MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS 5IQ 



The weaning will, in such instances, be so gradual that it 

 will not in any way hinder growth. When animals are 

 hand-fed, the conditions that relate to feeding may be easily 

 and completely controlled. 



When weaning animals, the aim should be to secure 

 the following conditions, as far as may be practicable: (i) 

 Shutting of! the milk supply gradually. This is most easily 

 done by giving it less frequently, as by feeding but once a 

 day instead of twice j (2) furnishing a liberal supply of 

 concentrated food such as is best adapted to the needs of 

 the animals. Oats should furnish the basic grain food for 

 foals and lambs, and even for calves when not too expensive, 

 but some corn and a small amount of oil cake added will be 

 an improvement. Shorts is the basic food for young swine, 

 but here also, corn will improve the ration, and it may be 

 freely fed along with skim milk. The supply of grain ought 

 to be liberal; (3) fodder of high quality should be provided 

 to encourage large consumption of the same, or if in sea- 

 son, the pastures should be succulent and nutritious. When 

 weaning takes place in the spring, as soon as the pastures 

 become abundant, the grain allowance may be gradually re- 

 duced. 



In the case of young animals not accustomed to wean- 

 ing, the best that can be done is to place grain in the fields, 

 paddocks or stables in which they are kept. In time they 

 will begin to eat it, but not until some loss may have oc- 

 curred in development. If one or more animals of nearly 

 similar ages are turned into the enclosure, the example 

 which they set will lead the others to eat grain sooner than 

 they would without such example. 



The age for weaning will, of course, vary. Foals 

 should be allowed to suck their dams for not less than 

 six months, and the same is true of calves. Lambs are us- 

 ually weaned in four to five months from birth. Swine 

 should take nourishment from their dams for 10 to 12 

 weeks, unless when two litters per season are required 

 of the dams, in which instances, the nursing period is cut 



