The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-09-05


breeding and Judgment of dairy
form Will come TO uaught,
The development OF a dairy COW
should begin before The calf is born.
The cow should he well fed up to
about SIN weeks OF freshening. II is
he coming practice among dairymeu
to discontinue the grain ration at
this time and give the COW a rest. She
should have rest, il il true, that is.
she should be dry about six weeks be-
fore frcshening hut she should not
be allowed TO become thin in flesh.
Give her all the roughage she Will con-
stlme and during the last three weeks
Of The dry period she should be fed
i've TO seven pounds Of a grain mix
tute Ike geo pounds wheat brain, SEQ
pounds ground oats and -ina- pounds
linseed meal. No cotton seed meal
should lac fed during tiis period for
the first two weeks after freshening.
oats. brain and ali meal are an eX-
f4--ff-t Is uTTfy r1erf'Sss,tt-, =,
feed Il for about three weeks before
fTeShening. | p to that time she should
have been fed altogether on a home
grown ration The man who does not
grow all his roughage and the greater
part of his grain ration has no husi-
ness keeping dairy cows. He would
not attempt to buys feed for any othpl
class of farm animals and expect IL
make Il profit, so should not expect toe
much of the COW. There is a limit Ia
all things. and il It reasona BILE amount
OF care is not used. money viii he lost
in the dairy business.
+ II the COW is 10 freshen ia the stalls.
prepare box 'stalt by first cleaning 1t
thoroughly, sweep il out clean. rub
rfle waits down get alf cpnwetsS above
: r.
iiaree-quarters OF m inch deep with
air-slacked lime aud leave il over
night Lime is Il good disnfectant
and there is no danger connected with
lis use. The next morning the lme
should he swept out and the stall
bedded with a liberal supply Of clean
straw. Then put the COW in these
clean. comfortable quarters. feed her
as usual. and be sure she has all the
water she wants.
As soon as the calf is dropped,
watch it cafefuily-.-if 1T is chilly,
sprinkle a handful of bran over il.
letting the cow lick il off SO AS 10 make
the blood circulate freely This Is Il
lot OF time to spend on calf but a
VA luahle calf Is worth H. time |
would not bother about any other hut
n valuable one. AS soon as possible
after the calf is born. treat its navel
Many calves become Infected through
The navel during the first few hours OF
their lives, Cover the navel with coll
lodion and let it dry. This forms a
covering over the navel and protects
IL until thoroughly eaied Collodion
can be bought at any drug store. BE
sure to keep, the bottle weA corked.
As the material evaporases and be
comes solid when exposed TO the afr
The CALI should have the FIRST milk.
colostrum, and may remain with the
cow for the first three days, after
which il should lac removed 10 well
lighted, clean and dry quarters. where
il Will not see its dam. and there be
fed by hand, Whole milk. just as It
comes from the mother, should be
given the calf for the first two weeks.
land then gradually change 10 skim
milk The quantity Of milk to feed
VIII depend on the size OF The calf;
not less than four quarts nor more
than SIX quarts should I've rcf per day
Skim milk should he fed until the calf
Is six months OF age. The milk should
always be carefully measured or
weighed, so as To give about the same
amount at each feed Above all
things, he sure that the calf pail is
clean.
The bucket out of which the calf
one in which the cow is MIXED. Too
many dairymen allow an old bucket to
set in the calf stall from day to day
and then wonder why their calves die
With SCourS It is much easier. and
a whole lot cheaper. to prevent scours
than to cure them. 1t is best to have
calves fastened in stanchions while
drinking the milk TO prevent their
sucking one another's -ears.-------..-
Calves soon learn to eat hay and
grain. Give them small allowance
of clean hay Mixed hay is best. AL
falfa and soy bean hays are good. but
the average man does not seem to
know how much of these feeds TO give.
Calves like these hays SO well that they
will eat too much II given the opnor-
tunity.
A good grain ration for calves is
a mixture of equal parts by weight of
ground oats wheat brain and shelled
corn. The calf should have water be-
fore it at all times.
There are no special difficulties in
raising dairy heifers from the time
they are six months of age until they
Come into milk. During the pasture
season, if the grass is abundant, no
additional food is necessary The
winter ration should consist of corn
silage and legume hay with grain
allowance of about three pounds per
day. If the heifer has been well
grown, she can be bred when eighteen
months of age. December. January,