Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-09-04
Developing the Dairy Heifer.

So much is expected of the dairy COW
nowadays, that she has right to be
we'll born. Produced by healthy,
strong, vigorous parents, we'll kept and
we'll fed; and her sire especially should
be from long line OF producing ancestry.
THE DELICATE AGE.
She should be born in a good clean
box stall. As we find her, she is q
crooked-legged, lop. cared, homely look
ing thing. Anything but pretty. We
can't judge by the looks of her il she
will grow up to COW that is worth fifty
Eve hundred, or five thousand dollars.
Let us take good care of this calf and
develop her we'll. so that II she don't
make the five-hundred or the five-thou-
sand-dollar-co it won't be our fault.
This is the delicate age in the life of
the calf. If we can keep this calf doing
we'll the first four or FIVE weeks there is
not much danger of trouble later.
emphasize the word Cleanliness.
"Born in clean, roomy stall"-one in
which disinfectant is used frequently to
kill germs that may be lurking to infect
the body of the little calf; germs that
cause serious trouble and sometimes
death: clean, dry straw or bedding;
clean pals, clean body, clean of
vermin at all times.
In most cases we allow the calf to re.
main with the dam for few days, or
until the milk is good. Then we teach
the calf to drink, feeding 1t it's mothers
milk three times day. At this time be
careful not to overfeed the calf. Most
calves are overfed when young and
most cows are underfed. We feed the
calf whole milk till it gets to eating
grain we'll, which is usually at about
four weeks, then we gradually change
from whole to skimmilk.
don't know how I could feed calves
without milk scale. The milk of each
COW on the farm is weighed and the
milk fed to each calf ia weighed. We
feed each calf as an individual. We
find that some calves will assimilate
more than others. We feed the amount
the calf will take care of we'll. Then It
we overfeed, We decrease the amount at
once, and as the calf RECEIVERS, gradually
increase the feed again. By weighing
each time and watching results, we can
Judge very accurately what we are do
ing.
At this time the calf should have all
the grain she will eat. Also nice bright
hay or cut grass to nibble at. She is
going to nibble at something 30 she
had much better have good digestible
feed than straw or some other hard, in
digestible substance.
From the time the calf is taught to
drink she is sanctioned when fed and
dry grain is given Immediately after
drinking milk. In this manner We
know just what each calf Is taking and
can increase or decrease the feed as
required. Another very important
thing. Being sanctioned, the calf for
gets about sucking by che time the
grain is eaten. If she should be mind
full of this thing, we would feed a little
hay and keep her there till she does
forget, thus avoiding the very bad habit
of sucking each other, causing unshape-
ly udders and teats and at times the
loss of quarter.
Don't feed from dirty, sour pail.
Don't feed cold milk to a young calf.
Be regular at feeding time and don't
feed by guess. Don't get in hurry and
neglect this animal. Such neglect or
carelessness may cause indigestion,
which at times becomes chronic, and
frequently the calf dies. If this happens
we grab the calf by the hind leg and
drag 1t from the barn, thinking, sits
only a calf" But it may have been one
of the great COWS of the world If We had
developed it properly. All the great
record cows once looked just like this
little calf and we can't tell which they
are till we develop them and try them
out.
SKIMMILK AGE.
From the age of one to six months,