MORTALITY AMONG CALVES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 208, 22 May 1918, Page 10

MORTALITY AMONG CALVES

IMPROPER FEEDING. ' Mr. T. Philp, the Tasinanian Government veterinary surgeon, has reported to the Department of Agriculture that the mortality which occurs every year among calves was due in the great majority of cases to , errors in feeding and vrant of strict attention to cleanliness. He was struck with the connec-. tion between tho lack of a proper system of calf-raising and tho occurrence of septicaemia; many calves did not have a j fair start, and got their digestive organs i ■weakened by improper feeding and management, thus lessening their powers of resistance to both disease and parasitic invasion. Carelessness in these important i j essentials was simply courting failure. ; Before all else it was imperative that feeding vessels be kept scrupulously clean, increased care in this respect being necessary in hot weather. The diet should l>o regulated so that while the growing calves always receive ample foods their digestive organs are not overtaxed. The

main "objects to bo borne in mind in feeding-were the formation and development of bone and muscle without the

laying on of too much fat. Mr. J. R. Read, owner of ' Springhurst Estate, in the north-eastern district ot Victoria, a prominent Jer3ey breeder (the "Argus" points out), adopted a system of calf-raising which, on account of its simplicity, had much to recommend it. The newly-born calves were allowed to draw theiv nutriment from the mothers for three days after birth. Tney were then given whole milk for a fortnight. From then on to weaning, which was generally done at six 'months, they received skim milk with a small of speciallyprepared commercial calf food mixed with it., Small staijs were used for feeding, in each of which a tin dish holding laif a gallon, was firmly attached to a stand. Each stall was made secure from interference by the calves with one another. The allowance for calves was half a gallon morning and evening from the time they were removed from their danis. When hand-feeding was discontinued the calves were put on to eitner natural pasture, lucerne stands, or young cereal crops. The young beasts must be kept growing, and on no account ought they to receive the slightest check. Trouble with intestinal diseases or scours was unknown at the Springhurst Estate, where all the calves were perfectly healthy and in a thriving condition. They were broken in to leau early in their existence. This baved a lot of bother ■wheij, as heifers, they came into the milking shed.' Having been previously handled they wero then wore tractable.