The Colfax gazette. [volume] (Colfax, Wash.) 1893-1932, 1901-06-21
WHEY FOR CALVES,
Exactly What Can Be Done with
Good Results.

That good calves can be raised on
whey there Is no question, saws a cor
respondent Of Hoards Dairyman. OF
course nobody would want to feed
whey to a young calf the first few
weeks of its life. There IS no occasion
whatever 10 feed the dairy calf whole
milk for longer period than one week
Let the calf have the milk Of its dam
for the first week Of its existence.
1t is certainly not best to permit the
calf to suckle the COW. The ordinary
cow has probably twice as much milk
as the calf needs, and to permit the
+ calf to suckle at will and overgorge
itself will bring on disorders Of a
serious nature. Fifteen pounds a day
is fully enough milk for the calf in
the first week Of its existence. Very
much more than this works harm and
it is very poor cow indeed that doesn't
give double this amount in the first
week of lactation. Then If the calf is
allowed to suckle any part, at which
time will this be? Shall the calf suckle
first and then milk out the remainder.
or vice versa?
If the calf suckles first, 1t Is plain
that the remaining portion after the
calf is supposed to have got sufficient
will contain by far the greatest portion
Of the fat for the last quart or two con-
tains five or six times as much fat as
the remainder. Again If the COWS are
MIXED first and the calf allowed to
take the remainder, it is plain that the
calf has obtained the richest portion of
the milk.
The only logical way, then, is to milk
the COW at first and all the time and let
the calf drink the milk from the pail
For the first week the calf gets whole
milk right from the COW, and for no
longer, given in two feeds, seven to
nine pounds at feed, twice day. At
the end Of the first week we introduce
skimmilk, so that at the end of the sec
Ond week the calf is getting four quarts
Of whole milk and four quarts or less
Of skimmilk mixed, fed blood warm.
Now, at the end Of the second week
we introduce whey (the whey must In
every case be boiled, very gradually at
first, so that at the end of the third
week the calf is getting half whey and
half skim and whole milk, or, in other
words, one-fourth whole milk, one
fourth skim and One-half whey, mixed
and fed warm of course. No whole
milk is fed after the calf is 81 days old.
At the beginning Of the fourth week
the ration is half whey and half skim
milk, about nine pounds at a feed, fed
twice a day.
Gradually during the fourth week the
sk1mmilk is withheld, so that at the
end Of the fourth week the ration is
whey alone-that is to say, when the
calf Is % days old no milk Of any kind
is fed. Whey completely takes it's place.
The amount Of whey to be fed will
vary somewhat, but as a rule about ten
pounds at feed, twice a day, will be
ample at Is days old. The amount Of
whey can now be increased to Is
pounds at a feed when months old
and continued till the calf IS 5 or 6
months old. The whey must always be
first boiled as 1t comes from the factory
and fed at blood heat
OF course no calf is expected to sub
sist on whey alone no more than on
sktmmilk alone. He must be fed some
grain. At weeks of age a calf will
begin to eat meal, and a constant sup
ply should always be before him
Whether meal should be mixed with
the whey and skimmilk is an open
question. If the meal is first scalded
so as to break up the starch cells, it
may be mixed with either whey or
skimmilk, but dry meal should in no
case be ever mixed with whey or milk
to be fed to a young animal, let it be a
calf or pig.