Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1916-05-09
The LittIe can and Its care.

The Little Calf and Its Care.
The very best and most valuable dairy
animal living and performing to-day was
once calf. just tiny, little calf. It
butted the pail when learning to drink.
It spattered milk upon the clothing of
the one who patiently or impatiently
tried to teach 1t to draw substance from
bucket instead of the warm udder OF
it's dam. 1t bawled Justify. when hun
CRY: ,. 49,
being born every month of the year.
Some are we'll cared for, provided with
all the comforts necessary to healthy
calfhood, others are neglected shameful
~, subjected to abuse and half starved.
Is 1t any wonder that there 10 such .
wide difference In them when they grow
to maturity?
Visiting farm of any kind reveals
certain conditions good, bad and indif-
ferent. But visiting dairy farms GER
tainly gives one an insight into things
not always agreeable to remember. One
of our agricultural papers recently pub.
lished the picture of an old.type dairy
barn, with its windowless walls, untidy
surroundings, and tumbledown appear
ance generally. 1t was labelled, "A
rapidly disappearing type of barn."
Contrasting with this was another pic
ture of modern dairy barn with It's
many windows, Its convenient silos, and
neatly painted walls. These two repre-
sent truly the passing from the old to
the new In dairy equipment. And It Is
encouraging to note that In the modern
barn the little calf is provided for In al.
most every instance with nursery quar-
ters, clean and comfortable, warm and
sunny.
Being calf in the old style dairy
regime frequently meant enduring cold
in winter while tied to the north side of
. battenless, outer wall. Few dairymen
or stock keepers to-day fail to recognize
the fact that extreme cold binders
growth In young animals, and they
make due provision for comfortable
quarters. More importance 10 attached
to comfort than formerly. Not merely to
produce something, but to produce 1t eco.
nomically and profitably is the tendency
to-day, and men are no longer content to
grow nuts. Pride Of ownership comes
to the man who possesses fine stock, and
naturally they get better care than
saying but the scrubs
would have been less scrubby with bet.
ter care also.
The little calf should have his mess OF
milk regularly and both quantity and
should be carefully looked
after. 1t is ruinous to it's digestion to
drink too much at time. As he grows
older he will be able to assimilate more.
At first two quarts at feeding 10 ample.
Most feeders are content with twice
daily feeding, but 1t Is long time be-
tween meals on such schedule. Until
the calf can eat some solid feed, noon
time lunch of . couple of quarts OF
warm milk will be appreciated.
At the end OF two weeks, or about az
soon as 1t is on skimmilk diet, some
nicely cured alfalfa or clover will be rel.
ished. Soon handful OF bran or ground
oats with hulls removed will disappear
when put in clean little box In Its man
ger. All this encourages growth and
the faster q calf grows the better, pro-
vided 1t does not put on too much tat.
For this reason corn has NO place In the
ration of the dairy calf, wheat bran and
ground oats are better.
Scours, that scourge Of the calf pen,
may be avoided by precautionary meas
ures which are advisable rather than
dosing after 1t has developed. Modera-
tion in the milk ration, which should be
always the temperature OF the blood,
with observance of sanitary surround.
ings, clean floors, and dry bedding, will
almost always keep scours away. Eat
ing clover or alfalfa hay helps also.
Not many months ago visited at
woman. managed farm. The husband
and father had died and, rather than see
the homestead pass into the hands OF
strangers, the daughter gave up . fne
position as teacher In Michigan city to
manage the farm.
A part of the farm equipment handed
down to her was small herd of choice
Jerseys. These the girl cared for her
self. It was one of the paying things
on the place. She took me out to see
her stables. In the sunniest corner was
the nursery. "Here Is Josephine, our
latest arrival" she proudly announced.
az she pointed to q fawn-like little crea-
ture occupying roomy pen, we'll litter.
ed with clean straw. Other occupants
there were of the nursery, oil In the pink
of condition and all clean and comfort
able, each In its own stall whore bright
alfalfa hay was freshly placed each
morning and where all droppings were
removed and the floors Uttered with
straw every day.
That slip of girl knows how to grow
good calves. Her cows show that, for
she has been at the business now for
four years.-E. E. lockwood, In Hoard's
Dairy man.