Feeding Dairy Cattle 

 eat food other than milk. The best roughage for him is 

 second or third cutting of bright, well cured alfalfa hay. (hi 

 those farms where alfalfa hay is not available, the second 

 cutting of clover hay is best. With a little care practically 

 every farmer in the State of New York can put up a little 

 cutting of clover hay for his calves. If neither of the above 

 kinds of hay are available, use the best quality of hay that 

 can be secured. Let the calf have all the hay he will eat 



After the calf is six months old he may have a little 

 silage. 



The Grain Mixture. — At about the time at which the 

 young calf will begin to eat a wisp of hay, he will eat dry 

 grain. The mixture that has given the writer much satis- 

 faction is the following: 30 pounds wheat bran, 30 pounds 

 ground oats, 30 pounds corn meal and 10 pounds oil meal. 

 The calf should be fed all he will eat of this mixture in a 

 box nailed to the side of his pen. Never feed a calf dry 

 grain in the pail from which he gets his milk, nor mix the 

 grain in with his milk. When three or four weeks old, after 

 he has finished drinking his milk, put some of the above mix- 

 ture in his mouth. He will soon learn to like it. At the 

 same time have some of this mixture in the feed box in his 

 pen. He will soon find the box and eat regularly. Feed all 

 the grain he will eat up clean after having his milk. Some 

 feeders keep feed before their calves all the time. 



Care and Management Other Than Feeding. — Besides 

 feeding there are some other things in the care of the calves 

 that should be mentioned. More than all else is cleanliness 

 and dryness. The pens should be kept clean and dry. The 

 temperature of the stable may be rather low and the calves 

 will grow and thrive if kept dry and clean and are well fed. 

 The pens should be cleaned often and kept well bedded. In 

 warm weather particularly, the calves should have access to 

 clean water. 



Many farmers turn their calves out to pasture when too 

 young. ' In New York, a good practice is, keep in the barn 

 during the summer all calves born after February ist. These 

 young calves mav be turned out at night pasture if one is 

 available. Thev'are too young to pick their own living 

 without some extra food, so that it seems best to feed them 

 in the barn the iirst summer. In the pasture flies plague 

 them so that they do not grow well. 



Dehorning Calves. — In herds where it is desirous that all 

 the animals shall be dehorned, the best time is to dehorn 

 the young calves before they are three weeks old. This may 

 Page Ninety-three 



