REARING CALVES.

Waikato Times, Volume 109, Issue 18283, 21 March 1931, Page 22 (Supplement)

REARING CALVES.

WITH MILK AND WITHOUT. The slaughter of the Innocents often looks like economy to the dairyman who feels that he cannot afford to find the milk to rear his calves. It is admittedly a real loss to the country and it is often a waste of real money also to the dairyman —particularly when he kills calves from known prolific milkers, and buys scrub. heifers at auction to keep up his herd strength.—Veterinarian contributor to the Land. It is surprising what a large number of calves are knocked on the head at birth. Dairymen will tell you that it doe 3 not pay to rear them. This may be 'true in places, where the owners have no separated milk, because they sell whole milk at a price that prohibits its being used for butter making. For the same reason, in their opinion, It Is not profitable to use new or whole min for calf-raising; hence the calves are., sold to the : butcher shortly after they are born or are knocked on the head. T The dairyman’s one object is to get the cows in milk, and so little or no attention Is paid to the calf; also inferior bulls are often used for breeding, and the calves have no breeding value. It is evident that this is unsatisfactory from the point of view of national economy since many valuable high-producing cows are, as far as breeding is concerned, lost to the country. Instead of breeding heifers to replace old cows many dairymen purchase heifers of which they know nothing. Purchasing heifers in this way means risking the introduction. into their herds of cows suffering from contagious abortion, contagious vaginilis, tuberculosis, etc. They also buy animals from unrecorded cows, although in their own herds they possess cows whose production they know. . If their own calves were economically reared selective breeding could be practised. Heifer calves from the best cows by good bulls of milking strain should never be got rid of. To do so is a penny-wise-pound-foolish polioy. No matter what the auctioneer says it stands to reason I hat the best heifers are not kindly p.d on the market for anyone to purrlmse; and the average heifer put up I'm' sale is usually an animal with little hr recommend her from a milk-pro-ducing. point of view. It is certain, however, that ultiri' ilely dairymen will be forced to rear 1, ') rr calves from their own highp. educing cows in order to grade up I. eir herds. At present the average butter production from cows in New South W.t'us is very low and does not show n uch sign of improving. Other countries, such as Denmark, have raised their butler production per cow very greatly during the past few years, and

New South Wales cannot much longer afford to stand still. Concerning the raising of calves for dairy purposes, much misconception exists. Many men still think that a calf Intended for dairying must be kept like a bag of bones if she is to turn out a good cow. Nothing could be further from the truth, as calves consistently half-starved must suffer constitutionally and start theii milking life labouring under a great handicap. A calf, if it is to grow up into a well grown healthy -cow, giving good production, must be fed adequately from birth. . From the calf's standpoint it may be at once conceded that there is no method of rearing equal to the natural one of allowing It to run with its dam. Unfortunately the method will not pay as with present prices. New milk, continued for long, is far too expensive a calf food. In the case of pedigree calves, more especially the bulls, the higher anticipated sale prices generallv justify the use of new milk up to the age of twelve months; but good well-grown bulls can be reared wlth r out much new milk. Calves can toe satisfactorily reared on a small quantity of whole milk, supplemented byconcentrates and roughage. The following method of calf-rear-ing taken from an English stud is given: As soon as the calf is dropped it is removed lo its pen and its navel is freely anointed with carbolic oil, made by mixing I part of Calvert’s No. 4 carbolic acid with 19 parts of oil. This is done to prevent and disease Infection through the navel. As soon as the cow is milked the calf receives Us first feed. The two fore fingers are placed In the calf’s mouth and the hand Is lowered Into a bowl of the colostrum (first milk) and usually the calf at once sucks vigorously, though sometimes a little patience is required before it discovers Its ability to suck. A quart Is sufficient for the first meal. Colotrum or “beestings" differs In many respects from ordinary milk, for it contains about five times as much albuminoid matter, and nearly twice as much mineral (bone-forming) matter. Further, the albuminoid matter, Instead of being mainly In the form of curd (casein) as In milk, is chiefly In the form of albumen (white of eggs) which will not curdle In the calf’s stomach and which practically needs no digesting. In the course of about five days colostrum has gradually assumed the character of ordinary milk. In the event of the cow dying and no colostrum being available for the calf, a useful substitute for the first three days is made by whipping up one egg with half a pint of warm water, adding half a teaspoonful of castor oil and stirring in a pint of new milk for each meal. Feed the calf three times a day until it is eight weeks old. It is most unnatural for young animals to go long without food, and giving the daily allowance of milk at two feeds instead of three is often the cause 'of digestive troubles with calves. On the third day the use of fingers is discontinued, and the calf is made lo drink from a small pail. By this lime Tt takes greedily (if healthy) two quarts at each feed. At the end of a fortnight half the new milk is discontinued and the meal now consists of one quart of new milk and three pints of separated milk, with a cream substitute. Cream substitutes are: (1) Boiled linseed arid (2) cod liver oil. To use (1) two pound of linseed are put to soak overnight in three igalloms of water; boiled and stirred the next day for twenty minutes, and five minutes before the boiling is finished, 41b, of flour (previously mixed with water to prevent Its being lumpy) Is added to

this gruel to counteract the laxative tendency of the linseed. This will keep sweet for several days and is therefore made in considerable quantity. One pint of this gruel is added to'four pints of separated milk. If cod liver oil is used, a calf gets a tablespoonful at each feed. New milk is discontinued at the end of the first month, and for the next month the allowance of separated milk for each of three feeds is three quarts with cream substitute. To make extra good vealers add oatmeal to the milk; it will cause them to fatten quickly. Calves start to chew the cud at the fifth week and can receive hay in addition to the milk. At the ninth week the mid-day milk Is replaced by a handful of linseed cake (60z.), and the calves get a good drink (5 quarts) of separated milk morning and evening, without cream substitute. Milk can be continued up to the sixth month with gradually increasing quantities of oil-cake. Although skim milk is somewhat richer in fat than separated milk, yet the separated has an advantage over the skim in being perfectly fresh and sweet when given to the calves and if served to them morning and evening shortly after being saparated. It needs no warming. Where separated milk is not available, calf rearing becomes a difficulty, and calf-meal milk substitutes are necessary. Calves reared on calf-meals alone are “potbellied,” badly grown animals. The following meals are good of their kind:— 1 Used when a small quantity of milk is available: 8 parts of oatmeal (by weight), i part of ground linseed. Scald 241 b. over night with five, pints of boiling water, boll for ten minutes next morning, and add five pints of separated milk with about ioz. of salt and 2oz. of sugar. 2. Where no separated milk is available: 2 parts of linseed oil cake meal, 2 parts of oatmeal, 1 part of ground linseed. Mix 3lb. with 5 quarts of boiling water over night and boil for ten minutes next morning; serve with salt and sugar as with No. 1. Wher« these meals are used they should toe introduced and the new milk very gradually reduced. First week.—Mother’s milk only. Second and third weeks. —Three pints of new milk and one pint of gruel at each feed. Fourth and fifth weeks, —Two pints of new milk and two pints of gruel. At the eighth week two quarts of gruel and no milk.