2r>8 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



Feeding Whole Milk. 



The stomach of the young calf is small, so that it is not able 

 to handle large amounts of milk. Eight to lo pounds or 4 to 5 

 quarts per day is the proper amount to feed a young calf. For 

 a very small or weak calf, 6 pounds or 3 quarts is sufficient. The 

 results are probably a little better when the calf is fed three 

 times daily for the first few days. This is not necessary, how- 

 ever, and it is usually best not to feed three times daily unless 

 the milk can be obtained fresh from the cow for each feed. The 

 milk should be divided equally between the feeds so that a calf 

 being fed twice daily would receive 4 or 5 pounds at each feed. 



Feeding Skim Milk. 



A calf of ordinary vigor can be put on a skim milk diet at 



the age of two or three weeks. The change to skim milk should 



be gradual. This change is best made by substituting a pound ol 



-skim milk for a pound of whole milk at each feed until the calf 



is receiving only skim milk. 



The amount of skim milk fed should be the same as that of 

 the whole milk which it replaces. This will usually be 10 or 12, 

 pounds for a calf two to three weeks old. A gradual increase m 

 the milk should be made as the calf grows, until at the age of 

 five months it is receiving 16 to 20 pounds daily, depending upon 

 the size of the calf. 



Feeding Grain. 



The calf will begin to eat a little grain by the time it is two 

 or three weeks old. After it is a few days old, grain should be 

 kept before it and a little put into its mouth immediately after 

 it has finished drinking its milk to aid it in learning to eat. 



The grain should always be fed dry and never mixed with 

 the milk. In order that grain be properly digested it is neces- 

 sary that it be chewed before it is swallowed. Probably the best 

 time to feed the grain is just after the milk has been fed. The 

 calf's appetite is very keen at this time, and it will take to the 

 grain readily. 



