186 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



as a water trough. Another good device is an automatic waterer, 

 which may be easily cleaned, situated a little above the floor to keep 

 out the litter. Salt is essential to the development of the calf, as 

 of other animals, and should be kept continually available. (Wis. 

 B. 192.) 



Grain for Calves. When calves are changed to skim milk they 

 need some substitute for butter fat. This may be furnished in the 

 form of fat as cod liver oil. It is more cheaply obtained from the 

 starch and fat found in grain. Ground flaxseed made into a jelly 

 and fed with milk is soothing and makes a good substitute for the 

 'butter fat in the milk until the calf is three or four weeks old when 

 it should be necessary to eat ordinary farm grains as corn and oats 

 in sufficient quantities to substitute for the butter fat. Many feed- 

 ers start on farm grains without flaxseed and report good results. 



Kind and Amount of Grain to Feed. Skim milk contains 

 more protein and carbohydrates than whole milk. In selecting a 

 grain to take the place of the fat that has been removed, it is not nec- 

 essary nor is it advisable to get one rich in protein, as the skim milks 

 furnishes the nutrient. While calves may do well on high priced 

 concentrates, they are unnecessarily expensive and give no better re- 

 sults than the cheaper carbonaceous grains, as corn, barley, oats, 

 Kafir corn, or sorghum. 



Calves will sometimes learn to eat the grain more readily if a 

 little bran forms a part of the ration for a short time. A number 

 of farm grains have been used successfully in feeding calves. The 

 following list may serve as a guide to the calf feeder in making se- 

 lections or combinations to suit his conditions: 1. Corn meal grad- 

 ually changed in four to six weeks to shelled corn with or without 

 bran. 2. Whole oats and bran. 3. Whole oats and corn chop, the 

 latter gradually replaced by shelled corn in four to six weeks. 4. 

 Ground barley with bran or shelled corn. 5. Shelled corn and 

 ground Kafir corn or sorghum. 6. Whole oats, ground barley and 

 bran. 7. A mixture of 20 pounds of corn meal, 20 pounds of oat 

 meal, 20 pounds of oil meal, 10 pounds of blood meal and 5 pounds 

 of bone meal, changed to corn, oats and bran when calves are three 

 months old. 8. A mixture of 5 pounds whole oats, 3 pounds bran, 1 

 pound corn meal and 1 pound of linseed meal. The calf may be 

 taught to eat grain by rubbing a little on its mouth when it is 

 through drinking milk. From this it will soon learn to eat from the 

 feed box. (Wis. B. 192.) 



Dehorning Calves. It is much easier, to say nothing of being 

 more humane, to dehorn calves when they are young, preferably 

 when from three to four days old. Clip the hair away from the but- 

 ton ; take a stick of caustic potash, wrapped in some material to pro- 

 tect the fingers, moisten one end with water, and rub gently over the 

 button until the skin becomes slightly raw and smarts a little. In a 

 few days a scab will form, which will soon disappear, and, if the 

 work is properly done, will leave the calf without horns. One appli- 

 cation is usually enough, but in case the horns start again the appli- 



