CALVES FROM BIRTH UNTIL ONE YEAR OLD 2g 



the hand into the mouth of the young calf. Calves may 

 also be taught to eat roots by putting a thin, narrow^ 

 slice in the mouth similarly. 



The meal adjuncts fed may be virtually the same 

 as for calves reared on skim milk. (See page 21.) 

 The fodders also may be the same, with the one dif- 

 ference that roots rather than corn ensilage will prove 

 the more satisfactory, since the latter is a carbonaceous 

 food. It is also probable that " alfalmo " can be used 

 for such feeding with benefit. This product is simply 

 alfalfa hay of tender growth ground up into meal. Be- 

 cause of its fine mechanical condition, calves may be 

 made to consume it somewhat earlier than they would 

 take the hay, and also in greater quantity, at least for a 

 time. As soon as the calves chew the cud, it would 

 seem beneficial to feed meal mixed with finely cut hay. 



Many calf foods have been put upon the market. 

 For some of these the most extravagant claims have 

 been made, and this has led many to shun them alto- 

 gether. It is with these, doubtless, as with condimen- 

 tal foods : they will difTer greatly in their feeding value, 

 and all of them, it may be, are unnecessarily costly. Yet 

 the fact remains that some practical men feel that it is to 

 their advantage to use certain of these more or less. 

 If used at all, it would seem reasonable to suppose it 

 v/ould be fitting to feed them when calves are reared 

 almost entirely without milk. 



Management while weaning. — In very many in- 

 stances there is a loss of flesh in calves, for a time at 

 least, following the weaning, that is, the withholding of 

 the milk from them. This loss of flesh is usually greater 

 in calves that have sucked their dams. This follows 

 for the reason, first, that when the milk of the dam is 

 withheld, it deprives them of a more nourishing food 

 than skim milk furnishes; and, second, that they have 

 been less accustomed to such meal adjuncts as usually 

 accompany the feeding of skim milk. The aim should 



