CALF FEEDING 223 



We note that the different brands of manufactured calf meals 

 are high in protein, fat, and nitrogen-free extract, and low in fiber. 

 Being composed of standard feeding stuffs of unquestioned merit, 

 such as ground cereals, mill feeds, ground flaxseed, and linseed meal, 

 they are doubtless highly digestible and possess a high feeding 

 value ; their use will, therefore, depend upon the price at which they 

 are sold in comparison to. other feeds suitable for calf feeding. On 

 this point it must be said that the prices charged for these feeds by 

 manufacturers and dealers are, as a rule, high, being generally $2.50 

 to $3.50 per hundredweight. Most dairy farmers can do better by 

 making their own calf meals from standard and easily obtainable 

 feeds, than to buy these manufactured feeds, unless they' want to 

 use only small amounts for individual calves that need some extra 

 feed and care. Two of these meals (Blatchford's and No Milk), 

 have small amounts of mild drugs which contain aromatic princi- 

 ples, and, as suggested, all are palatable feeds of a high nutritive 

 value. The question is, however, whether a dairy farmer cannot 

 obtain as good results with less expensive mixtures made from com- 

 mon standard farm feeds. It seems evident that, as a general rule, 

 he can do so. The following mixture will prove a very satisfactory 

 calf feed and may be made by any farmer at a relatively low cost: 

 20 parts each of ground oats and wheat middlings, 10 parts Indian 

 corn meal (or coarse-ground milo or kafir) and 5 parts linseed meal 

 or ground flaxseed (nutritive ratio, 1 : 4.6). 



A number of experiments have been conducted with calf feeds, 

 the most extensive ones being, perhaps, the Cornell tests. 6 The 

 conclusions drawn from these experiments are, briefly stated, that 

 good, strong, healthy calves can be raised without skim milk ; skim 

 milk, hay and grain make the best substitutes for whole milk for 

 raising calves. A calf fed on skim milk should reach a weight of 300 

 pounds at five months of age, and the gain should be made at the 

 rate of one and one-half pounds per day. If skim milk is not at 

 hand, the best substitute for it seems to be low-grade dried skim- 

 milk powder. A calf fed on this feed should reach a weight of 

 250 to 260 pounds at five months of age, making an average .gain 

 of 1.25 pounds per day. The manufactured meals did not, in 

 general, produce economical gains. The calves on the best of these 



gained, on the average, 1.25 and 1.10 pounds per day during two 



1 __ 



"Bulletins 269 and 304; see also Ontario Agr. Coll. Rept., 1900, 1905; 

 Mo. Bui. Internat. Inst. Agr., vol. 4, 1914, p. 509; Purdue (Ind.) Report 28, p. 

 36, Bui. 193; Wash. Station Report 25, p. 9; Mass. Bui. 164; Hatch 

 (Mass.) Sta. Rept. 16. 



