FEEDING CALVES 



A CALF should be carefully cared for and judiciously fed during the 

 first few weeks of its life. If affected with scours, indigestion or 

 any ailment, it becomes stunted and its subsequent development will 

 be retarded. 



Many dairymen deem it advisable to feed pure-bred calves whole 

 milk for several weeks, and some permit the calf to run with its mother, 

 believing that the calf is less liable to be alRicted with bowel and stomach 

 troubles and will make a greater gain. As a rule, it is not profitable, 

 owing to the value of butter-fat, to feed calves whole milk after the first 

 ten days or two weeks. 



If the milk contains as much as four and one-half or five per cent of 

 butter-fat, a delicate stomach may reject it or it may weaken a strong 

 stomach. In that event, warm water or thin milk should be added. 



If the farmer does not have a market for his butter-fat, but does have 

 an extensive range, it is profitable to raise animals for beef, permitting 

 the calves to run with the dams. 



As soon as possible the calf should be taught to eat shelled com, oats, 

 bran, etc. : otherwise, at weaning time it is apt to become stunted while 

 learning to eat grains. 



When to Wean the Dairy Calf 



As a general proposition, it is a good plan to separate the calf from its 

 mother very soon after it is born. If the calf is permitted to be with its 

 mother a few days, it is more difficult to teach it to drink, and the 

 attachment formed between the two causes both to fret after separation 

 more than they otherwise would. The calf should, however, always 

 get the first milk or colostrum, which is designed by nature for 

 cleansing the bowels and stimulating normal digestion. 



Feeding the Calf 



Give the calf two or three pounds of whole milk containing from three 

 to three and one-half per cent of butter-fat three times daily for a period 

 of two weeks, thereafter dilute the whole milk by adding from 20 to 25 

 per cent of skim milk each week until all the milk given is skim. In 

 addition to the milk, a small quantity of grains should be given. Skim 

 milk is rich in protein, but contains very little of the carbohydrates; 

 hence, as skim milk is added, grains containing carbohydrates should be 

 supplied. Corn meal or shelled corn is probably the best substitute for 

 butter-fat. The young calf's stomach is very small and will not hold a 

 great amcunt of milk at first. Too often over-feeding is responsible for 

 many of the calf's afflictions. Milk should be given sweet and warm. 

 Each calf should be fed separately from a pail, and the pail kept per- 

 fectly clean. Scours and other stomach and bowel troubles are usually 

 caused from unsanitary pails or troughs. 



