REARING CALVES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 480, 13 April 1909, Page 2

REARING CALVES.

SOME PRACTICAL HINTS. TJSING SKIM-MILK AND WIIEY. One of tlio most essential points in' th progress of dairying is the successful reariii' oi calves. Generally speaking, tlio feeding o calves mi separated milk is well understoo (says tlio "Sydney Daily Telograpli"), lm there arc details which arc nob so well-known all or which contribute to securing tlio bos results. ,In rearing whey-fed calves, there i more scopo for better methods, and to tlios who are embarking on cheese-making.a know ledge of tlio,best systems followed on tlio fa boiith Coast,-with gnat success, will bo foum a distinct aid. No bettor authority need b sought on this question than Mr. H. H; Alex ander, • manager of the Wollongbar Experi ment Farm, who has the advantage of long training in the severely practical schoc of the Bodalla estate. Mr. Alexander recontl went into' this subject rather fully, iu th .'Agricultural Gazette," giving, many goo hints. .i * . . . ■ : In tho first place, Mr. Alexander, on ver good grounds, is opposed ,to leaving tho cal with its mother for longer than tho first 2 hours. Ho recommends that.it should the bo placed in a cleah comfortable pen, with small run attached. , All calves, under fou weeks old should be kept in this paddock to allow of their being thoroughly on a skim-milk or whey diet, before'bein: drafted out among the bigger and stronge calves. To make calves, tractable and casil handled in after life, a good plan is to ti up all youngsters for a few hours .daily i tins small yard. During tho first week or to: days, foed the youngsters three times a da on tlio warm unadulterated' mother's milk There is thus less risk of overloading th digestive organs than if fed only twice. Afte ton days tho midday meal can be dropped Once the calf becomes accustomed to t\v meals per day, a small quantity of skim-mil may,bo added to the food, also an ounce o limo water. The latter strengthens.tho -ays torn; also tends to neutralise 'acidity of th stomach, thereby to a degree preventin scours. Gradually increase the percentage of skin milk, and reduce the quantity of full mil till the calf is four weeks old, when it shotil be fed solely on a skim-milk or whey ratior As tho calf's diet is undergoing change, two or threo ounce doso of castor or raw lir seed oil, given twieo a week in the fooc has an excellent corrective effect, and pre vents costiveness, the' sure sign of digestiv troubles, and a forerunner of scours. U to this stage no food other than milk i advisable, tho change from full to skim-mil being a sc.Vßre tax on tho calf's strengt without any addition of solid matter in th ration. Alter the four.weeks' stago som calf food can bo fed with advantage Grai ually.'add the food to tho milk, taking, saj two weeks to placo the calf on a full alloi\ ance. A mixture of crushed linseed, on Tart, and pollard, two parts, when wo boiled, makes a cheap and nutritious food and compensates to a 'degree fdr the buttci lat extracted. . A full one-nuhl allowanc for a six weeks old calf would be: Olio pin lin3eed and pollard porridge, loz. lime watoi and 101 b. skim milk. This to be increase as tho calf grows older. Should mills b short in quantity, the addition of perrid" and water to tho ration would keep tho ca< growing. As milk passes through a separator it Ik comos considerably charged with air. Th presence of any excess of; air in skim mil is harmful, if fed to calves, causing coli and scours. : Separated milk should,, there fore," bo allowed to stand'for a short/ tim permit of air escaping. ' Splendid "result lollow cooling skim milk, as it'comes fror tho separator, afterwards warming the coole milk to feeding temperature by means o steam or a hot iron.. If calves must be fei on skim null; direct from'the separator avoii all troth. They should also he, allowed fi'e access to rock salt. In feeding on.whe allow a larger quantity of linseed porridge Jo make the.whey, more palatable, also t increase the feedjng value/2oz. of m'olassc per meal may bo added; to tho ration. Thi quantity will bo. found aniplo/as if fed ii excess molasses has a rather opening effect As drawn from tho cheese vat whey contain a varying amount of gas, which, if'fed direc o calves, would in many cases cause liovoa Whey should bo allowed to stand for ai lour or two to allow of gas escaping, or, bet ter still, it could be /pasteurised and coolei as drawn. This would expel all gas am Check development of acidity. Calves cai be reared equally as well ■ on whey as 01 skim milk, provided cleanliness.and care ar Observed. Suppliers to co-operative fac tones should,insist on all milk or v.'hc shoots and tanks being kept in sweet cori clition by being scrubbed and sc.ilded daily l',eed calves regularly, their meals, as unarjas possible dividing tho 24 hours. Thei' ood must bo warm v fresh, clean, and fci Tom thoroughly., clean buckets. All cal food should bo so pure and wholesome tha tie feeder would, if need be, drink of th. mixture, lhe feeding temperature shonlt >e maintained b6tween 90 and 100 dog Threo feeding systems are in voguo amonr dairy farmors-froih troughs by means o rubber teats, and by bailing up and feedinp from buckets. Having tried all those methods, Mr. Alexander unhesitating recommends the last-mentioned. Diminutive bails can be erected at a very small cost, and by feeding each calf individually from buckets every animal receives its proper allowance or iood,- and sickness or loss of appetite can readily bo detected and. attended to. Troubled calves never look an evenly-nourished lot, I'eedmg by means of teats may have'soino good points, but Mr. Alexander's experience is that results never 'compensate lor the -roublo and expense connected with tho rubbers and tubes.' If grass is plentiful calves need'no other food in addition to tlio ration already mentioned. During dry summer spells and winter months ah allowance of lay or silage is necessary. To ultimately become a cow with the depth of body, and capacity for food so desired in milkers, the digestivo organs of the calf or heifer must kj fully developed. This can only bo done >y liberal and bulky feeding. Silage made from any green fodder makes an ideal roughage for young' Btock. It is cheap, palat)lo, easily digested, and readily eaten. Silage as a -laxative, and ' keeps the bowels in a healthy condition. Lucerne, meadow, and Hungarian millet hays, are excellent fodders, but aro considerably more expensive than" silage. Oaten or wheaton hay, when fed to young stock, is digested and relished better if chaffed and damned down with molasses and water. When fooding hay from racks, should calves .appear somewhat costive, two or three ounccp of crude molasses given in tho milk will correct the trouble. When weaning put tho calf on one meal a day for a week or two, and then food once every other day, gradually reducing the food allowance till tlio calf is weaned. When to wcaii depends on the calf and grass available. It never pays to wean a calf and turn it out to starve on bare paddocks.