FEEDING DAIRY CATTLE 311 



Feeding milk to the dairy calf, as practiced in the United 

 States, does not vary greatly in method among intelligent 

 breeders. The calf is usually allowed to stay with the mother 

 in a box stall for 3 or 4 days after it is born, nursing at 

 will. Some persons, however, take the calf away within 

 24 hours or at once. It is a good plan to allow the calf to 

 nurse the cow until the milk is fit to use, being careful not 

 to overfeed, for the massage and frequent nursing of the 

 calf will help to reduce udder inflammation. The milk for 

 the first 3 or 4 days contains a substance called colostrum, 

 which makes fresh milk more or less sticky, arid this material 

 acts as a desirable physic with the new-born calf. 



After being taken from the mother, the calf must be fed 

 whole milk, preferably from the dam. Calves are fed this 

 new milk for from 1 to 3 weeks, starting with 8 to 10 pounds 

 a day, divided in 3 feeds. Then skim milk is gradually 

 substituted for the whole, adding each day a pound until 

 only skimmed milk is fed. The milk for the young calf 

 should be sweet and always be fed in perfectly clean pails 

 under sanitary conditions, at a temperature of about 100 

 degrees, or as it may come from the separator. Care should 

 be exercised not to overfeed. A good rule to go by is to 

 feed 1 pound of milk for each 8 or 10 pounds of live weight. 

 For example, a Holstein-Friesian calf weighing 100 pounds 

 might be fed 10 or 12 pounds. Skim milk may be profit- 

 ably fed, when cheap or abundant, up to 8 or 10 months of 

 age, when the calf should be weaned. Whole milk is too 

 expensive for calf feeding unless for some special purpose, 

 while the skimmed milk under proper conditions produces a 

 strong-framed, vigorous animal. 



Feeding roughage to the dairy calf is a very simple mat- 

 ter. If a handful of fine leafy hay or clover be placed in 

 the stall when the calf is 2 or 3 weeks old, it will begin to 

 nibble on it, and its consumption of this roughage will grad- 

 ually increase. This dry coarse feed will distend the stom- 



