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Show VEAL FEEDING PLAN WILL NOT DEVEOP PROFITABLE HEIFERS Dry Feed Builds Big Frames and Strong Bones for Milkers. "Three days is not a very long ime. Yet it Is on the third day .fter a heifer calf Is dropped that he dairyman must decide whether he is to be vealed or grown out as. milker," says W. R. Arends, head :f the Calf Department of Purina Mills. "The reason dairymen must xake such a quick decision is that the feeding plan for growing out a fine veal is not satisfactory for jrowing out a high producing heifer. "In growing out veal calves the object of feeding is to make tha animal retain its baby fat and add to It all the milk fat possible," Arends says. "Fleshy quick growth and fat are wanted in veals. Beef tendencies are encouraged. In raising rais-ing veals milk or rich fattening feeds are best. Little emphasis need be put on bone, muscle, and frame development." Heifer's Need Special Feed But when heifer calves are to be grown out as milkers an entirely different system of feeding must be followed. Growth, not fat, is the primary objective. Beef tendencies must be eliminated. Big husky frames with lots of capacity are most important. At every stage of growth the calf should resemble a 'miniature cow. The only time any fattiness should appear is 90 days before freshening. Extra flesh is needed then to prevent a sharp loss in weight after calving. "Calves intended for milkers t should be taken off milk as soon as I possible and given dry ijzJ. that contains all the essential ingredients for building husky frames ar-J "A plan to entirely eliminate mil'.: from the ration of heifer calves after the first thirty days has been worked out at the Purina Experimental Farm, where hundreds of calves have been grown out to become part of the Purina milking herd. Milk First Three Days "At the Farm calves are left with their mothers the first three days. During that time they get the colos-tral colos-tral milk from their dams. After three days they are taken from their dams and taught to drink water and eat dry calf startena and hay.- Milk is fed in limited amounts. On the plan used at the Purina Experimental Experi-mental Farm calves are given two quarts of milk per day for the first week along with starting feed and hay." At the beginning of the second week the amount of milk Is increased in-creased to four quarts, with free access to calf startena, hay, water, and a little salt. Milk is increased to five quarts per day the beginning of the third week, but on the twenty-first day is cut down to three quarts, and after the fourth . week no milk at all Is fed. After the first thirty days, calf startena, hay, a little lit-tle salt, and plenty of water Is the entire ration. ' Baby Fat Disappears Between the fifth and sixth weeks! the success of the feeding program! begins to show itself. The future) milker is seen in miniature. Baby fat begins to disappear and the angular, an-gular, straight-backed frame of the heavy milker comes into evidence. By removing milk from the ration tendencies toward beefiness are eliminated. Heifers raised on this feeding program have clean-cut throats, sharp withers, and large capacity all signs of a good milker In the making. |