104 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



The time to treat the navel, as above directed, is as 

 soon as the calf is breathing normally after birth. 



The Nursing Calf. 



Within four hours after birth a strong, normal calf will 

 nurse 10 or 12 times per day. Obviously, only a small 

 amount of milk is consumed at such feeding periods. As 

 the calf grows older it nurses less frequently although when 

 four or five days of age it will feed eight or 10 times per 

 day. For this reason, it is advisable to permit the new-born 

 calf to remain with its mother for the first four or five days. 

 When separated from its mother at the end of the first day, 

 the calf is usually denied frequent feedings. This causes it 

 to gorge itself with milk at all opportunities which tends to 

 establish a severe handicap at this critical period of its life. 

 It is true that many successful feeders follow the practice of 

 permanently weaning their calves at 24 hours of age, but 

 such a practice is apt to lead into serious difficulties, es- 

 pecially with animals of low vitality. 



"Colostrum Milk." 



The term "colostrum" is applied to the udder secretion 

 at time of parturition. Its presence in the udder is always 

 associated with the process of reproduction. Prior to calv- 

 ing the udder contains a yellowish pus-like material which 

 is replaced by colostrum as the date of parturition ap- 

 proaches. With cows that milk continuously the presence 

 of colostrum is quite generally agreed to be to serve as a 

 gradual changing ration for the calf from the nutrients re- 

 ceived prior to birth to those of normal milk. It is extreme- 

 ly laxative in its effect and its absence is a serious matter in 

 securing the proper functioning of the digestive tract of a 

 new-born calf. 



In composition, it will be noted from the table entitled 

 "Composition of Colostrum" that the total solids may run as 

 high as 23 per cent. All solids of colostrum except fat and 

 sugar are higher than in normal milk. The proteins, "Glob- 

 ulin" and "Albumin," are extremely high. The total pro- 



