The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-01-12
Developing Dairy Calves.

How shall we train and mature the
dairy calf, is question Of much inn
portance, end, in my opinion, one
which will TO great extent determine
the usefulness of the dairy herd. The
trotting bred colt is gradually educated
up to its work, and it has been well es
tablishtd that better results can be
reached by beginning that education at
very early age. The youngster
takes to his lessons from an natural in
stinct which is born and bred char
acteristic. The development of the
dairy calf presents similar lesson, and
she must be trained, not to col flict
with NATURES laws. but to that end for
which she was born and bred. She is
like the colt, in that by unfavorable
training she may never reach her best,
yet that function endowed by nature,
must crop out in some form, showing
her willingness and ability to respond,
perhaps propol tona ely to her educa-
ton, to her true nature. How this edu-
cation should be conducted, is a ques.
ton upon which we are not iDfalllble,
and can only give a method which
has brought to me very satisfactory and
flattering results. NV practice is to al
low the calf to remain with the dam
only about six hours. This for the
reason that the early removal excites
less anxiety of the mother, and think
the calf takes more rea lily to drinking
milk from the pail. l have roomy box
stalls for my calves and unless crowded
for room each one has seperate stall.
Here the education begins. feed lib
erally of whole milk for the first Six
wet ks, after which the younester is
gradually weaned onto sweet skinned
milk, warm as it leaves the separator.
AT this time | think it is nece ssary to
add some substitute for the butter fat
not found in the SKINNED milk, and for
this purpose use old process oil meal,
scalded to jelly, and mixed with milk.
There is soon developed an appetite
for grain, and while they will consume
at first very small quantity, it must
be remembered that this small amount
does the calf just as nuch good as
proportionately large amount does
ma ured animal. l aim to feed all they
will eat of ground oats and wheat bran,
mixed equal parts by measure. They
also have access to good hay, clover
preferred, and a small amount of corn
fer skinned milk, oil meal and this
grain ration, because they are bone aud
muscle making foods and l consider
whole milk, containing butter fat worth
twenty cents pound, an extravagaut
food, when we can do the work effect
ually with oil meal worth only one cent
per pound. Bone and muscle and ear
ly maturity are what l seek to develop
in the dairy calf, and with the foods
mentioned push them, realizing that
there is no time in any animals life
when the food cost of 100 lbs. live
weight can be produced 80 economical
ly as when they are young.
But growth is not all to be consid-
cred, and another point of no less i'm
pOrtance 10 health and constitutional
vigor, which is promoted by good sani-
Ia y treatment, free from exposure,
clear Illness of pens, plenty of fresh air,
sunlight, exercise, occasional groom
ing and kind treatment. My fall calves
are kept in their pens until the warm,
sunny days of early spring when they
are daily given frolic in the yards.
In June they are turned into small
pasture, but are stabbed nights and in
clement days, and are fed throughout
the summer. Spring calves are stabbed
during the summer, but are given open
air exercise. In the winter they are
given an hours airing every day, which
develops fondness to be with the
herd, 30 when turned out in the spring,
they have learned to rustic among the
older ones, take readily 10 eating grass,
and soon grow independent of stable
feed. Those twelve months Of age
think thrive and find sufficient nourish-
ment upon good pasture and should be
fed milk until alb, ut this age. / desire
calf to always be in good thriving
condition, but do not encourage any
disposition to taking on flesh, for il
beefy, she is out of her place, and we
are developing a fictitious nature for
which she was not created. l believe
there is to-day an existing evil in the
American show yard, in judges giving
too much encouragement 10 beefy dairy
cattle. advocate good condition (not
beefy) and the feeding of bone and
muscle forming foods in such quaint
ties that her development may not be
checked, 80 when she takes her place
in the string of mixers she will shape
herself and respond with more certain
ty and more accurat,l y to the dairy
function and her true characteristic ma
t,,r