Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-03-13
Feeding Dairy Calves.
EARLY wEAAINe OF CALVES ON DAIRY
FARMS NEcEssITATEs SPECIAL AT
rENTIoN TO FEEDING METHODS.

Feeding the calf should begin befor'
It Is born, says Farmers Bulletin TT
Feeding and Management OF Dairy
Calves and Young Dairy Stock, recently
issued by the United States Department
OF Agriculture. Poorly nourisbed cow
give birth to weak, puny calves whicf
are hard to raise. Cows which have n
abundance OF palatable and sucoulent
feed and are In good body flesh and
healthy. thrifty condition at calvine
time are more likely to produce well de-
veloped, strong, and sturdy calves
which will respond normally to proper
feed and care.
The calf should always receive itl
mothers milk at first, as the colostrum,
or first milk, stimulates the calls stom-
ach aud other digestive organs to ac.
tion. Most dairymen prefer to keep the
calf with the COW for about 4S hours
Immediately after birth. Il may be best
to allow weak calf or one that does not
gain strength readily to remain longer
time, but It Ia sometimes difficult to
teach the calf to drink after sucking the
COW for q time, and serious trouble may
result from Its failure to obtain food.
Successful raising of calves requires
absolute cleanliness. Calf pens should
always be kept clean and be supplied
with plenty OF dry bedding. Discarded
feed should be removed from the feed
boxes, which should be thoroughly
brushed and cleaned each day. All milk
fed should be fresh and clean, which is
true also of other feeds. Milk pals
should be scalded thoroughly with boil.
ing water, or sterilized with steam II
possible.
Milk from COWS having communi-
cable disease, ss tuberculosis, should be
pasteurized (heated to 145o r. and held
at that temperature for 80 miputes) be-
fore it Is fed to calves. Separated milk
from q creamery should also be pasteur-
lied, because It is practically impossible
to know that such milk ID free from In
fectiou.
Better results are obtained by feeding
young calves three times day, with the
periods between feeding as nearly equal
as possible. When fed in this way the
calf does not overload it's stomach, and
the digestion of the feed Is more evenly
distributed throughout the "a hours.
Regularity In feeding is important.
When calves are fed but twice day the
feeding should be as nearly as possible II
hours apart.
At birth So pound calf should have
about 8 pounds of whole milk day,
while q 1O0-pound one should have
about II pounds. For the first four
days milk from the dam should be fed,
then that from any of the other COWS In
the herd, preferably not from any that
are nearly dry. Milk containing not
more than percent butterfat is consid'
cred best.
At the beginning of the, third week
either skim or separated milk may be
substituted for whole milk at the rate of
pound day. The daily ration may be
Increased from Q to 4 pounds, depending
upon the vigor of the calf. When the
calf does not drink eagerly what is offer
ed, the quantity should be cut down.
The ration at the end Of the third week
usually should be approximately one.
half whole and one.half separated milk.
During the fourth week the change
should be continued until by the end OF
the week only separated milk is fed, un-
less the calf 10 very delicate. With es-
pecially vigorous calves the change to
separated milk can be made about
week earlier. The quantity fed can be
increased gradually to 1S to 20 pounds
day.
Six months is probably good average
age at which to wean calves from milk.
The age depends upon the cost OF the
milk in relation to the value of the calf,
its breed, size, vigor, etc. The season
Of the year and the other feeds available
also must be considered. When the best
of hay, silsge, and . good variety OF
grains are available, or when good, suc-
culent pasturage can be provided, tho
calf can be wesned earlier; also tho
stronger and more vigorous the calf the
earlier it can be weaned. On the other
hand, the more valuable the calf the
more expense the owner 10 warranted 10
developing 1t and the later 1t probably
will be weaned. II skim or separated
milk 10 plentiful, calves may be fed
profitably until or 10 months old.
When the calf 10 in Its second week, 1t
should begin to receive grain, and when
one month old it should eat about half .
pound day. After this time the qusDti-
ty of grain may be gradually increased,
feeding all that the calf will eat until 8
pounds Q day 10 reached, probably dur
ing the third month. Grain fed to sup
plement separated milk should never be
mixed with the milk. 1t 10 questionable
whether the preparation Of grain In any
way, such ss soaking or boiling, is ad-
vissble under most circumstances.
Wheat bran 10 eaten readily by young
calves. Corn has an excellent physio-
logical effect and to great extent may
take the place of fat removed from
akin or separated milk. Experiments tend
to show that corn fed to calves should
be cracked rather than finely ground.
Ground oats are good In grain mixtures
when available, but In many cases cost
much more per unit OF feed than corn
and bran. The following grain mixtures
are recommended in the bulletin:
Three parts cracked corn and one
part wheat bran.
Q Three parts cracked corn, one part
wheat bran, and one part gronnd oats.
8 Three parts cracked corn, one part
wheat bran, ono part ground oats, and
one part linseed meal.
rlVo poEts cIsoA0u ooa.s ooo PeAs
wheat bran, one part ground oats, and
ono part blood meal.
8 Oats, ground.
Glover hay, alfalfa hay, or the most
palatable roughage available should De
given the calf after the second wsek:
Alfalfa 10 liable to cause scours, and
should be fed sparingly at first and In
creased only after the calf gets aooustom.
ed to IL. At fret, hay should be furnish.
cd only handful at . time and be plac-
ed 30 that It can not be soiled. For the
first six months, at least, the calf should
receive all the roughage of good quality
that Il will eat up olean. When the calf
has access to good pasture during tho
first ak months, it need not receive
other roughage. II 10 not advisable,
/ however, to have the calf under Two
months Of age on pasture In the early