TREATMENT OF CALVES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19503, 6 December 1926, Page 16

TREATMENT OF CALVES.

METHODS OF FEEDING. i; '■ r ' When & well-bred dairy calf is born it is as clay in the potter's hands. The owner may mould it into a thing of beauty and utility, or he may cause it to develop into an unshapely, useless beast. The mosi successful dairy farmer, or dairy cattle breeder for thai matter, is he who realises that the heifer calves of to-day are the herd of the future anc that everything possible should be done to nurture them properly, and nurse them into sound consfeitutioned cowt. The common supposition that anyone can rear a calf is altogether an erroneous one If the calf is born healthy it is granted that almost anyone could keep it alive, but there is a "vast, difference between merely saving the life of the animal and properly - equipping it to successfully perform its functions in later vears In developing the calf the double objective of sound constitution and profitable production should be kept in view, and the breeder will act wisely if he starts to make provisioon for the animal some months before its birth. Healthy calves cannot be expected unless the embryo calf is sufficiently nurtured by its mother. Inadequate and poor quality food, sudden changes of general routine, cruelty and disease are among the principal reasons why cows throw weak and unhealthy calves. Inadequate feeding has been mentioned first because it ranks paramount. The old idea that cows in call did not require abundant feed and that they could be turned out into "dry" paddocks was the cause of great mortality among herds and considerable losses to dairy farmers. It is very much the same to-day. Very often a farmer sets out to improve his. herd by purchasing at a high price an in-calf female, and he becomes disgusted when he loses the calf—a loss that frequently is not due to his own lack of knowledge about the treatment necessary for a valuable young pure-bred animal.