FEEDING CALVES 31 



The pen should be warm, well lighted, and there should be good 

 ventilation without drafts. Beginning at the third or fourth day 

 the calf should be taught to drink from a pail. 



At the start the calf, depending on his size, should receive six 

 to nine pounds (four and one-half quarts) of milk a day in three 

 feedings. During the second week this may be increased by three 

 pounds if the calf is of good size and doing well. He should be fed 

 three times a day for at least the first three weeks. 



The milk fed should be sweet, clean, and be at a temperature of 

 90° to 100° F. It is of prime importance that all utensils used in 

 feeding should be thoroughly cleaned after use. Nothing will 

 upset the calf quicker than carelessness with respect to cleanliness 

 in feeding. 



56. Increasing the feed. — After the calf is two weeks old 

 his feeding will differ according to whether he is to be continued 

 on whole milk, or changed to skim milk, or whether, if the latter is 

 not available, some substitute method is to be used. The use of 

 whole milk is an expensive method but it does result in a rate of 

 growth and in a bloom and finish obtained in no other way. One 

 can hardly afford to use this method except for especially valuable 

 animals or where maximum growth and finish are desired for 

 show or sale. The details of raising calves on whole milk are 

 similar to those where skim milk is employed. The use of the 

 latter will be described somewhat at length because it is the method 

 by which the vast majority of calves are grown. 



Raising Calves on Skim Milk 



57. Changing from whole to skim milk. — The calf should 

 get whole milk for at least two weeks. At this time, if it is good 

 and strong, the change to skim milk may be begun. At least a week 

 or ten days should be taken for the change, which can thus be 

 made at about the rate of a pound a day. 



If during the period of change the manure becomes liquid or 

 pasty, a condition commonly referred to as scouring, this is a 

 signal that the food is not being digested properly and no further 

 increase of skim milk should be made until the difficulty disappears. 



