The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1909-01-30

CALF LORE
How TO Rear Thrifty, Money Making
Animals.
BY 7. A. BORMAN. Kansas.

By T. A. BORMAN. Kansas.
While the young calf is confined to
box stall or pen and is drinking
skimmiIk daily do not forget to offer
him water. At a 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 Is
thin and he needs no water. but milk
does not take the place of water in his
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 of four or
five months is the parting of the ways
for the steer and heifer calf. If the
heifer is to be reared with the view to
making her a dairy COW of greater
value than her mother. then she must
be 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 a dairy herd. TO the unOb-
serving 1t would seem incredible that
d heifer calf could be ruined for future
usefulness in the dairy by the manner
! in which she is handled the first few
months of her life. We know that the
heifer calf can be ruined She can be
| stunted and made an animal of small
capacity. Her digestive apparatus can
be ruined, and she can be made a
| fnicky feeder, one Of those animals
not eating abundantly and never find
ing that which is good enough to eat
The heifer calf while feeding should
not be allowed to become fat. 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 oil
fat. she will have that tendency wher
she becomes a cow, Therefore she
should not be fed too much corn. She
should be fed the flesh forming foods
She should be fed large quantities q
the best roughage that her stomach
may distend, that she may handle largI
quantities of fat when required 10 d.
so, as she will be when she becomes
milk cow If there is IA surplus of skim
J milk on the farm the heifer can utiliz
this to exceptionally good advantage.
t have reared calves which had a drinl
0 of skimmilk twice per day from tn
day they were born and continuing III
: til they became mothers and were be
. ing MIXED. and | consider that sue
t skimmilk was never fed to create
o advantage. These calves were growth.
:, In the best of health and excelleT
feeders 1t is wonderful what pail {
" skimmilk night and morning will
for the COW which is producing milk.
e The Steer Calf.
IT In case of the steer calf, which w
become a feeder, while he should
growthy he should be kept reasonab
fat He is the calf which should ha7
IS the corn and should have the fatma
ing foods. He should be reared
II just the opposite direction as compa
J. ed with the heifer calf. 1t will n
hurt the steer calf even to have b
z. drink of skimmilk when he is six
e seven months old If there is surplu
j. but skimmilk cannot be utilized to
e good advantage as in the case of t