Madison County Democrat. (London, Ohio) 19??-1958, 1953-12-01
AROUND
OHIO
BY George L. Zeis

The day is gone when a dairy
farmer can be careless with his
calf crop. But all too often laxity
with the young stock still persists.
Dairy is the largest source of
agricultural income to the Ohio
farmer. How well production re-
mains in the upper brackets is not
necessarily dependent upon the
cows in the herd today. How the
young stock is handled now will
be felt in the years to come.
There is a gradual change over
in having cows freshen during the
winter months rather than other
seasons of the year. There is good
logic for this. Freshening between
now and the late winter will tend
to offset the normal slump in
milk production.
Then, when they are turned out
to pasture in the spring there is
another rise in milk production.
The overall production may be
about the same but the price diff
ferential is a lot different.
However, calving in the winter
presents certain problems, too.
Feeding has to be watched more
carefully with the young stock
and the weather is a point not to
be forgotten.
Poor feeding and sanitation are
two of the biggest drawbacks in
the raising of young calves. No
matter how well the breeding
back of them may be, unless they
receive the best of care money
can easily be lost.
A calf should nurse its mother
within an hour after it is born.
If it doesn't, find out quick why it
doesn't.
Leave the calf suck the moth
er for at least three days after
birth. The coloStrum in the milk
for this period of time is impor-
tant. Colostrum is an excellent
source of Vitamin A - a material
which is very useful in prevent
ing scours and diseases within the
first few days after birth.
A calf can usually be removed
from the mother after the first
three day period. But the cows
milk still should be fed for at
least a week or ten days after
wards.
Whole milk feeding should be
stopped completely within eight
to ten weeks after birth. How
ever, calf supplement should be
used starting at about the second
week. This makes for a better
break from milk when the time
comes.
The amount of milk to be fed
is dependent upon the weight of
the calf. This should amount to
about 1919 Of the calfs weight.
For example, a Guernsey calf
weighing so lbs. should receive 5
lbs. of milk daily. The same per-
centage applies to all the other
dairy breeds. Be careful not to
oVer-feed.
1t is very easy to make a mis-
take in calf feeding, particularly
during the winter months. Tenn
perature of the milk should be
about 100 to 1O2 degrees. Any
thing colder or hotter than that
may be the cause of digestive
troubles.
When the calf reaches three to
four weeks of age, feed costs can
be lowered by switching from the
calf starter to lower priced grains
A good quality hay should be
put before the calf as soon as pos
sible. They may not eat much OF
it at first, but as time goes along
more and more of it will be eaten
particularly after the amount oi
milk is reduced.
Another important factor in the
winter feeding of calves is the
amount of Vitamin D and miner
ais in the feed. One commercial
mineral on the market has 24,00C
units of Vitamin D. added to each
pound in addition to all the es.
sential trace minerals needed by
livestock.
Some silage may also be fed tc
calves but it shouldn't be done
before four months of age.