62 GUIDE TO DAIRYING IN SOUTH AFRICA 



food form animal heat and fat, but the carbo- 

 hydrates of a food also produce heat and fat, and 

 are thus able to perform the work of the fats, so 

 that in removing the " milk fat" from the milk and 

 giving skim milk to the calf with the addition of a 

 food rich in carbohydrates (i.e. starch) the young 

 calf will not miss the "milk fat." 



The two grains on every farm in South Africa 

 rich in carbohydrates (or starch) are mealies and 

 Kaffir corn, and it has been found by experience that 

 the starch and fat in mealie meal and Kaffir corn 

 easily take the place of fat removed from the milk 

 in separating. 



Calves will begin to eat meal when they are 

 about two weeks old, and a little Kaffir corn meal 

 should be placed in their mouths after they have 

 had their drink of milk, and in a short time they 

 will eat the meal readily from their box or feeding 

 trough. The meal should never be mixed in the milk, 

 because the starch in the Kaffir corn has to be 

 changed into sugar before the young animal can 

 digest it. This change has to take place through 

 the action of the saliva in the calf s mouth, and if 

 the meal is gulped down with the milk, the starch 

 cannot be digested by the gastric juices in the 

 stomach because it is acid instead of alkaline or 

 neutral, and this change must take place through 

 the action of an alkali or neutral as seen in the 

 calf's mouth. Therefore always feed the meal dry. 



