Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1908-06-02
fNIg CALF LORE

Ry T. A. BoRMAN. Kansas.

BY T, A. RORMAN, kansaS>
While the young calf is confined to
box stall or pen and is drinking
skimmilk daily do not forget to offer
him water. At week old the calf will
drink literally of water. In fact. he
will drink more water than milk. Give
him a chance to drink water. he
needs it. You may think the milk 1s
thin and he needs no water. but milk,
does not take the place of water IN MS
requirements. We have seen calves
leave the milk pail for water. Nature
has so constituted the calf. You may
feed your hogs the wettest kind OF slop>
but YOU know they need water clean
and fresh to thrive. and the calf Is no
exception to the rule.
Parting Of the Ways.
In calf feeding at the end or -FOUR or
fye months is the parting of the ways
for the steer and heifer calf. II tue
heifer is to be reared with the view to-
making her a dairy COW of greater
| value than her mother. then she muse
| he fed for milk production. This Is an
important item If farmers are to pro"
duce their own cows. which Is the
cheapest and best way known to me
! for securing dairy herd. To the unoo~
j serving 1t would seem incredible tnat
a heifer calf could be ruined for future>
usefulness in the dairy by the manner
In which she is handled the first rev.
months of her life. We know that the
heifer calf can be ruined. She can nes
stunted and made an animal OF small
capacity. Her digestive apparatus canJ
ha rnined. and she can be made al
fnicky feeder, one of those animals
not eating abundantly and never nna"-
ing that which is good enough 70 eat.
The heifer calf while feeding shouiu
. not be allowed to become tat. she-
should be kept slick and glossy. full OF
vitality and muscular. :.
If you educate the heifer calf to put
her food on, her back In the shape OF
! fat she will have that tendency when
: she becomes a cow. Therefore she
E should not be fed too much corn. She
should be fed the flesh forming FOODS.
She should be fed large quantities OF
: the best rcughage that her stomach
NAV distend, that she may handle large
qua ntities of fat when required TO 90
+ so as she will be when she becomes
milk cow If there is surplus OF SKIM
milk on the farm the heifer can utilize
this to exceptionally good advantage. l
have reared calves which had drlnk
of skimmilk twice per day from the
g day they were born and continuing un
fill they became mothers and were De
le ing MIXED, and l consider that sucf
ID skimmilk was never fed to greate>
advantage. These calves were growthy
in the best of health and excellen
feeders. 1t is wonderful what pail O
skimmilk night and morning VIII u
for the COW which is producing milk
The Steer Calf.
In case of the steer calf, which wi
become a feeder, while he should b
growthy he should be kept reasonabi
fat. He is the calf which should haV
o. the corn and should have the fatmal
ing foods. He should be reared
ed lust the opposite direction as compa
rt- ed with the heifer calf 1t will N
,te hurt the steer calf even to have b
he drink of skmmilk when he is six
seven months old if there is surplu
nat but skimmilk cannot be utilized to
er- good advantage as in the case OF t!
leu heifer