THE NEW-BORN CALF

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume XLV, Issue 3080, 14 April 1927, Page 8

THE NEW-BORN CALF

FEEDING AND CARE

.SOME USKFUL HINTS.

Too ninth importance cannot be placed on the care needful to the new boru calf. It should be taken away from the mother during the first 24 hours, and fed by hand with its mother's milk preferably three times a day. The quantity given should be 21b to 31b at each meal. If the mother has any udder trouble the calf should not be given her milk, but should be fed with milk from another cow that has recently calved. If it is impossible to secure such milk whole milk from another cow may be fed, but this milk should

be weakened by the addition of half a cup of warm water at each meal. After a few weeks have elapsed, and the calf is becoming stronger the precaution should be taken not to feed it with milk from a cow that has calved within a day or so. When such milk is fed to a calf a few weeks old stomach trouble

is sure to result

Cleanliness, regularity in time of feeding and treatment, and evenness in temperature and quantities of feed may be cited as prime factors in successful calf rearing. Filth, either in dirty, germladen utensils or stalls, is bound to cause trouble. The drinking utensils need cleaning just as much as the milking buckets do. Badly drained pens an:] unclean bedding causes endless trouble. Young calves pick up earth and straws, and if these come from dirty yards

scour is sure to follow. The young calf needs feeding early and late—9 a.m. and 5 p.m., leaving just double the period between the evening and morning meal. All cattle are creatures cf habit, and once a well organised system is arranged they become more contented. The correct temperature for the food is blood heat—about 98 to lOC.k'g. Giving the young calf cold milk will soon bring disaster. The same may also bo said of stale milk.

The calves should be fed imlivulu: ally. Trough feeding eventually ends in the death of a calf —the big, strong, greedy fellow will over gorge himself, while his weakly mate will get practically nothing. Frothy milk fresh from the separator is likely to cause bloat and scour, because it contains excessive gas. If separate buckets are provided for each calf and they are placed in small stalls, the sucking habit whic-h causes lacerated ears and damaged no.ilers will be minimised. When the calves are allowed to suck one another the milk secretion glands probably become aggravated. Therefore, where the stall system of feeding is not practised, the calves should be tied up for half an hour after feeding. All calves ,honM be treated with kindness.

Calves after starting to feed need 91b of fresh milk daily, fed in equal quantities at the morning and evening meal It is advisable to add half a cup of lime water to the milk to prevent .scour. At the end of one month skim milk should be added gradually and when a further two weeks have elapsed it will be unnecessary to feed with any new milkwhatever. When the all skim milk i stage is reached, however, 2oz of well boiled linseed meal should be given j twice daily to each calf. The amount of skim milk may be increased to two gallons as the calf grows. Calves begu< to eat after the first two weeks, and it is wise to provide them with some very fine hay. They should not be i'u! on damaged hay. A daily handful of crushed oats will be relished.