LECTURE XXXIII. 



REARING DAIRY CALVES. 



It is with the dairy animals just as with the beef animal. 

 If we are going to derive the greatest amount of gain from 

 them, we must start them right when young things. The 

 beef animal is trained from birth to put on flesh. The dairy 

 animal should be trained from birth with a view to the pro- 

 duction of milk. This must be our ideal a cow that is 

 capable of consuming and digesting large quantities of suit- 

 able food and capable also of exchanging that food into milk 

 rather than into flesh and fat, except what is required to 

 keep her body in a strong and healthy condition. 



In order to get this kind of cow we must start with the 

 calf and feed it right. Do not feed it foods that tend to fat- 

 ten. Let it have its mother's whole milk for three or four 

 days. The calf should always have its mother's first milk. 

 For the next four weeks continue giving it warm sweet milk, 

 a part of which may be skim milk at the start. At the end 

 of two weeks skim milk may be substituted in whole for the 

 whole milk. At this time, when the whole milk is taken 

 away, it is a good thing to add a little oil meal to take the 

 place of the nutrients which are lost by taking away the 

 whole milk. Begin with about a tablespoonful a day, in 

 the form of gruel or flaxseed jelly, and gradually increase 

 this to two tablespoonfuls a day. Flaxseed jelly is made by 

 boiling the seed, while the gruel is prepared by steeping the 

 oil meal in water. 



Do not overfeed your calf. When the calf is young, 

 feed at least three times a day, having the milk warmed to 

 blood heat. 



Four to six quarts a day fed in three feeds should be 

 enough for a calf up to eight weeks old, when two feeds are 

 sufficient, and the quantity of milk can be increased as the 

 calf grows older until 20 to 24 pounds is reached. 



By this time the calf will begin to nibble at hay if it 

 can get it. It is a good plan to have some nice early cut 

 clover hay to put in its manger. If you feed new clover in 



