CHAPTER XII. 



REARING THE DAIRY CALF. 



Prenatal Development. The making of a strong, vig- 

 orous, healthy calf begins before it is born. Unless the 

 pregnant mother is furnished with a sufficient amount 

 of good, wholesome feed, rich in ash and protein, the 

 foetus must necessarily surfer retarded development. Not 

 only should the pregnant cow be supplied with the proper 

 nutrients for the development of bone and muscle in 

 the foetus, but the ration should be such as will keep her 

 in the best physical condition, which requires some suc- 

 culent roughage and grain rather laxative in character. 

 (See page 42.) 



Time the Cow Should Suckle the Calf. As a rule 

 it is best to remove the calf from its mother before it 

 is three days old. The early removal of the calf has 

 several important advantages : ( I ) it prevents to a great 

 extent the excitement attendant on separating an older 

 calf from its mother; (2) it renders it easier to teach the 

 calf to drink from a bucket; (3) it permits regularity 

 of milking from the start; and (4) it makes possible 

 at the outset to milk the cow "clean" at each milking. 

 Calves never feed regularly, nor do they suck heavy 

 milkers dry at any time. The result is a continual 

 residue of milk in the udder which acts as a check to 

 the secretion of this substance and leads to an early 

 shrinkage in the milk yield. 



In cases of caked and inflamed udders it is best, how- 

 ever, to allow the calf to suckle the cow longer than 



82 



