Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1915-11-26
Raising Heifer Calves On The
Dairy Farm.

their herds year after year by purchasing
cows, but the rule now is to raise the
heifer calves, especially those bred from
record cows. 1t is great mistake to rely
upon purchased cows. for really good cows
are rarely ever for SALE Besides, it is
practically impossible to keep the herd
free from tuberculosis and contagious abor-
ton where cows come from distance.
Dairymen in the past used the argu-
ment for not raising their heifer cows, that
they thought they could not afford enough
milk to properly start the calf The de-
partment of dairy husbandry has shown
that dairy calves can be raised success
fully on $50 pounds of whole milk and
400 pounds Of skim milk
But as it each year became harder to
obtain good cows, and as desirable cnes
have gone up considerably in price, dairy
men have come to the conclusion that it is
best to change their ideas and methods
on replenshing their herds.
1t is plain that somebody. somewhere,
must raise the dairy cows, and it is best
that that somebody be the dairyman, il
the calves are to be of high quality.
Dairy calves cannot be raised on the
range like feeder steers, horses and sheep,
because they must be raised from high
producing cows which must of necessity
be MIXED.
If breeding means anything anywhere,
it means that the quality of large produc-
ton is likely to be transmitted to the
daughters. This has been so thoroughly
established by thousands of tests that it
admits of no argument. There is no ami
NAL from which such an absolute and
complete record of performances can be
secured as from the dairy COW. Shall the
value of these records to her progeny be
thrown away by not saving the good heifer
calves?
Nobody else has so many natural adj
vantages as the dairyman for raising good
heifers, and nobody else has the dairy
mans interest in. or is likely to succeed
so well at it. That it is not more generally
done is one of the vital defects in our
dairying, and one largely responsible for the
poor or very ordinary results too frequently
obtained on our dairy farms.
Another great advantage in raising the
heifers is that the owner may feed his calves
in the correct manner to develop them to
their greatest capacity. Cows that have
been properly raised are much more eff
cient, and therefore worth more than if
they had not been so raised.
One reason why we have so many poor
cows is because of poorly-raised calves.
A wel-bred COW is largely made or un-
made the first IS months of her life Many
good dairymen, with fine herds of cows,
have little knowledge of proper calf-raising.
Thin and scrawny calves stunted for life
are frequently seen in the dairy region,
and tell too plainly the truth of this state
ment. There is little poor calf-raising in
Denmark and Holland. and this is one rea-
son they have such excellent cows in those
countries.
The proper feeding and management of
calves is just as important as the proper
care of cows. The difficulty is dairymen
think they are engaged in milk production
alone. and many of them are too short
sighted to see the necessity of acquiring
the art of calf-raisine.
So much depends upon personal judy
ment in feeding calves to raise them sue
cessfully that it is difficult to lay down any
fixed rule. Special care should be taken
not to let the digestive organs become de-
ranged, for If this happens it is difficult
indeed to get the calf again into thrifty
condition. The chief difficulties in calf
raising are; Overlooking and irregularity
in time. in temperature. quantity and sweet
ness Of milk and in cleanliness of feeding
pals. The amount of milk should not be
guessed at. but always weighed for each
calf. One over or irregular feed may do
an immense amount of damage.
While there are many difficulties in the
way of feeding calves properly, three times
a day, this should be done until the calf
is two weeks old A small calf should be
fed at first not to exceed three pounds
and large calf four pounds of milk at
feeding time, three times day. Theoret-
ically, it is much better to feed three times
a day until the calf is two weeks old, but
there is so much difficulty in getting the
third feed pure. sweet and at the proper
temperature on many farms that it is
more practical to feed but twice per day,
unless the cows are MIXED three times
and the milk fed warm from the COW. The
best general rule as to quantity is to feed
one pound of milk for every ten pounds
live weight of the calf. Whole milk should
be fed for at least two weeks. If fresh
skim milk is available from the separator
on the farm. the whole milk may then be
gradually dropped off, about one pound
every two days, and the same amount of
skim milk added. This amount of milk
should be continued until the calf is about
three months old. By this time ii should
be eating hay and grain, and the milk
may be reduced rapidly until no more is
fed.
Calves should be kept growing continu-
ously and vigorously from birth. No grain
should be fed after the calf is six months
old If it can be kept in proper growing
condition without il. A large barrel and
digestive organs should be developed by
feeding good quality Of roughage when
not on pasture. After calves have reached
six months of age they can be grown bet
ter and cheaper on good pasture or corn
silaee and good alfalfa hay than on any
other feeds. and, as roughaee is cheaper
than concentrates. these are the feeds
from which we wish the mature animals
to have the ability to get more Of their
nutriment.
An important thing in raising calves is