WEANING THE CALF.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 707, 26 September 1914, Page 7

WEANING THE CALF.

The practice on moat dairy farms is to alllow the calves to run with their mothers for three or four days, or until the milk is good enough for table use. The sooner the calf is taken from the cow the easier it will be to teach it to drink from a bucket. For tins reason, in some eases, the calve are not allowed to suck mothers at all. The~ first milk drawn from the cow's udder id essential to the health of the calf, and if it is not permitted to suck it must, learn to drink at once. The length of time that a dairy calf uphold stay witn the cow depends on the condition of the cow's udder and the ability of the man who feeds the calves If the mother's uddnr is badly inflamed and hard, the sucking of the calf will help it. A careful, experienced feeder can raise a calf without its ever sucking the mother, while an inexperienced person might overfeed or in r-th?r ways start it off wrong. , The calf with either system should receive its mother's milk for the first week or ten days, after which it can bs fed the milk from another cow nr from the general supply from the hard. It should by all means be fed whole milk the first two weeks. Tha age at which it can be changed from whole mik to skim-milk will depend upon its thrift. If it is in good condition the change, as a rule, can be started about the end of the third week. It is best gradually to substitute tha skim milk for the whole milk, when this change ia made, ao that the calf will be on the skimmilk raiton at the end of a week. It is a good practice to feed the calf three times a day when it is taken from its mother. It is accustomed to getting small quantities of milk and feeding often. AMOUNT OF MILK TO FEED. The amount of mHk to feed will depend on the size of the calf. Five or six quarts or 10 to 13 pounds a day will be sufficient for large calves, while smaller ones will ~ i»eed only about four quarts or eight pounds a da at the start. These amounts should bs divided equally into the number of feed3j;hafc are given. The quantity of milk given can be increased gradually as the calf increases in size. The temperature and condition of milk fed 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit or about tha temperature at which it will come from the separator when skimmed just"after being milked. It should be warmed if it is permitted to get cold. A dairy thermometer can be purchased for a shilling,and its use will eliminate guesswork in regard to temperatures. The milk should be the same temperature at every feed.- This is not 30 important after the calf is four months old. At this age the milk need not necessarily be warm, but warpa, sweet milk is preferred for S~est results. It should be mentioned in this connection that sunlight, clean pails, and clean surroundings are essential for thß best results in calf raising.