774 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Fig. 8. Ayrshire and Jersey heifers, five months of age, at Iowa State 

 College. 



to alfalfa alone for the young calf, as alfalfa alone is too rich for the 

 kidneys and digestive tract. 



Calves dropped in the fall and early winter will do well on pas- 

 ture the first summer if provided with some grain and shade, while 

 calves dropped in the spring or early summer are much better off 

 when properly cared for in the barn during the first summer. 

 SCOURS IN CALVES. 



Thousands of calves are lost each year, due to what is known as 

 scours. On every farm measures should be taken to guard against 

 this disease, which results from a deranged digestive system. The 

 calves should have warm, clean, light and well ventilated pens. 

 The milk must be fed in regular amounts, at regular times, at a 

 temperature of about 80 degrees F., from scrupulously clean pails. 

 The foam which accumulates on the milk while it is being separated 

 should never be fed. The time to feed the grain ration is im- 

 mediately after the milk is fed, so that the calves will not suck 

 each other's ears and thus take air into the stomach, which causes 

 bloat and produces scours. It is well to have stanchions on one 

 side of the pen so that the calves may be confined for a short time 

 after being fed milk. 



Each day during the winter, when the weatlier is favorable, the 

 calves need to be turned out into a sheltered yard for exercise, 

 which is necessary for their proper growth and health. It is also 

 very important that the calves, from a very early age, be given all 

 the pure, fresh water they care to drink each day. The peas 

 should be disinfected frequently. Quick lime is excellent to sprinkle 

 on the floor each time it is cleaned and a frequent spraying with 

 some standard coal tar dip solution will prove beneficial. 



