LECTURE XXVII. 



REARING CALVES DURING MILKING PERIOD. 



At present there are two general methods of raising 

 calves, viz.: by hand feeding and by allowing the dam to 

 raise them. The former method is vastly different from the 

 latter and is of most interest to calf raisers in this portion 

 of the country or any other country where the land is high 

 priced. 



After the calf is dropped and has been licked dry by 

 the mother, it is usually strong enough to rise and suck. 

 However, in case it is a very weak calf, assistance from an 

 attendant is sometimes needed in securing its first meal. A 

 calf that is to be raised by hand should not be allowed to 

 remain over three or four days with its dam; in fact, some 

 prefer to wean it at once. The reason for this is that, as a 

 rule, the calf is not so hard to teach to drink as when 

 allowed to suck the cow for several days or weeks. There 

 is one exception in which this method should not be em- 

 ployed. That is, when the cow has a hard or caked udder. 

 In such cases it has been found by experienced breeders and 

 herdsmen that the calf by sucking and rubbing tends to 

 reduce the inflammation and soften the udder. Where the 

 calf is allowed to remain with the cow, say two or three 

 weeks, it is a good plan to starve it a day. By so doing it 

 will become hungry enough so that it will not require a great 

 deal of patience to make it drink. 



The nature of the milk and quantity to be fed is an all 

 important factor in raising calves successfully. In nature, or 

 from the cow, the calf gets its milk often but in small quan- 

 tities, and always at blood temperature. Thus we should 

 strive to imitate nature as nearly as possible. During the 

 first few weeks of the calf's life, ten to twelve pounds of milk 

 per day; when two months of age, fourteen to sixteen pounds 

 per day; and when three or four months, eighteen to twenty 



