growth of one and a quarter
pounds of live weight daily. It will not
do to suppose that if ten pounds of milk
produce one pound of live weight,
twenty pounds will produce twice asl
much. We cannot figure in that wayl
In feeding animals of any kind. Over:
feeding produces indigestion, loads up
the system with injurious matter, retards;
growth or stops it altogether. OF. even,
reduces the weight previously gained.
Indigestion naturally results in diar-.
rhea, a frequent and troublesome dis,
n But it is easily escaped by avoid
ing the cause of it, which is generally
overlooking.
when this word is used it is meant in it's
| n,ocf avoo+ OVID Srl1o,a !, 500 ~, ,,ao.o.J.,
quantity, quality. condition OF food and
time Of feeding. Regularity, in fact, is
the most Indispensable element of sue
cess in the dairy, and it should be as
complete and perfect in every way as.
the motions of nature. 1t is one Of the
first of natural laws, andthe greatest adj,
vantage we can gain over nature in the
domestication of our animals is in,
avoiding those Irregularities which in al
wild condition are caused by accidents
of weather and season. Its practice in;
the dairy insures health and thrift in
the animals, especially in the young
growing ones.
Cleanliness is also indispensable, for.
the food must be clean and sweet to-
avoid disturbance of the digestion and;
nutrition. Fortunately, in the modern
improved dairy appliances we have per-
feet means OF securing purity andsweet-
ness in the skinned milk, and this is as
necessary for the rearing Of young calves!
as for the manufacture of choice butter.
Warm, and comfortable lodgings, too,
are closely allied to feeding; indeed,
they are indirectly q part of the feeding,
for if to maintain the animal best under
exposure to cold, which wastes it, we.
are compelled to increase the food, we:
overtax the weak digestive powers of
the young calf, and at once produce.
disorder and disease. Exposure to cold
will, of itself, produce diarrhea, which!
is perhaps the only ailment in calves
that we need to guard against.
After a calf is one month old the feed
may be gradually increased week by,
week up to four quarts at a meal, and;
at two months old u little mixed ground
oats and corn may be given in the hand
until the calf will take an ounce or so
daily from a feed-box. 1t will then be-
gin to pick some fine hay or clover Gf
it is a Winter calf) or eat grass in the!
Spring or Summer. For the latter it is,
best to furnish q handful of cut grass or,
clover, rather than to turn the calf into
the field until it is four months old. In
the gradual increase of food the
first sign of excess is the appearance of.
diarrhea, which is easily stopped by the
immediate reduction Of the food and
the substitution of a quart of milk
fresh from the COW given twice a day.
In treating diarrhea a%strirgent drugs
only make matters worse. A warm,
demulcent drink is the best medicine,
and well boiled oatmeal cruel. with In
equal part Of sweetened gum water (gum
arabic dissolved in water,) giveni in very
small-half -pint-does will usually re-.
store the calf at once. The best medi-
cine, when this is found necessary, is cas-
tor oil in dose of one ounce, repeated, if
needed, in doses reduced one-half each
time, until only u t~easpoonful is given
twice a day. This will cure the worst
cases of diarrhea. II a stimulent is de-
sired, a few drops Of tincture Of ginger
and as much infusion Of Peruvian bark
in sweetened water-one-half pint-will.
be found useful. As a rule the n%ecessi-
ty for medicine indicates neglect or mis-
take in fine faadinr or 1Oonaropoapt onI.