SIXTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VIII. 601 



Cake of Cow a.nd Calf at Calving. In cool or cold weather the cow 

 ■should be placed in a box stall well lighted, with plenty of ventilation. 

 When the calf is dropped it is well to blanket the cow until she regains 

 her normal condition. In the absence of anything better, gunny-sacks 

 sewed together will do very well. Light-loosening feeds, water from 

 which the chill has been taken off, should be given. Cold water is liable 

 to cause contraction of the womb and detention of the afterbirth. If the 

 latter is not discharged in from twenty-four to forty-eight hours it should 

 be removed. If the udder is heated and caked it is advisable to milk 

 the cow frequently, though not quite dry, and the udder should be steam- 

 ed by rubbing with a flannel cloth dipped in as hot water as the hand 

 will bear, after which the udder shouid be rubbed dry, and treated with 

 camphor, oilve oil, or camphorated vaseline. If there are any signs 

 of constipation, it is well to administer from one and one-half to two 

 pounds of Epsom salts dissolved in water. All these points will aid 

 materially in keeping the cow in a good, healthy condition, and conse- 

 quently give the calf a good, healthy start. 



As soon as the calf is licked dry by its mother, it should have strength 

 enough to rise and suck; if it has not, it should be assisted. The calf 

 may be taken away from its mother after its first meal, or, if preferred, 

 can be left with the cow until the milk is good. It is easier to teach the 

 calf to drink if it is taken away early. Our experience is that if the 

 calf is taken away at once, or when four or five days old it will- make 

 good gains the first week, but if left two or three weeks, the fii'st seven 

 <Iays after weaning will be a losing period. If the cow's udder is caked 

 it is desirable to leave the calf with her, as the rubbing of the calf tends 

 to alleviate the inflammation. 



FEEDING MILK AND SKIM-MILK. 



Breaking the Calf to Drink. It is well to leave the calf by itself 

 for at least twelve hours and, in case the calf has run with its mother 

 for several days, possibly twenty-four hours. Attempts to feed the 

 calf eirlier than this usually do the calf no good and may injure tne 

 feeder's temper. If the calf's muzzle is held in the milk and its mouth 

 pried open once, so that it tastes the milk, our experience tells us that 

 the calf can be taught to drink without the feeder being obliged to place 

 his hand in the milk and allow the calf to suck his finger — an uppleasant 

 experience in winter Aveather. 



This Station has had some experience with calf-feeders, which con- 

 sist of a rubber nipple and tube, the latter fastened at a convenient height 

 for the calf to reach, and the tube placed in the milk-pail. The manu- 

 facturers of these feeders claim that a calf can be taught to feed itself 

 easier, and that it does not gulp its milk down as when drinking out of a 

 paiL Our experience indicates that the first point is not well taken; 

 that it is as easy, if not easier, to teach the calf to drink without the 

 feeder. With the feeder the calf loses the nipple, and is unable to find 

 it without assistance from the attendant. As to rapid drinking the 

 statement is all too true — so much so that in cold weather the milk will 



