Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1918-04-18

EACH CALF SURE OF OF
Prepared BY the United States Depart.
4 ment 81 AgrieUiturel
Poorly nouFlshed COWS give birth 10
weak. puny calves which are hard to
raise. The feeding N the calf there.
fore, begins before II is born. The food
elements necessary for Inc develop.
ment Of the calf ARE taken into the
stomach Of the COW. digesgcd, assiml.
lated, and transmitted 10 the calf
through the umbllicnt cord, the con.
nection between the mother and the
calf. II "a evident chat II the COW daes
not receive food enough 20 keep her.
self In thrifty condition aud nj this
same time develop her calf. both she
and the calf must suffer. In endeay.
oring 10 raise good thrifty calves many
daiTymcn handicap themselves al the
start by not properly feeding the preg.
nant COWS. Such COWS should have an
abundance Of palatnblc and euctuisni
or juicy feed ~ order 20 Insure good
body flesh md healthy thrifty condl.
ton at cniying time The calves wiIi
then be well developed. strong. nud
sturdy. and ready 70 respond normally
10 proper feed md care
Separation From Cows.
II IA assumed thHi the calf 81 not %
be rHlsed ~ sucking The cow. but Is 10
be fed BY hand. The longer II sucks
therefore. the nlnre difficult Il viii 90
90 teach Il TO drink. on the either
hand. the tirst tor colosirum) mlik II
the cpw poSsesses properties which
stimulates tbs c8ifH stomach and other
digestive organs to action Coiosfrum
= natures r'lysic. aud Tor this rcHson
the young culf should always Frcplve
- mothers milk ~ FIRST The caif IL
snmefifoes weak "A birth, and ~ lhls
reason should have upunahiBrnt ns
soon as possible. !, Is usually essler
10 induce the calf 10 nBck ,he COW than
70 tgy 70 make Il drink from the pail.
Because u these facts mast dnlryipen
prefer 10 lee The csif remain with It's
mother for about ~ hours lmfnediatt-
~ after birth. A additional advantage
Of this practice IL that the dam uill
carefully dry the calf bg licking Within
the frHt few hours II tts life IN The
case Of a weak calf or one Tint does
not gain strength readily II mas be
best 20 allow Il 20 remaiu loaner than
AZ hours, although HudeF such clrcum
etaucca II u sometimes difficult ~
teach the calf to drink. sud serious
trouble may result sg0m Is failure 10
obtain food.
Tesehlna Calf 20 Drink.
II IL desirable That The calf br 10
thrifty. vigorous rendition whs.n Il Is
taught 20 drink. II should be kept
without food for ~ least II hours. at
the cnd Of which time IL aili BE- hungry
and wllI usually drink milk frmn the
pail much more readily tbun when not
hungry. Warm. fresh mllk from the
mother should be pus into clean pail
and held pear the floor In front ~ the
calf, which viii generally begin to
''noss" about the pHil, Once II gets a
taste Of milk. Il win usually Jdnk
without further trouble. often how.
ever II u necessary Tor the attendant
20 put one or two fingers into the
cnlfs mouth, drawing the hand down
into the milk ~ the caif begins 10 suck
the fingers. The calf ia this Way rofs
q taste ~ the milk and often begins to
drink without further coaxinE. II not.
the proeeas must be repeated. Some.
times. however. the calf cuunot be to-
luced to drink IN this way. and force
has 20 be resorted 10. ID such case
the feeder, faclng the same direction
as the calf, should straddte rs neck
and back the animal Into corner.
The pail OF milk should be held IN one
hand and The nose Of the calf grasped
with the other, two fingers being IN rs
mouth. The nose Of The calf Is then
forced into the milk. when II will usual
~ begin to drink
Sometimes valuable calf, too weak
at birth either TO suck the COW or to
drink from phil, can be saved by
feeding from bottle. either with or
without nipple.
Cleanliness First Essential.
Cleanliness " absolutely essential to
the successful raising Of calves. This
Is equally necessary in feed, pens, bed.
ding and pals or utensils. All milk
fed should be fresh and clean, and the
same Is true OF other feeds. Calf pens
should always be kept clean and be
oiled with plenty of dry bedding. Great
care should be taken IN washing the
milk pals. These should be thorough
" scalded with boiling water, or ster-
llized with steam II possible. Discard
cd feed should be removed from the
feed boxes, which should be thorough.
~ brushed and cleaned each day. At
tentlon TO these details Is the best pre-.
ventive Of disease Nearly all disor-
ders or diseases Of the calf are caused
either directly or indirectly BY lack OF