CARE AND FEEDING OF DAIRY CATTLE. 21 



from the milk later, which are essential to the digestive organs of the new-born 

 calf, acting as a physic and stimulant. 



AMOUNT OF MILK TO FEED. 



The calf's stomach is small and there is danger of overfeeding. For the first 

 two weeks 4 or 5 quarts or about 10 or 12 Ib. per day is all a large calf should have. 

 A small calf, as a Jersey, does not need more than 8 or 10 Ib. per day at the start. 

 This amount may be fed in two feeds per day, or, better, in three for the first two 

 or three weeks, starting with the smaller quantity and increasing by 2 Ib. the second 

 week. For the first two or three. weeks whole milk should be fed, but it is not 

 essential after the first few days to feed the calf its own mother's milk. In the case 

 of Jerseys and Guernseys giving very rich milk, it is better to dilute the whole milk 

 with skim-milk right from the start, as the fat is hard to digest. After two or three 

 weeks skim-milk is substituted more and more at each feed. The change to a 

 skim-milk diet should be made gradually and take about a week to accomplish. It 

 is a mistake to suddenly increase the amount of milk fed when changing to skim- 

 milk, with the idea that the calf needs a great deal more of skim-milk than whole 

 milk. The increase should be gradual as the calf grows older, and seldom more than 

 20 Ib. (2 gallons) daily need be fed even a large calf at any time. A good rule is 

 to always keep the calf a little hungry. We have to remember that in the natural 

 or wild state the milk-supply for the young is much less than under our artificial 

 conditions. 



TEACHING A CALF TO DRINK MILK. 



Two fingers are inserted in the calf's mouth, and he at once commences sucking. 

 The muzzle is then forced into the milk-pail, so that the milk is sucked in between 

 the fingers. He should not have the fingers more than two or three times, or he will 

 always look for them and be troublesome to feed. 



POINTS IN FEEDING CALVES. 



Each calf must get its share, and no more. Feeding a bunch of calves out of 

 one trough at the same time will not do. The milk must be warm and sweet. We 

 have to imitate nature and feed the milk at blood-heat, which is 100 F. This point 

 is important. When the calf is young its digestion is easily upset, and a thermometer 

 should be used to eliminate guesswork. 



During cool weather it will be necessary to heat the skim-milk after passing 

 through the separator before it is fed to young calves. Otherwise scours or other 

 digestive troubles are sure to occur. 



Feeding-pails must be kept as clean and sweet as the milk-pails, and scalded as 

 regularly, or trouble will follow. 



WATER, SALT, AND MINERAL MATTER. 



A supply of clean water and salt should be handy all the time. A calf needs 

 a drink of water often in hot weather, as well as its milk. Some calves suffer from 

 want of minerals in the ration and will be benefited by feeding daily % oz. of chalk 

 or ground rock phosphate. A little blood-meal in the milk will help ailing calves. 



SUPPLEMENTS TO SKIM-MILK. 



At three weeks, or about the time change is made from whole to skim milk, 

 grain feeding should commence. Some prefer to mix the supplementary feed with 

 the skim-milk the first two or three weeks, using at each feed two tablespoonfuls of 

 boiled feed-flour, rolled oats, or flax-seed jelly made by pouring boiling water on 

 flax-seed. After five weeks of age the grain is best fed dry after the milk, and most 

 feeders feed the supplement separately from the beginning. If the calf will not 

 begin to eat, a little grain may be rubbed on its muzzle, and it will soon learn to 



