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 iirst 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 31/2 to 

 4 per cent fat. Eich 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 miUi the calf then may be fed, in quantity according 

 to its weight, for one 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 iised, and to increase the amount of 

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

 and thus withdrawing the whole milk entirely 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. Thus it is possible to make ground corn, and later shelled 

 com, worth 1^ cents a pound, practically take the place of butter 

 worth 30 to 40 cents a pound. The average calf should gain from 

 one to one and one^half pounds per day (Figs. 82 and 83). 



The grain fed to a young calf should consist of a fine soft 

 meal, such as shorts, but when four weeks old the grain should 

 have the same ingredients which would ordinarily be fed to 

 dairy cows. A portion of the cow's grain mixture, if rightly 



