Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-01-20
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
r. NJ.
3Y DIR. ANDREW NJ. SOULE

]
calf, will draw on her own reserve
to develop the calf. 1t is obvious that
this is poor economy. With good care,
the cow will give birth to a strong,
| healthy calf and at the same time
be in excellent condition to produce
good flow of milk.
A few days before calving time,
the COW should be put in a dry we'll
bedded and well-ventilated box-stall
or in a clean, dry lot by herself.
Her feed should be heavy at this
time, and slightly laxative feeds are
always beneficial. A mixture of
whole oats and wheat bran is very
good. Give her all the water she
waEt-.
Many of the troubles with baby
calves are caused by damp, poorly
lighted, dirty quarters with cold
drafts blowing through them, cau&-
ing a lowering of vitality and a les
sening of the resistance to disease.
Such quarters also furnish an ex-
cellent breeding ground for all kinds
of infectious disease germs. Direct
sunlight is a fine disinfectant and
plenty of it should be admitted to
the barn.
AS soon as possible. the navel Of
the newborn calf should be treat
ed with a 5 per cent solution of tine
ture of iodine. This is merely a
safeguard against disease as it has
been definitely proven that the ma
vel is an avenue of infection. If
white scours are prevalent, it is
we'll to .igate the navel cord. So
liable is the raw navel stump to
become infected at birth that every
precaution should be taken to pre-
vent that occurrence. While many
a dairyman has never seen such
a case.l and inclines to regard the
possibility of infection of slight i'm
portance, many calves have been
lost from infection of the navel.
''How long shall I allow the calf
to stay with its mother?" is a ques-
ton often asked The opinion of
dairymen differ a good deal on this
point. Certainly, the baby calf
should remain with the dam for at
least two days in order to get the
colostrum of first milk. This has
a purgatiVe effect on the digestive
system, and the calf should always
be permitted to get this milk. A
safe rule to follow is to allow the
calf to remain with it's mother IN.
til her milk is fit for human use,
which is usually at four or five days
after freshening. Then teach the
calf to drink from a pail. The
younger the calf, the easier this
will be and it is usually necessary to
let it get very hungry by emitting
a feed or even two before it will
take kindly to a pail.
The best method of teaching the
calf to drink is to get it to suck
the attendants finger when it's
mouth is in contact with the milk in
the pail. Then gradually withdraw
the finger, and the calf, after few
trials will continue to suck up milk
from the pail. Patience not force.
is necessary, on the part of the
feeder.
After the calves have been taught
to drink from a pail, they should
be kept separated from the milking
herd. They should have pens in
one part Of the barn where they may
be fed and cared for properly. In
large herds, the calves are usually
kept in barn by themselves. This
should be conveniently arranged
with aisles running between two
rows of pens so that feeding can be
done quickly.
If several young calves are kept
in one pen. they will usually suck
each others ears, udder or navel
and cause trouble. BY making in
expensive wooden stanchions along
the feed alley, this can be avoided.
Lock their heads in the stanchions
when feeding the milk, and put
some hay or grain in front Of them.
After their mouths are dry. they
may be released and will give no
trouble by sucking each other.
Scours and other digestive trou-
bles are sometimes caused by fail
ure to properly regulate the amount
of milk fed. Guesswork is often
very expensive. Irregular or too
great amounts will always cause
trouble in a young calf. In most