DRY-FEEDING CALVES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 162, 28 June 1930, Page 12

DRY-FEEDING CALVES

Very few dairy farmers in New Zea land find themselves short of a sufficient supply of skim milk to rear those heifer calves which are being kept for herd replacements. There may be, however, some who supply cheese factories, and others who have milk rounds who would be thankful for a “dry-fceding” mixture such as tho following which is said, on the authority of a practical farmer, to give good results and be much leu trouble than gruel. Previously, the farmer had tried the gruel method of feeding, but found it most trouble,some and messy not to mention trouble from scouring and other digestive disturbances of tho calves. Neighbours had used the dry feed plan successfully for two years, with their Holstein calves, and so he decided to try it out. “Our first calf, he says, “arrived just before the milk was to bo sold, and so there was plenty of skim-milk available for feeding it for about three weeks or a month. But we found that feeding this calf for this period meant a tremendous amount of trouble when we tried to change it and induce the youngster to take to tho dry rations. The other calves were started much earlier, and in consequence gave practically no trouble at all, but before we finally got the first calf to take the dry rations we had some anxious time. With the other calves raised during the year, no trou ble whatever was experienced. “The method we adopted on the advice of our neighbour was to allow the calves to suckle as usual for forty eight hours ,and then to wean them. They are taught straight away to drink from the pail, and for the first week or ton days we gave them about three quarts of milk apiece, three times a day for the first week. ‘ ‘ At this time some of the dry feed mixture was played in the feed boxes, and at each time a handful was rubbed on their noses, so that they soon became accustomed to the taste of r and would eat it readily. A small quantity of lucerne was also given them each day. At the end of the first tortnight, the milk was diluted with water, gradually increasing the dilution until when they were about four weeks old they were getting water with a faint colouring of milk.

“The dry feed consisted of feeds in the following proportions:—Corn meal, 24 per cent.; fine ground oats, 36 per cent.; blood flour (soluble), 1: per cent.; wheat bran, 12 per cent.; linseed oil meal, 12 per cent.; bone flour (steamed), 2 per cent.; limestone (ground), 1 per cent.; salt, 1 per cent. “As the milk was diluted down we increased the amount of the dry feed given, so that at the age of about a month they were eating 1 lb a day apiece. It. was necessary, howevei, to keep the calves of different ages penned separately, otherwise the older calves got too much and the younger calves too little. The method of feeding was simplicity itself ones they were w-ell started. Each morning enough <liy feed would be placed before them to last them till tho following morning, and at the same time a a good forkful of good lucerne or clover hay. Water was always before them, and the diluted milk and water was fed each morning as long as it was given. After' that there was no more feeding or trouble, except to look in their pons occasionally each day to replenish hay or water. Compared to the old messy gruel feeding or the sloppy milk method, it saves hours in time and any amount of trouble, and we firmly believe that tho calves are as healthy, if not thriv ing better, than any other batch we have had, and with less scouring or digestive troubles than ever before.