BOYS AND GIRLS' CLUBS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19759, 13 October 1938, Page 12

BOYS AND GIRLS' CLUBS

CALF CLUB MEMBERS CARE OF. STOCK SWEET PEA SEASON By "Tolara" This week Mr. F. R. Bould. inspector of stuck. Department of Agriculture, Gisborne, gave us some very helpful suggestions for en It club members. "Totara" is sure that it you follow Mr. Bould's advice you will bring along in December a call' of which vou can be proud. Cut these notes out and paste them in your record book. "To commence with," Mr. Bould advises, "be sure you select a strong calf, that is one that shows some activity when, say. 48 hours old. A weak calf will never make a suitable entrant for calf club honours. "Having selected your calf, do not take it for granted that all you have to do is to give it a bucket of milk morning and evening and let it run around in any old yard or enclosure. This method is very detrimental to the general health of a calf, and calves so treated are sure never to develop into good dairy stock. Give your selected cair the very best of attention, cleanliness, warm milk and regular times of feeding, and do not forget to protect your calf from the cold and wet. Feeding "After the calf has had the first milk, or colostrum, from the cow, you can pass on to a whole milk ration commencing at 51b to 61b, and at two to three weeks having gradually increased from one to 1J gallons. One matter that must be taken into careful consideration, do not over-feed your calf, and if the test of the milk from Dad's cows is as high as 5 per cent or over, it is beneficial to break down the whole milk by the addition of added warm water, but be careful not to overdo this. The writer considers that 10 per cent of clean warm water added to good whole milk is sufficient. When you commence to reduce your calf's ration of whole milk do it gradually. Commence to add skim milk at three weeks, and by increasing the amount from day to day, get at the end of 10 days on to all skim milk and an addition of whatever meal you care to use. Some writers prefer to give all meal dry and not add it to the milk ration. One of the best uses that can be made of bran in this connection is to add a handful to the bucket that the calf is fed in as soon as the milk ration is finished. If this is done it will be noted that so long as any of the bran remains the calf will not leave the bucket. This, I can assure you, will help to build a bonny calf, and further will do away with that bad habit Calves have of sucking One another. Cleanliness "I would stress the matter of cleanliness in all you do in connection with the feeding and general treatment given to your calf. "The use ot dirty feeding utensils is one of the most detrimental factors in the rearing of calves generally and is the cause of a number ol troubles which you must endeavour tc keep away from your calf. This also refers to bedding, which must also be kept clean. "And now do not fail to commence early to teach your calf to lead. To' this end you must have a suitable halter or headstall. To commence with put your halter on the calf for an hour or two without a rope attached. This will allow it to get used to the feeling of the halter on its head. Now attach a rope to the halter. The calf will soOn get used to being held or tied up by the rope. Ailments "(D Scours. —Although you may have taken all sorts of precautions to keep your calf clean and healthy, there are several ailments to which calves are subject. One of the worst in calves is scours, or diarrhoea, which often follows indigestion through overfeeding or dirty buckets. When this trouble occurs, commence with by giving the calf three to four tablespoonfuls of castor oil, and omit the next meal, after which a small quantity of milk and limewatcr can be given and the calf given a change of quarters. Increase the milk as the calf improves from the trouble. Limewater is most beneficial in cases of this sort. "(2) Parasite Gastritis.—Calves that are allowed to run on wet and dirty paddocks will often develop this trouble, which is caused by the presence of small worms in the stomach. Paddocks which are used year after year are very often the cause of this infection, as worms will remain in the polluted soil for months. Calves affected with worms should be dosed with 26z. to 3oz. doses of bluestont (sulphate of copper) mixed at the rate of lib. sulphate of copper to five gallons of water. "(3) Ringworm.—You will often notice calves with dry scaly patches around the eyes and on the neck. This is ringworm, and can be cured by washing with good .soap and warm water and applying tincture of iodine to the affected parts. Ticks "On the East Coast portion of this district members should always be on the look-out for ticks on their calves, and at all times keep them as free as possible from these blobd suckers. "It is probable that the ticks will not be numerous, and can be easily picked off, but if at any time you find too many to pick off, apply some water oil to the parts where the ticks are. "Keep your calf well-groomed and you will have little trouble with lice, but if at any time these appear, a solution of fluid sheep dip, one teaspoonful to a pint of water, br'ushea well into the hair, will solve this problem. You may have to repeat this treatment again in about 10 days' time to kill any nits that have hatched out in the meantime. "The fnregoing are just a few hints that may assist members of calf clubs in the rearing of good healthy calves fit for exhibition purposes. " If you do not attend to your calves in a systematic manner, you can never expect to attain honours in this direction."

Manga pupa Flower Show

As n wind-up to the sweet pea season a very successful flower show was held at the Mangapapa School on Friday.

The following were successful in the different sections: —

Champion bloom. —Joan Carnegie

Six blooms. —Joan Carnegie, 1; Eugenie Barradell, 2; Andrew Elston and Tony Jensen, equal, 3. Vase of sweet peas.—Joan Carnegie,