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Show , DAIRY 1 ' FACTS I RULES FOR FEEDING CALVES Desired Nutrients Furnished by Giving Giv-ing Young Animal Variety Avoid Sudden Changes. (Prepared by the United States Department Depart-ment of Agriculture.) Feeding Is an Important factor In developing a good breeding animal, or a favorite In the show ring. There are many points to he remembered. These points may be called rules of feeding, among which specialists of the United States Department of Agriculture Ag-riculture give the following: 1. Provide a variety of feeds at all times, If possible. It Is easier to supply sup-ply the proper amounts of the desired nutrients which the calf needs if several different feeds are used. The ration will also be more palatable. 2. Do not make sudden changes in the feeds used or in the amounts given. giv-en. If It becomes necessary to change feeds from, say. clover to alfalfa hay, Grain in Medium Amount, Fresh Water Wa-ter and Pasture Are Necessary for Success With Calves. feed part clover and part alfalfa for a few days. Gradually reduce the amount of clover and at the same time Increase the alfalfa. 3. Do not overfeed the calf. Feed as much grain as it will clean up In 30 minutes and wish It had just a little more. Feed left In the trough to be breathed over is worse than wasted. If any remains it should be removed and less given the next time. Digestive disorders occur from feeding too much rather than too little. 4. Do not underfeed the calf. It should make a continuous gain. If it does not grow each day the feed given it is about the same as wasted. It never pays to starve a calf. In fact, the calf does not begin to pay for feed until It Is given more than enough to make some gain. 5. Do not annoy or disturb the calf unnecessarily. It requires more feed to keep it growing while standing or moving about than while lying down at rest. 6. Do not feed moldy, musty, or spoiled feeds. To do so may cause serious digestive disorders. All hays should be bright, well cured, and free from mustlness, dirt, and coarse weeds. The grain also should be free from dirt, mold, and mustlness. - If ground feeds get wet they are likely to mold. This is especially true of cottonseed meal and ground corn. 7. Do not waste time In feeding the calf, or In preparing feed, since wasted time needlessly Increases the cost of gains. Grain should be fed whole except ex-cept when teaching the calf to eat and possibly also near the end of the fitting fit-ting or finishing period. Whole grain as a rule Is more palatable than ground feeds. Ear corn may be shelled, broken, or chopped up in the feed box rather than ground. Husks on snapped corn need not be removed for this purpose. pur-pose. It rarely pays to shred stover or to cut or chaff hay for the calf. It need not be fed three times a day when twice a day will do as well, although al-though the former may be practiced when fitting the animal for show or sale. Do not go to the expense of buying buy-ing prepared "stock feeds" or "remedies." "reme-dies." Hoise-mlxed feeds are cheaper and equally, if not more, satisfactory. A healthy calf does not need condition condi-tion powders. |