CALF FEEDING AND HAY-TEA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 246, 23 October 1897, Page 3 (Supplement)

CALF FEEDING AND HAY-TEA.

t m a*ain asked about the feeding S£ and particularly about the , nf hay-tea in this connection. Srasq^ntity is concerned there Soi he no cut and dried rule in the C t If it is intended to make Tifinto veal, then the quantity of I » milk or its substitutes, required f°°\Tauged by the calf's appetite. f P real calf have all it will take; Indeed liberal treatment, speak- £ Sly, the best.plan in the fllith all calves. To stint a young f\ will (rive it a cheek in the beifofits career the effects .of Smll remain visible in diminSd size, or a less robust develop* Z •all its fl\vs- Whether reared !f led or the "dairy herd, a good MM habit should be established Xafte outset, and a calf in good Edition should never be allowed, by fflteement sldmpy treatment, to go lack. Personally, I am astrong advocate for giving a newly-born calf ff hole new milk for at least the first Tveei of its life, beginning of course Ttith its mother's milk, or that of another newly-calved cow, for the first tto or three days. It is now generally admitted that the composition of'tbe milk of a cow just freshly >alved has a beneficial effect upon the »lf by regulating the action of the bowels in a way that ordinary milk yonld not do. This first secretion of milk is known amongst farmers as testings,' and it contains 15 per cent. of cascine or cheesy matter as against about 4| per cent, in ordinary milk. It also "contains 2 per cent, of pure mucus, which no doubt plays a part in regulating the functions of the stomach of the young calf. This is wiv I would always, if possible, give i //& own mother's milk for the first ; couple oi days; after that . ordinary sew milk given, warm will do well enough. Two quarts of new milk mice a day will be enough at first, gradually increased to three quarts or sis quarts in the day, when it is a fortnight old. Before that time, howjver, some skim milk can be added to lie new milk, the latter being gradujly reduced in quantity while the former is increased, until it forms, in conjunction with substitutes for butier fat, the sole diet. The usual adition to the skim milk is linseed or oatmeal gruel, but the linseed .is fei the best of the two. The gruel or jelly can be made thin or thick according to the amount of water teed, but five pounds of linseed will make about seven gallons of good jelly, which mixed with enough skim silk will feed five or six big calves for s day. Avoid blowing out the calf with too much at one feed, ? but let its appetite be comfortably satisfied. Now as to hay-tea: Where milk is Karce, or wanted for any other better purpose^ hay-tea can be substituted in part in the rearing of calves. InW) I have known calves to be raistd almost entirely on hay-tea after the fet fortnight, but I must say 1 have Ken better looking calves than those amy time. At the same time, hay•ra, when well made from good early mt hay, is an admirable food in its 'ray, _ By boiling the soluble nutritive constituents of the hay are extracted, «M this extract, according to Prof esf r/• T. Stewart, contains all the W elements required to grow the Jjunal, and is as digestible as milk. Jie chef defect is having too small a Proportion of albuminous and fatty natter. The hay-tea should be boiled »wn so as not to consist of too large •proportion of water to the food elements in it. Professor Stewart has worded the results of experiments he s made with hay-tea in the rearing 1 calves. To each of a lot of calves mouth old he gave daily two galf s °f hay-tea in which \ pound of fceed and \ pound of 'wheat midhad been boiled. After 60 m\ s which the meal add;d hi leased to one pound per SSL ?*• the calves had *ained fc f • Pounds per head per • •A similar experiment made by fcitni yilmn Who sold all his milk Etcp P V?i COnsumPtion was even more c» i• In llis case the cal™s inm weight at the rate of 2i jasper day each in the space of 60

l* s Proves the great value of hayol C CcmJuncti°n with some form %t^ Ceous lood- But there is a fot as ft* W^° n" way of ma]<ing it, Jot of ! re ls m the brewing of a cheer* e+ IV^P^ tlie CUP that a fnml housewife cannot make o f 2of tea from a poor sample it thj vr *hat is familiarly known %hV,n Sh as 'P°sts and rails,' in %er are as Pitiful as leaves. kycrarnr!? n gOod hay tea be made bish v^ ll\ s*n armful of dried rubloilL ! ed hay> into a boiler and iaiaed %?^ a dark ][(V-^ is ob""smvitit, f y,miast be ffo°d to ? blcorn ma- e from §'rass cut wnen i»BcbS i? 18 hay should be cut a > i : Clltl er and boiled for founds nf t! ° Elake the tea. Three **°ne cal^tS 11 make eDOIISh tea ft] strain S' V- en sufficiently boil--6 ll? uor though a wire 104 hoilt« ■ lX ller' add the linseed, lo sa »hn,V? ly' This is all x hav^ Sble tn L r lllks Jt is tf>o m«ch W° ttakeitgoodin this way, double tw a T son he should take the interest I n + T of' his erest ' a nd the satisfaction of

I doing a thing properly. As long as lie j has plenty of skim milk, no one need 1 bother with hay-tea for his calves.