Show helping the meat and milk supply special information service U 8 department of agriculture MAKE A GOOD COW OF THE CALF at 4 ap 4 ea lull tu 10 butiu lu to bet a stubborn APP IVing persuasion Iler suasiOn feeding young dairy calves whenever the young animal WW will develop into a star boarder or become a desirable addition to the dairy world depends to a great extent upon the care and feed gihei mother and calf more calves see eoe the light of day in the spring and draw their first breath when the air la Is filled with the fragrance of many blossoms blos soroa than during 1 any ny other season reason of the year whether aether these calves will become tar star boarders producing little milk of f no profit for their owners or be desirable additions to the dairy world will depend not upon the care that la is given them but upon the feed and management of their mothers poorly nourished cows say eay dairy specialists pecia lists of the U 8 department of agriculture give birth to calves that aro are bard to raise cows which have an abundance of palatable succulent feed and are in good body flesh and houltby thrifty condition at calving time are more likely to produce well developed strong thrifty calves which will respond normally to pro per feed and care it is false econ omy for any dairy cow owner to with hold bold teed feed from a dry cow as this Is likely to affect unfavorably tho the tul fut arp welfare of the calf as well bb later milk production by the cow natures method la is to have the calf stay with the cow until it can gumport itself in modern dairy far arming however because of 0 the value of 1 thu tho butter tat fat and whole milk the dairyman separates the calf from tho sow soon after birth the milk pro deuced by the cow for the first few days has properties which put the calta digestive system in good working order it is therefore necessary that the newly born calf have this milk most dairymen prefer to keep the calf with KB its mother tor for about 48 hourt hours immediately after birth but if the calf Is weak it to Is best beat to allow it to remain longer Tc ahing the calf to drink the longer the calf remains with the cow however the harder it Is IB to 4 4 points on idling calves 4 I 1 A regularly 4 lie ile sure that the milk Is al 4 MUS as sheet and aarni arm 4 use only clean pulls pails 4 I 1 KI bcd tho the calf a little less leas than it wants t the he amount of milk 4 4 one halt it if the call calf bec becomes tunics t sik 41 4 4 4 4 teach it to drink but it Is usually al a simple matter to teach a good robust calf to drink if taken when not more than two days old defore before this Is attempted a calf should be kept from the cow for about 12 hours it will then be very hungry about 2 quarts of its mother s milk fresh and warm be put into a clean pail and held in front of the calf sometimes it will put its nose into the pall pail and drink without coaxing dairymen ne not fortunate enough to have many calves that will do this how aver and in most cases it will be ne essary to use a little forceful per suasion in assisting trio the calf with ufa iti firby meal away front from its mother let the calt calf suck the fingers and by this moans gradually draw its nose into he milk when the lingers fingers should b lULu oved carefully as soon as thi th alt ait gets a taste of the milk pall pail ance Is necessary tor for this athla way may have to be repeated two or times before the calf will drina alou if the calf is unusually stu stubborn biorn t is to use torce lorce try not 10 brighten irl ghlen or unduly excite it A calf weighing 50 60 pounds at wit should have about 8 pounds ot who milk a day while a pound cat cal should have about 12 pounds ah i h amount of milk should be gra gradually duall increased until at the end ot oi the se oe cond week the calf should receive from 14 to 10 pounds a day iab mothers mother a milk should be given a calf tor for the first 4 days then any good whole milk can be used but preferably it should not contain more than 4 per cent butter tat fat best befit results can be obtained by feeding young calves three times a day with ith the periods between feeding as equal as possible ahen fed in thle this way the calf does not overload Us its stomach and the digestion of the feed is more evenly distributed throughout the 24 hours regularity in feeding is important when calves are arc fed but twice a day the feeding should be as nearly as possible poe sible IV 12 hours apart cleanliness essential successful raising of calves requires absolute cleanliness calf pens dons should achas be kept clean and be supplied with plenty of dry bedi bedding i discarded feed should be removed from the feed boxes which should be thoroughly brushed and cleaned each day all milk fed should be fresh and clean which is true also of other feeds milk palls pails should be scalded thoroughly with boiling water or sterilized with steam at the beginning ot of the third week either skim or separated milk may be substituted tor for whole milk at any rate ot of 1 pound a day the dally daily ration may be increased from 2 to 4 pounds depending upon the vigor ot of the calf when the calf does not I 1 drink eagerly what Is offered the quantity should be cut down the ration at the end of the third week usually should be approximately one half separated milk during the four fourth I 1 h week eek the change should be contina continue A until by the end of the week only separated milk is fed unless the calf is very delicate WI with especially vigorous calves the change tu to separated milk can be made about a neek eek earlier the quantity fed can be increased gradually to 18 to aj 20 pounds a day six months is probably a good average at which to wean calves from the milk the age depends upon the coit coat of the milk in relation to the value of the calf its breed size vigor etca the season of the year and the other feeds available also must be considered when the best of hay silage and a good variety of grains are available or when good succulent pasturage can be provided ithe tho cho calf can be weaned earlier also the stronger and more vigorous the calf the earlier it can be weaned on the other hand the more valuable the calf the moro more expense the owner is warranted in developing it and the later it will probably be weaned it skim or separated milk Is IB plentiful calves may be fed it with profit until they pre 8 or 10 months old I 1 be maintained entirely on high priced comin commercial emial reeds leeda |