FOURTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 775 



SUBSTITUTES FOR MILK. 



There are several calf meals on the market which seem to give 

 very good results, especially when fed in addition to a small quantity 

 of milk. There are many home made mixtures which are fairly 

 efficient and the following statement concerning "hay-tea" from 

 Henry's Feeds and Feeding may be of interest: 



"Stewart gives the following satisfactory experience with a hay-tea 

 ration for calves: 'If the hay is cut early when it has most soluble 

 matter, and is good quality, the tea will grow good calves, but this 

 extract frequently has too small a proportion of albuminous and 

 fatty matter. Yet, \1 the hay-tea is boiled down so as not to contain 

 too much water for the dry substance, calves will usually thrive upon 

 it. We tried an experiment by feeding 2 gallons of hay-tea, in which 

 one-fourth of a pound of flax seed and one-fourth of a pound of wheat 

 middlings had been boiled, to each five calves thirty days old. This 

 experiment was continued sixty days, with a gradual increase, dur- 

 ing the last thirty days, of the middlings 1 lb. per day. These calves 

 did well, gaining on an average over 2 lbs. per head per day'." 



FEED AND CARE REQUIRED BY DAIRY HEIFERS. 



In rearing a dairy heifer from birth to freshening, the chief pur- 

 pose is to grow a large, strong framework and body and that 

 should ever be uppermost in the dairyman's mind. Every care 

 possible should be given to stimulate the growth of bone and 

 muscle. If a fall calf, of course, it is kept in a ^varm barn and well 

 fed with skim milk, clover or alfalfa, corn, oats, bran and oil meal 

 until late spring, when it may be turned on good pasture. But the 

 feeding of the same grain should be continued all through the 

 summer in a more limited way, increasing the oats and corn at 

 the expense of the bran and oil meal. In the heat of the summer 

 the young animal needs shelter from the heat and flies in the 

 same manner as the cows. When cold weather first comes, give 

 the heifer the run of a shed, always providing her with an abun- 

 dance of clover or alfalfa hay, corn stover, and a limited amount 

 of silage to keep her growing. Feed largely of these coarse feeds 

 to develop a large, Avell distended digestive apparatus. In the past 

 it has been advocated that if the heifer becomes fat she will be 

 worthless as a dairy cow. However, if fed proper foods, such as 

 we have mentioned, and if a good growth and large, well distended 

 barrel have been developed, many fat heifers, when they come into 

 milk, make excellent dairy cows. But to feed the heifer fattening 

 foods only is apt to ruin her for the dairy when she matures. 



RATIONS FOR DAIRY HEIFER. 



The following are excellent rations for yearling dairy heifers dur- 

 ing the winter months: 



1 Silage 20 lbs. 2. Clover or alfalfa hay .... 15 lbs. 



Clover or alfalfa hay .... 8 " Grain 1 



Grain 2 " Roots 20 



3. Clover or alfalfa hay.... 15 lbs. 

 Grain 3 



