RAISING DAIRY CATTLE 439 



the first indication of scours the ration should be reduced to less than 

 half the usual amount. Such remedies as castor oil, formalin, and a 

 mixture of salol and bismuth subnitrate, are used with success. 



Common scours should be distinguished from contagious, or white, 

 scours, also called calf cholera, which is due to an infection of the 

 navel soon after birth. This most serious disease, from which an animal 

 once affected rarely recovers, may usually be avoided by providing 

 that the calf be dropped in a clean stall or on pasture. When the calf 

 is born in the barn, it is best to wet the navel thoroly with a disinfectant, 

 such as a weak solution of creoline, zenoleum, or bichloride of mercury. 



IV. DAIRY HEIFERS 



The rearing of the heifer after 6 to 8 months of age is an easy task, 

 and perhaps because for this very reason many are stunted for lack of 

 suitable feed. Since the usefulness of the cow when mature is largely 

 dependent on her proper development before the first calf is dropped, 

 it is important to heed the few essentials in feeding and caring for the 

 heifer. 



704. Feeding heifers. Heifers on good pasture need no additional feed, 

 but one should always be sure that they have ample forage, a point which 

 is often neglected when the pasture becomes parched. In fact heifers 

 are more apt to suffer from neglect in summer than in winter. 



In winter there is no better ration than legume hay, silage, and 

 sufficient grain to keep them thrifty and growing vigorously, without 

 becoming too fat. The ration should supply pienty of protein and hence, 

 unless a liberal amount of good legume hay is fed, the concentrate 

 allowance should be richer in protein than is advised for skim milk calves. 

 To develop strong frames, growing cattle must receive liberal amounts of 

 calcium and phosphorus. (98-9, 119) However, when legume hay forms 

 one of the main roughages, there will usually be no deficiency of these 

 mineral nutrients. If there is danger of a mineral deficiency in the 

 ration, the heifers should be fed 0.5 to 1 ounce of bone meal, ground 

 limestone, chalk or ground rock phosphate. The nutrient requirements 

 of growing dairy cattle are given in Appendix Table V. 



From the extensive experiments of Eckles at the Missouri Station 47 

 and also trials by Hunt at the Virginia Station 48 and Morrison, Hum- 

 phrey and Hulce at the Wisconsin Station, 49 the following rations may be 

 recommended for wintering dairy heifers : 



1. When legume hay and silage are available, feed all of each of these 

 feeds the heifers will clean up. For animals less than 10 months old 

 feed 2 to 3 Ibs. of concentrates a head daily in addition. With alfalfa 

 hay, corn may be fed as the only concentrate. With clover hay or other 

 legume hay lower in protein, some concentrate richer in protein should be 

 added to provide a better balanced ration. From 6 to 10 Ibs. of legume 



47 Mo. Bui. 158. **Va. Bui. 219. 48 Wis. Bui. 275, pp. 12-13; unpublished data. 



