Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1884-01-31
The Calves.

1t either pays to- raise calves. or else
our live stock business is not as pro-
ductive of the aggregate profits as we
are wont to claim. If calf can not
be raised at profit some claim
then somebody is losing. for some
body must raise the calves. That it is
profitable is well enough attested by
those who practice it. Men vino are
close fgurers in their business find the
raising of calves sufficiently profitable
to make it satisfactory. Where an OPP
posite opinion prevails there are two
reasons for it; either the milk is es-
teemed SO valuable-a part OF the too
common short-sighted policy which
looks wholly to immediate gains that
the owner of the cow can not even Us
much as permit the few days during
which it is absolutely unfit Tor human
food to pass without using it. or else
there is an utter neglect to consider the
value of the calf at all. The young
animal in either case is considered
rather burden than otherwise, and
one that is to be got rid of Just as soon
as the butcher will buy it. 1t may be
we'll questioned if it is an estab-
lished fact that the practice
of taking the calf from the COW.
even for the purpose of making but
ter and cheese, is profitable ut all. 1t is
certain that there is steady and re-
munerative demand for mich cows.
Nothing sells more readily than good
mich cow 1t would seem to be policy.
therefore, to raise them, and the safest
way to do so, is upon the mothers milk.
They may be raised by hand, and come
cut all right, but there are defined dan
gers to threaten success. Now one
good COW will suckle two calves, if she
has good pasture. and weaving the
calves at three or four months old, she
will not only likely make the raising of
The two calves perfectly successful, but
she will then have long time before
her during which her milk can he used
for other purposes. There is no ether
food than can perse city take the place
Of milk as food for the cali. 1t contains
Just what the system needs. Still we
do not suppose that anything we might
say would induce those who are in the
habit of substituting other foods for the
milk to change their practice; and we
do not wish to say anything to produce
such result. We have only called at
tention to the doubt that may reason
ably exist as to the profit of taking the
calf away from the cow. OF course we
recognize the fact that milk is the most
expensive food, and we are free to adj
NIT that our opinion is that it is more
profitable to raise the calf on arti-
ficial. food. Our pract ce is to let the
calf run with the COW for about ten
days, and then put it upon skinned
mill, which in short time may be fed
alternately with other suitable foods.
Crushed or ground oats are the best
food next to milk. and if. VIXEN feeding
the skinned milk. it be scalded. and
some oatmeal added, it will be excel
lent And if the calf is taken from the
COW at once give it a handful of salt
which acts as purgative to cleanse
the stomach, an office which the first
milk of the cow performs repeating
the administration of the salt for several
days; and prepare it's food by boiling
pint of fax-seed in five quarts of water,
weakening it with hay-tea until it is
pretty nearly as thin IS milk. Feed at
the temperature of milk when first
drawn from the udder. Indian meal,
barley. rye and oatmeal can be added
as the calves become older. In all arti-
fetal feeding the effect upon the bowels
must be carefully watched. and any bad
effects Immediately counteracted. 1t
should be allowed access to good, sweet.
short pasture as soon as it will eat it.
It is important that in hand-feeding it
should have something besides skim
milk. Such milk is not perfect, and
consequently it is not complete food;
and the calf should not be fed exclusive
~ upon milk even directly from the cow.
for milk alone does not properly distend
the stomach. Western Rural