120 DAIRY FARMING 



in Table 16 show the average gain and weight for calves of 

 three breeds as found by the author. 



113. Feeding the Dairy Heifer. No special difficulties 

 are experienced in raising heifer calves from the time of 

 weaning until they come into milk. If pasturing is practiced, 

 no further attention or additional feed is necessary so long 

 as the grass is abundant. The winter ration should consist 

 of a good quality of roughage with a small amount of grain. 

 A good ration is corn silage and clover or alfalfa hay, with a 

 grain allowance of about 2 or 3 pounds daily per animal. 

 A more liberal grain ration will cause a more rapid growth 

 of the young animals and earlier maturity. It is possible by 

 heavy grain feeding to have a heifer as mature at the age of 

 18 months as another fed entirely on roughage is at 24 

 months. Liberal feeding during the growing period and 

 the better condition of the animal which follows result in 

 a larger milk yield during the first year than is the case when 

 less is fed. The size of the animal when mature is influenced 

 to some extent by the manner of feeding during the growing 

 period. In experiments by the author, heifers fed a liberal 

 ration measured over an inch more in height when mature 

 than did heifers fed a ration with less nutrients. 1 At the 

 age of 18 months the difference was nearly 3.5 inches, but 

 the group receiving the lighter ration continued to grow for 

 several months after the heavier fed group had ceased grow- 

 ing. The lighter fed group, however, remained slightly 

 smaller. Another factor that has some influence on the size 

 of the cow when mature is the age at which she comes into 

 milk. A heifer that freshens at an early age, for example, 

 20 to 22 months for a Jersey, and 22 to 24 for a Holstein, 

 will not develop into so large an animal as she would if she 



1 Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 135. 



