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FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



were not satisfactory, but when the 

 test was* repeated, using alfalfa hay, bet- 

 ter results were obtained. The calves 

 which received whey did not become fat, 

 but they remained in a thrifty con- 

 dition. 



Defective ration — If serious scour- 

 ing takes place in young calves, it is 

 evident that there is something wrong 

 with the ration. The addition of a tea- 

 spoonful of dried blood to the milk ra- 

 tion has been found to be valuable in 

 checking scouring in Kansas. A num- 

 ber of packing companies manufacture 

 a sterilized dried blood or blood meal 

 which may be safely used for this pur- 

 pose. In serious cases of scours, the 

 addition of one or two eggs with dried 

 blood is quite successful. Another rem- 

 edy which gave good results in Kansas 

 consists in adding from 1 to 2 ounces 

 of castor oil to the milk in the morning, 

 followed in the evening by a dose of 15 

 or 20 drops of laudanum in addition to 

 the dried blood. 



Various feeds — In order to get a defi- 

 nite idea of the feeding value of milk 

 for calves, a test was made by Beach 

 in Connecticut, in which it was found 

 that for each pound of gain in calves, 

 from 0.91 to 1.33 of a pound of solid 

 matter must be fed. This shows that 

 the young calf is exceedingly effective 

 in manufacturing meat out of feeds. In 

 Switzerland, it has been found that six 

 eggs and 14 quarts of milk a day are 

 sufficient to make a calf gain three 

 pounds a day. This ration, however, 

 would be altogether too expensive, ex- 

 cept for high bred animals or in loca- 

 tions where fancy prices could be ob- 

 tained for fine veal calves. In New 

 South "Wales, cod liver oil is extensively 

 used in feeding calves. It appears that 



2 ounces of cod liver oil in 3 gallons of 

 milk makes a ration on which calves 

 will gain 1% pounds a day at a cost of 



3 cents. The cod liver oil is easily fed 

 and is greatly relished by the calves. 

 Likewise in England, cod liver oil has 

 given excellent results. In many cases 

 calves are fed on whole milk for five 

 weeks, after which a ration is prepared 

 in the proportion of 5 quarts of skim 

 milk to 2 ounces of cod liver oil. The 

 oil may be safely fed to calves, since 

 it never shows any bad effects and the 

 calves appear to be very fond of it. It 

 constitutes an exceedingly cheap ration 

 when mixed with milk. 



Various forms of starch have been 

 used as cream substitutes for calves. In 

 Italy, a ration of skim milk and starch 

 made gains of 2 pounds a day in calves. 

 Oleomargarine added to skim milk was 

 found to be more effective than ground 

 bone. According to some feeders, scalded 

 linseed meal is the best cream sub- 

 stitute, followed in effectiveness by cod 

 liver oil. In Queenstown, cod liver oil 

 has been found to lessen the danger of 

 scouring, and gave better results than 

 a mixture of linseed meal and molasses 

 added to skim milk. 



There seems to be no apparent ad- 

 vantage in boiling milk for calves, since 

 according to German experience, if it 

 is fed in a fresh condition it should not 

 contain enough bacteria to cause scour- 

 ing. 



A comparison of skim milk calves and 

 sucking calves was made in Nebraska, 

 during which Burnett kept the calves 

 under observation for 147 days. During 

 this time the average gain of skim milk 

 calves was 292 pounds, and sucking 

 calves 343 pounds. The amount of gain 

 in these cases was in favor of whole 

 milk, but a greater economy was shown 

 in the use of skim milk. 



In Germany, an artificial calf cream, 

 sold under the name of Kalberrahm, has 

 been used as a cream substitute, but 

 when mixed with skim milk, this feed 

 has been found to be somewhat inferior 

 to whole milk for calves. 



A number of feeders in New South 

 Wales have made use of cocoanut oil 

 cake. *Tke results obtained, however, 

 indicate that this material is not easj 

 to prepare and that calves do not thrive 

 well on it. In Canada, cocoa shell milk 

 has been prepared by boiling cocoa shells 

 in water. This material appears to be 

 a good substitute for milk for young 

 calves. 



Ration experiments — -In Nebraska, 

 Haecker carried on a series of experi- 

 ments to test the value of certain rations 

 containing fat for replacing the cream 

 in skim milk for calves. In his experi- 

 ments, linseed meal, germ oil meal, corn 

 oil, shelled corn, oats and bran were 

 used. In accordance with common prac- 

 tice in this state, the calves were taken 

 from their mothers at the end of three 

 days and fed whole milk for about two 

 weeks, after which a change was made 

 to skim milk. The corn and oats added 

 to the milk were fed ground and ^ the 

 calves were taught to eat grain rations 



