THE GRAIN FED 253 



every eight or ten pounds that the calf weighs. A calf weigh- 

 ing sixty pounds then would receive six to eight pounds of milk 

 per twenty-four hours, divided into two or three feedings. For 

 this purpose measuring is sufficiently accurate, considering a 

 quart to weigh two pounds. The first milk given should be 

 whole milk, first from its own mother and later from the herd, 

 provided, however, such milk does not carry more than 3^ to 

 4 per cent fat. Rich milk is not good for calves. It is liable 

 to bring on diarrhea. This is particularly true of the thin, 

 tender little calves often born in Jersey and Guernsey herds. 

 Where the herd milk is of Jersey or Guernsey cows it is prefer- 

 able that a little sweet skim milk should be added to the whole 

 milk, even from the start, sufficient to bring the fat content 

 down to at least 4 per cent, and preferably down to 3 per cent. 

 On such milk the calf then may be fed, in quantity according 

 to its weight, for two to three weeks, depending upon its strength. 

 At the end of this period it is usually found possible to lessen 

 the amount of whole milk used, and to> increase the amount of 

 skim milk used, keeping the total of the two the same, however, 

 and thus withdrawing the whole milk largely from the ration. 

 A period of at least a week should be used in making the 

 transition. A common error at this point is to feel that since 

 skim milk is not as rich as whole milk a larger quantity should 

 therefore be given. This is emphatically not true. The sub 

 stance withheld in skim milk feeding is fat and this cannot be 

 replaced by feeding more of the skim milk which does not 

 contain fat. The quantity of skim milk fed per day should not 

 be greater than would readily be consumed if the fat had been 

 left in it, but the deficiency should be made up by substituting 

 grain (Figs. 82 and 83). 



The Fat Soluble A vitamine, always so richly present in milk 

 fat, is what puts the "bloom" on the calf. Dairy calves need 

 some whole milk until three months old if best growth and de- 

 velopment are to be secured. A little whole milk, water, and 

 grain will build better calves than large quantities of skim milk. 

 The dairy calf should gain from 1 to iy 2 pounds per day. 



The Grain. A portion of the cow's grain mixture, if rightly 



