430 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



individual. A good plan to follow is to feed whole milk at the rate of 1 

 Ib. daily for each 8 to 10 Ibs. the calf weighs. Weak calves should be fed 

 milk at the lesser rate. The allowance should not usually exceed 12 Ibs., 

 even for a large and vigorous calf. 



688. Feeding skim milk "When the calf is 2 to 4 weeks old, the exact 

 age depending on its vigor, skim milk may gradually replace the whole 

 milk, 7 to 10 days being required to get the calf on skim milk alone. 

 With cows giving very rich milk, some prefer to dilute with skim milk 

 from the start. In the case of very valuable calves, breeders often feed 

 some whole milk for 2 months or longer. 



After the calf has been changed entirely to skim milk, the allowance 

 may be increased very gradually if the calf is doing well. Not over 15 

 to 16 Ibs. of skim milk daily is needed to ensure good development, but 

 if an abundance of skim milk is available after any growing pigs on the 

 farm have their share of this valuable feed, large vigorous calves may 

 be fed somewhat larger amounts. The allowance should not exceed 18 Ibs. 

 daily until the calf is 6 weeks old, and only in rare cases should over 20 

 Ibs. be fed at any time. 



Skim milk is at its best when, still warm, it goes at once from the 

 farm separator to the calf. Milk held for any length of time or chilled 

 should always be warmed to 100 F. before feeding. In cold weather 

 it is not safe to rely on the skim milk being warm enough as it comes 

 from the separator, but the thermometer should be used. When the calf 

 is 3 to 4 months old, it can usually be accustomed to cooler milk provided 

 the temperature is reasonably uniform. The calf pails in which the 

 milk is fed should be kept scrupulously clean, a good rule being to cleanse 

 them as thoroly as the milk pails. Feeding skim milk which is sour, stale, 

 and teeming with undesirable bacteria is a frequent cause of scours. 

 Trials by the United States Department of Agriculture 20 indicate that 

 satisfactory results may be secured in summer with clean milk when 

 soured quickly by lactic acid bacteria, such as are used in starters for 

 butter making. In winter some of the calves showed a distaste for the 

 sour milk. Skim-milk feeding should usually continue until the calf 

 is 7 to 8 months old, but when the supply of milk is scant a thrifty calf 

 may be weaned after 2 to 3 months, provided good substitutes for milk 

 are fed, as shown later. (696-8) 



At feeding time hand-reared calves should be confined in stanchions, 

 to remain for a time after the milk is drunk until they consume their 

 concentrate allowance and overcome the desire to suck each other's 

 ears or udders. When this precaution is neglected, the shape of the 

 udder may be injured or a heifer may later persist in sucking herself or 

 others. 



689. Pasteurizing creamery skim milk. Patrons delivering whole milk 

 to creameries should insist that all skim milk be pasteurized before it is 

 returned to the farm. This precaution keeps the milk sweet and kills the 



'"Breeder's Gazette, 66, 1914, p. 17. 



