The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1915-01-16

begin before it is born. Too many
dairymen practice very scant feeding
of pregnant dry cows, and as a result
weak, puny calves are dropped which
from birth are handicapped in their
development and are difficult to feed
and care for. 1t is false economy for
any dairyman to withhold feed from
COW under such circumstances, as this
is likely to affect unfavorably the fut-
ure welfare of the calf as well as later
milk production by the COW. While
the demands upon the cow at this time
are perhaps not quite so great as
when in full milk production, there is
nevertheless a severe strain upon her
and she should be fed literally so as
to be able to produce a strong, we'll
developed calf and so that she may be
in good condition to give large flow
of milk.
Teaching the Calf to Drink.
In nature the calf sucks the cow
until it can support itself. In modern
dairy farming, however, the value of
butterfat and whole milk forces the
dairyman to separate the calf from
the cow soon after birth. The milk
produced by the cow for the first few
days (colostrum) has properties which
put the calf's digestive system in good
working order. 1t is therefore neces-
say that the newly born calf have this
milk. 1t is a good practice to let the
calf suck the cow for about AZ hours
after birth, but if weak and poorly
developed it may be we'll to let it suck
for several days to gain strength.
The longer a calf remains with the
cow the harder it is to teach it to
drink, but it is usually a simple mat
ter to teach a good robust calf to
drink if taken when not more than 2
days old. Before this is attempted the
calf should be kept from the cow for
about II hours; it will then be very
hungry. About 2 quarts of its mo-
theirs milk, fresh and warm, should
be put into a clean pail and held IN
front of the calf, which will sometimes
put its nose into the pail and drink
without coaXing. In most cases, how
ever, it will be necessary to let the
calf suck the fingers and by this
means gradually draw its nose into
the milk. The fingers should be re-
moved carefully as soon as the calf
gets a taste of the milk. 1t will Of
tentimes take its nose out of the milk
in few seconds, and if so the opera
ton will have to be repeated Pat
fence is necessary. Usually after the
second or third fleeing the calf will
drink alone. Occasionally a calf is
stubborn and its nose has to be forced
into the pail; in such cases it should
be straddled and backed into corner.
The nose is then grasped with one
hand, two fingers being placed in the
mouth and the nose forced into the
milk, when the calf, by sucking the
fingers, will draw the milk up into its
mouth. The fingers should be grad
ually removed and this operation re-
peated until the calf will drink alone
Time of Feeding and Quantity of Milk
to be Fed.
When a calf is young it is best to
feed it three times a day, as nearly
eight hours apart as possible; but
many successful feeders feed only
twice a day. The calf must be fed
regularly and in equal quantities. 1t
Is impossible to give rule which will
apply to all cases, for some calves
have greater appetites than others,
= Wv iS'ptNI, anu llCl tIOl & SnOulu nave !
more milk. The working capacity Of
the stomach of a calf is small, and |
during the first few weeks more trou |
bles are caused by feeding too much |
milk than by feeding too little. AS a
rough guide to the inexperienced feed |
er the following is suggested:
First week.-Feed a 90 pound calf |
A quarts a day of its mothers milk,
warm from the COW.
Second week.-lf no digesti"e trou-
bles appear and the calf is thrifty, in
crease the feed to ) or 6 quarts If |
whole milk day. This does not need
OF be its mothers milk.
Third week.-Feed as for second |
week, except that l quart of skim milk
Is substituted for l quart of the whole d
milk.
Fourth week.-Same as third week Al
except that one-half of the milk ~
should be skim milk and one-half,t
whole milk. a.
When is calf is l month old it NAV
receive all skim milk provided it is,
thrifty. The amounts can be inn
creased gradually until it is 9 months Ell
of age when it should be taking 8 TO
10 quarts a day. :,
The foregoing rule for feeding APP
plies only to a calf weighing aboutlo
60 pounds at birth. 1t may be varied IT.
according to weight and the vigor of IL
the calf. Experience will soon teachL
the feeder how to vary the amounts. "
Larger calves will need a little more "a
milk. When skim milk is used instead ii
of whole milk some feeders attempt
to feed more of it because they think,
that the extra amount given will com i'