Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1917-10-16


be interested In the cost Of produclngI
Shorthorn bull to the age of twelve
months. OF course this varies In diff
lferent localities and with different
breeders, but having produced hun
dreds Of purebred calves, l appreciate
the fact that some do not care to have
- their twelye months old calves as
large or us heavy as this one was, but
for early maturity the calves must be
fed. l know Of no better place to crib
grain than In purebred ShQrthorn
calves-even IL 1t does cost two and
three cents a pound.
interested IN Cost.
A few years ago was interested in
Knowing how much It actually cost the
state to produce a bull at twelve
months of age at the pace we were go-
ing, so / selected a calf that was ten
days old and weighed him for the trial.
"A daily record was kept Of his feed,
also that Of his mother, and he weighed
.svery 80 days. He received JOt or
,dlnary attention, no more than hun
,dreds Of bulls that have fed Of this
breed under similar conditions. This
calf was born December Z, 1912. He
received his mothers milk (nO nurse
cows; r would not give much for the
cow that cannot nurse her own calf,
and because OF his age was not al
lowed to run with her and the re-
mainder of the herd when she was
turned on grass May 16, the following
year. The mother is q pure Scotch
cow &c less than medium scale and
only al average milk producer Bull
ktcalves OF this age do not do well when
Ihrned with the herd in the spring to
1ght flies and worry all summer
Grazing Ia the evening would have
.been all right for this calf, but not
having suitable pasture he was kept
In the yard day and night, and the
expense of growing is probably few
dollars more than 1t would have been
had we had a good pasture and sew
eral other bulls to have turned out
with him In the evening after he was
Ted his grain ration. s-''s- --~''''' >
F. Attracted Attention.
There was something" about this
bull that attracted the attention of
ieveTy0ne who saw him. His type "A
shorthOrn, his aze for his age, his
character as bull. hie solid dark red
icoler, all had a bearing. When calves
luf this age have great big thick horns
and the horns have been trimmed or a
wee bit sawed Off the ends 1t Is evi-
dence that the calf has been neglected.
Probably he has lost his mllkfat and
an effort is being made 10 put II back
with grain.
. The ShorthOrn Is the most popular
breed of cattle 10 the United States to-
day. The popularity must be credited
to the fact that as a breed 1t comes
nearer 1lilne the duai-purpose capacity
than any other: The cows are fairly ,
good mixers, and when put on the |
market make good beef. Now do not |
claim this breed In Its entirety is as
good for milk production as a breed |
developed along strictly dairy lines or
as food for beef production as a breed |
developed solely along beef lines, but |
SOpe excel In beef and some excel in
milk. ~ ~--..,9D...-.- - d.
S&ys, Milk for Calf.
/, When this calf was ten days old he |
weighed 122 pounds, not an extra large |
weight for a calf OF the breed. At this |
time the mother weighed 1,l60 pounds. |
II was our intention to feed her ra- !
uon out of which she could make milk
FOR the calf and maintain her own |
weight, as she was not an extra fat |
cow, We MADE mixture Of 200 |
pounds Of oats 80 pounds Of corn, 20 |
b3uhds Of bran and ope-tepth as much |
,of tho total by weight Of oilmeal. The |
idea Of adding the bran was to compel |
more thorough Inastication of the grain
before swallowing and to furnish pro- |
,teiu and mineral matter In addition !
70 this ration she was fed ordinary !
wild hay. At this time the COW was on
fulf feed, or 10 pounds Of the mixture !
per day and all the hay she wanted. At ,
the end Of 30 days her grain ration was
Increased to II pounds Of the mixture,
and az the end Of 90 days the two were
eating 10 pounds, as the calf AT this
time had learned to eat grain With its
mother. When the calf was eighty
days old lac was fed in separate box,
beginning with four pounds Of the
same mixture and gradually increas-
Ing. giving him all he would eat after
he had sucked hls mother.
Grain fog CAT.
on Nay 10 the COW WIS turned TO
grass and wRs brought " morning ono
iSeening 10 nurse tho calf Her graiE
faAons was gradually REDUCED enh
mat OF the calf Increased. AZ this tine
lfhe mother weighed 1,lS4and tho calt
,SDi. The calf was now afe ip months nth :.