Feeding Dairy Cattle 



The First Two Weeks. — After the calf is born he 

 should be left with his mother for two or three days. Per- 

 haps until the eighth milking. The writer has always con- 

 sidered the eighth milking "good" to save for home or 

 market purposes. The milk of the first six or seven milkings 

 is called colustrum. This is necessary to the health of the calf 

 because it is a laxative and has a good effect on the digestive 

 system. It has always seemed to the writer that the best 

 way for the calf to get the colustrum is ])\ suckling the 

 mother. It is best for the mother, too. If the calf does not 

 attempt to suckle the mother by the time he is three or four 

 hours old he should be helped up and assisted in getting his 

 first meal. 



He should get whole milk for at least ten days. If at all 

 practicable it is best to feed him for the first ten days, three 

 times a day, one and one-half quarts at a meal. After the 

 tenth day, if he is good and strong, he may be fed twice a 

 day and receive two quarts (four pounds) at a meal. The 

 temperature of the milk should always be at 90 degrees to 

 100 degrees F. A thermometer costs twenty-five cents. 

 Always try the temperature of the milk with a thermometer 

 and know that it is at the proper temperature when fed. The 

 temperature is one of the most important points to have 

 correct in feeding. Beginning with the eleventh to the 

 fourteenth day the calf may be changed to skimmed milk. 



The Third Week. — Take a full week from whole milk to 

 skimmed milk, changing at the rate of one pound per day. 

 The skimmed milk must be sweet, free from foam, and at a 

 temperature of 90 degrees to 100 degrees F. 



The Fourth Week and Thereafter. — The calf may now 

 have more milk as his appetite and condition demand. Do 

 not over-feed him. There is much more danger from over- 

 feeding than from under-feeding. Mix into each feeding of 

 skimmed milk a teaspoonful of soluble blood flour. This 

 blood flour may be obtained from your feed dealer. It is 

 simply dried ground blood and is a by-product from the large 

 abattoirs. Insist that the kind you buy be very finely 

 ground, because coarsely ground dried blood will settle out 

 when mixed in the milk, and it should stay in suspension. 

 Blood flour is expensive, but the amount fed is very small 

 and is worth many times its cost. Its particular usefulness 

 is twofold, it is a very good high protein in itself, and 

 secondly, it keeps the bowels of the calf in good condition and 

 overcomes any tendency to digestion troubles. 



Roughage. — At four weeks of age the calf will begin to 



Page Ninety-two 



