Calf Bearing. (339 



months. Hunt' s experiments show that calves given fnll mUk from 

 the paU require from 8 to 9 pounds of whole milk for each pound of 

 gain, and make a gain of over 1.75 pounds daily. While in the 

 beef districts the calf mtl be allowed to take its own mUk, there 

 are sections where the stockman finds it more profitable to sell 

 the fat of milk in the form of butter and use substitutes for the 

 : fat together with skim milk as feed for the calf. This system 

 involves labor, skill and watchfulness on the part of the feeder, 

 but its success has been demonstrated on many farms. 



After weaning, good growth will be continued by using oats 

 and corn with a little oil meal, supplying at all times plenty of 

 bright hay or fodder com. Nothing excels pasture grass for flesh- 

 building with the beef calf, and to approximate this in winter 

 the stockman should have roots or silage in order to keep the 

 young animals in a sappy, growing condition. The stockman 

 should not forget that the "calf fat" or first fat of the calf must 

 jiot be lost if beef is the ultimate object. 



527. Rearing the dairy catf. — The fat of milk has too high a 

 value with the dairyman to be used for calf feeding, and experi- 

 ence has shown that dairy stock of the highest quality can be 

 {)roduced from feeding skim milk. Under this system the calf 

 is allowed to draw milk from the dam for two or three days, early 

 weaning being preferable for both cow and calf. The calf should 

 always get the first milk (colostrum) of the cow, as this is neces- 

 sary for properly clearing the bowels and starting the digest- 

 i^'e functions. (355) Warm full milk is fed from the pail not 

 less than three times daily until the calf is two or three weeks 

 old, after which skim milk is gradually substituted. Prom one 

 5 to two weeks should pass in changing from full millf to skim 

 milk. Oil meal converted to jelly by adding boiling water is 

 relished by young calves, which soon learn to look for it at 

 the bottom of the pail. At first a tablespoonful of oU meal is 

 sufficient for a feed. This may be increased gradually, as the calf 

 grows, to half a pound per day. Curtiss has shown that corn 

 meal is an excellent and cheap addition to milk for calves; oats, 

 shorts or other grain feeds may also be used. 



The supply of full mUk for the calf should be not over 10 

 pounds at fixst, and end with 1 5 pounds daily. The skim milk 



