At the end of ten days the calves 

 can be grouped in larger pens (Fig. 

 59), A pen about 6x8 feet will 

 handle five small calves. These pens 

 should be located in a fairly warm 

 place that is free of drafts. It is 

 suggested that four or five stanchions 

 be installed at one end so that all 

 can be opened or closed quickly. Spe- 

 cial holders should be made to keep 

 the calf pails in place at the manger 

 level. 



If special calf pails with nipples 

 are used, a holder can be installed 

 which will enable the operator to 

 quickly put the pail in a secure posi- 

 tion for the calf. With this arrange- 

 ment, if there are 10 calves to be fed, 

 the operator can carry the 10 calf 

 pails and 60 pounds of milk in one 



trip. If pails are filled in the milk 

 house, the ten can be carried by 

 means of a special long rod. If the 

 operator chooses to distribute the 

 milk into individual pails at a point 

 near the calf pens, he can carry the 

 milk in a large can along with the 

 ten empty pails. He can put a pail 

 in each holder for a calf, close to the 

 stanchion. He can return a few min- 

 utes later to open the stanchions and 

 collect the pails. A small plywood 

 or metal division between the calves 

 will discourage the sucking of ears, 

 etc., while tied in the stanchion. The 

 task of feeding 10 calves twice a day 

 can be done in about 15 minutes. Pens 

 of calves over six weeks of age can 

 be cleaned two or three times a week 

 in busy periods. 



XII Young Stock 



Chores in caring for young stock 

 varied greatly on different farms. 

 Where heifers were quartered in 

 stanchions in the same stable with 

 the cows, chore tasks were often 

 merged. Little difference was noted 

 in the methods used or in the time 

 required per head in feeding, in bed- 

 ding, or in cleaning gutters. The la- 

 bor requirements tended to be inflex- 

 ible as to the time of day, due to the 

 close association with chores on cows. 

 In farms producing fluid milk and 

 subject to rigid inspection, good san- 

 itary conditions in the main cow 

 stable, including the part occupied by 

 young stock and bulls, must be main- 

 tained at all times. 



Present Practices 



Where young stock were quartered 

 in a separate barn, there was more 

 flexibility as to when the tasks were 

 done and in the methods used. On one 

 farm 53 head of young stock were 



tied up in the main barn in stanchions 

 and 138 man minutes were spent 

 daily in caring for them. On one 

 other farm, where 30 head of young 

 stock were tied in stanchions in a 

 separate barn, 88 minutes were spent 

 on the daily chores. The layout and 

 facilities were not too efficient, but 

 the operator did have considerable 

 leeway as to when he worked in the 

 young stock barn. This is the sched- 

 ule: 



Time spent 

 (minutes) 

 Feeding hay twice daily (total) 34.6 



Turn out and tie up 7.2 



Feed grain 5.2 



Feed silage 11.5 



Sweep manger 1.0 



Manure disposal 16.1 



Bedding 8.5 



Sweep gutter alleyway 3.9 



88.0 



A few operators had remodelled old 

 barns especially for young stock and 

 confined six to eight heifers of simi- 

 lar age in each of several pens. In 

 one case 28 heifers were grouped in 

 four pens on the ground floor of an 



66 



