REARING CALVES DURING MILKING PERIOD. 133 



pounds per day is sufficient. A calf is such a greedy sort of 

 an animal that the above allowance may not seem to suffice 

 him; however, one must bear in mind that a calf's stomach 

 is a very delicate organ, and when subjected to all the milk 

 the average calf will take, disastrous results are usually the 

 outcome. Care should be taken to keep the milk sweet, and 

 it should also be warmed before feeding. Since creameries 

 have been distributed throughout the country many calves 

 have been raised on skimmed milk. This method of raising 

 calves is the most economical of any now in vogue. It greatly 

 enhances the profit of a cow, because the butter is obtained 

 which would otherwise be consumed by the suckled calf. It 

 has been found possible to raise a calf on skim milk when the 

 milk was separated at the creamery; but since the hand sep- 

 arators on the farms have come into use the problem has 

 become very much simplified. 



Under all conditions calves should be fed whole milk for 

 two or three weeks. In changing from whole to skim milk 

 the change should be made very gradually. About one to two 

 pounds per day, if the calf is getting twelve pounds per day, 

 is a sufficient change. That is, if the calf is getting twelve 

 pounds whole milk, the first day of the change feed eleven 

 pounds whole milk and one of skimmed milk; the second, ten 

 pounds whole and two of skimmed, and so on until the com- 

 plete change has been made. Where the hand separator is 

 available the change can be brought about by regulating the 

 skimming of the milk. That is, by simply removing a small 

 portion of the cream at first and gradually skimming closer 

 until you practically remove all the cream. If the calves are 

 consuming about ten or twelve pounds per day, the complete 

 change from whole to skim milk should cover a period of 

 eight to twelve days. When calves are about two or three 

 weeks old they will begin to nibble at hay and commence 

 to eat grain; and when they are about a month or five weeks 

 old they will eat from one-half to three-fourths of a pound 

 of grain per head per day. 



Whatever supplement to the milk one feeds, care should 

 be taken to see that it is perfectly clean. That is, hay, grain 

 and roots should be clean and wholesome. Clover hay is the 

 best kind of roughage: and a ration of grain composed of 

 corn meal or oats instead of oil meal is much cheaper and 

 has been found to form a better combination, all things con- 

 sidered. Dried blood is not only a good supplement but also 



