East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1914-06-19
) . o o o . . . . Q . o 4
BY H. L. BLANCHARD,

Assistant Superintendent, Washington
State Experiment Station.
rHE best bunch Of grade heifer fall
calves that the writer ever saw
were fed and cared for under the di-
rection of girl about Ia years Of age.
A part of the girls compensation was
TO be her choice of one Of the calves
at the age Of six months. One condi-
tion of the agreement was that there
should be no sickness among the calves
caused by mistakes in feeding or care.
The girl won and secured the calf, which
she sold fer $50.
These calves were never neglected,
and were kept under clean and sani-
tary conditions. They were fed reg.
ularly, especial care being taken not to
over feed, so they were kept thrifty, in
ereasing in weight every day. While
feeding, the calves were fastened in
calf stanchions, and ut the end Of six
months the girl knew just the amount
Of feed--milk, hay, grain, ETC., that
each one had eaten. The feed cost was
about $1,000 per calf and the labor
averaged about six minutes per day per
calf-lcss than 20 hours labor per calf
for the six months. All Of the feeds
were raised on the farm, excepting a
few pounds Of flaxseed meal, and sack
Of shorts that was fed while teaching
the calves to eat grain.
~
Only the well-born calves should be
raised for dairy purposes. Premature
births ought to be discarded. Such
calves very rarely develop into profit
able cows. They are usually lacking in
nerve force, vigor and stamina The
calf worth raising will have no less
than four teeth completely cut through
the gums 1T birth and should have four
teats Of reasonable size and placed
widely apart. 1t is desirable that the
heifer develop large and well shaped
ndder, which properly placed teats pro-
mise.
The calf intended for the dairy should
be well cared for and at no time ne
elected. II Il not much of trick to
raise q cs.lf that will develop into a
producer Of 1900 to 1000 pounds of
milk or $50 to 200 pounds of butter fat
per year, provided tho parent stock
were good cows.
Such low producers may result from
improper practices in feeding, thereby
causing digestive disorders, limiting the
calf's ration to skim milk alone after
tLs first week, feeding in dirty pals,
confining the calf to wet and un-
sanitary stall, and weaving the calf
from the skim milk and turning to
grass at about three months Of age, to
rustic very large part of iss living
until its first calf is born.
Succumbs to Neglect.
Yet many farmers persist in raising
their calv,s along the lines indicated
above, and at the same time know very
well that any other farm crop so ne
elected would not he worth harvesting.
The calf succumbs to neglect and mis-
takes just as surely and permar emily as
do the other crops Of the farm. With
the other crops, however, one can cor.
rect his mistake the following year and
thus considerably reduce his loss, but
with the calf years elapse before the
loss becomes evident, and many years
more will be needed to repair the dam
age done. 1t is therefore equally i'm
portant that the feeding and care Of
to calf from birth if not before birth,
be proper and right, as it is that the
breeding shall have been right. Those
cows that are making money for their
owners today were not greatly neglect
cd and allowed to shift for themselves
MS calves.
To be profitable to tho dairy farmer
the cow must produce from $500 to
5000 pounds Of milk that shall contain