152 LIVESTOCK ON THE FARM 



sidered a good feed. This might be increased to from 18 to 

 24 pounds when the calf is several months old. At first a 

 calf should be fed at least three times a day but later it can be 

 fed twice a day. 



A calf should have whole milk till it is several weeks old, 

 and then, to avoid feeding expensive butter fat, skim milk can 

 be substituted. The change from whole milk to skim milk, 

 however, should be made slowly and gradually. At least a 

 week, and, better, two weeks, should be allowed for this 

 change. The skim milk should be fed warm, as the whole 

 milk is fed. 



A mistake commonly made is that skim milk is thought 

 to be of little value because it has been skimmed. On this 

 account some people feed more of it. As a matter of fact, 

 skim milk is richer in protein than whole milk. This is true 

 because the fat is taken out by skimming and the protein is 

 left. And protein is likely to cause harm when too much 

 milk is fed. But skim milk is an unbalanced ration. Some 

 material like ground flax, which is rich in fat, should be added. 

 By adchng such a feed the total dry matter is increased, and 

 water is also needed to keep the ration balanced. Both corn 

 and oats are good calf feeds because they are comparatively 

 rich in fat but not so rich as flax. 



A well-balanced ration for calves can be made from the 

 feeds grown on the farm. It is not necessary for the farmer 

 to buy calf meals. While many of these are all right and give 

 good results, they are as a rule very expensive. They fre- 

 quently contain imported materials and with the manu- 

 facturer's and transportation charges added they cannot be sold 

 cheap. The farm is the place where these things should be 

 produced. 



Weaning. — While a calf is being fed milk, containing protein, 

 the hay and grain fed in addition need not be of any special 

 kind but should be varied. A mixture of several hays and 

 grains, or of several grasses in the pasture, is best. All of 

 these, however, should be of extra good quality and be palatable 

 to the calf. Legumes are not necessary at this time as the 

 calf gets its protein in the form of milk. 



^Mien the calf is weaned or when the milk is removed from 



