THE RAISING OF CALVES.
It has been found in practice that calves properly bred and raised on
the farm have a far greater intrinsic value for that farm, other things
being equal, than any that can be procured elsewhere, while on the
manner in which they are raised will depend much of their future
usefulness and profit. These considerations should have their proper
weight in the decision as to whether a promising calf from a good cow
and bull shall be kept or sold to the butcher. But, rather than raise a
calf at hap-hazard, and simply because its dam was celebrated as a
milker, the judicious farmer will judge of the peculiar characteristics
of the animal itself. This will often save a great and useless outlay
which has sometimes been incurred in raising calves for dairy purposes,
that a more careful examination would have rejected as unpromising.
The method of judging stock developed in a former chapter is of
practical use here, and it is safer to rely upon it, to some extent,
particularly when other appearances concur, than to go on blindly. The
milk-mirror on the calf is small, but no smaller in proportion to its
size than that of the cow; while its shape and form can generally be
distinctly seen, particularly at the end of ten or twelve weeks. The
development of the udder, and other peculiarities, will give some
indication of the future capacities of the animal, and these should be
studied.
If we except the manure of young stock, the calf is the first product of
the cow, and as such demands our attention, whether it is to be raised
or hurried off to the shambles. The practice adopted in raising calves
differs widely in different sections of the country, being governed very
much by local circumstances, as the vicinity of a milk-market, the value
of milk for the dairy, the object of breeding, whether mainly for beef,
for work, or for the dairy, etc.; but, in general, it may be said that
within the range of thirty or forty miles of good veal-markets, which
large towns furnish, comparatively few are raised at all. Most of them
are fatted and sold at ages varying from three to eight or ten weeks;
and in milk-dairies still nearer large towns and cities they are often
hurried off at one or two days, or, at most, a week old. In both of
these cases, as long as the calf is kept it is generally allowed to
suckle the cow, and, as the treatment is very simple, there is nothing
which particularly calls for remark, unless it be to condemn the
practice entirely, on the ground that there is a more profitable way
even for fattening calves for the butcher, and to say that allowing the
calf to suck the cow at all is objectionable on the score of economy,
except in cases where it is rendered necessary by the hard and swollen
condition of the udder.
If the calf is so soon to be taken away, I should prefer not to suffer
the cow to become attached to it at all, since she is apt to withhold
her milk when it is removed, and a loss is sustained. The farmer will be
governed by the question of profit, whatever course it is proposed to
adopt. In raising blood stock, however, or in raising beef cattle,
without any regard to economy of milk, the system of suckling the
calves, or letting them run with the cow, may and will be adopted,
since it is usually attended with somewhat less labor.
The other course, which is regarded as the best where the calf is to be
raised for the dairy, is to bring it up by hand. This is done almost
universally in all countries where the raising of dairy cows is best
understood,--in Switzerland, Holland, some parts of Germany, and
England. It requires rather more care, on the whole; but it is decidedly
preferable, since the calves cost less, as the food can be easily
modified, and the growth is not checked, as it is apt to be when the
calf is finally taken off from the cow. I speak, of course, of sections
where the milk of the cow is of some account for the dairy, and where it
is too valuable to be devoted entirely to nourishing the calf. In this
case, as soon as the calf is dropped the cow is allowed to lick off the
slimy moisture till it is dry, which she will usually do from instinct,
or, if not, a slight sprinkling of salt over the body of the calf will
immediately tempt her. The calf is left to suck once or twice, which it
will do as soon as it is able to stand. It should, in all cases, be
permitted to have the first milk that comes from the cow, which is of a
turbid, yellowish color, unfit for any of the purposes of the dairy, but
somewhat purgative or medicinal, and admirably and wisely designed by
nature to free the bowels and intestines of the new-born animal from the
mucous, excrementitious matter always existing in them after birth. Too
much of this new milk may, however, be hurtful even to the new-born
calf, while it should never be given at all to older calves. The best
course, it seems to me,--and I speak from considerable experience, and
much observation and inquiry of others,--is to milk the cow dry
immediately after the calf has sucked once, especially if the udder is
painfully distended, which is often the case, and to leave the calf with
the cow during one day, and after that to feed it by putting the
fingers into its mouth, and gently bringing its muzzle down to the milk
in a pail or trough, when it will imbibe in sucking the fingers. I have
never found much difficulty in teaching the calf to drink when taken so
young, though some take to it much more readily than others. What the
calf does not need should be given to the cow. Some, however, prefer to
milk immediately after calving; and if the udder is overloaded this may
be the best course, though the better practice seems to be to leave the
cow as quietly to herself as possible for a few hours. The less she is
disturbed, as a general thing, the better. The after-birth should be
taken from her immediately after it is dropped. It is customary to give
the cow, as soon as convenient, after calving, some warm and stimulating
drink,--a little meal stirred into warm water, with a part of the first
milk that comes from her, seasoned with a little salt.
In many cases the calf is taken from the cow immediately, and before she
has seen it, to a warm, dry pen out of her sight, and there rubbed till
thoroughly dry; and then, when able to stand, fed with the new milk from
the cow, which it should have three or four times a day, regularly, for
the first fortnight, whatever course it is proposed to adopt afterwards.
It is of the greatest importance to give the young calf a thrifty start.
The milk, unless coming directly from the cow, should be warmed.
Some object to removing the calf from the cow in this way, on the ground
of its apparent cruelty. But the objection to letting the calf suckle
the cow for several days, as they do, or indeed of leaving it with the
cow for any length of time, is, that she invariably becomes attached to
it, and frets and withholds her milk when it is at last taken from her.
She probably suffers a great deal more, after this attachment is once
formed, at the removal of the object of it, than she does at its being
taken at once out of her sight. The cow’s memory is far greater than
many suppose; and the loss and injury sustained by removing the calf
after it has been allowed to suck her for a longer or shorter period is
never known exactly, because it is not usually known how much milk the
calf takes; but it is, without doubt, very considerable. If the udder is
all right, there seems to be no good reason for leaving the calf with
the cow two or three days, if it is then to be taken away.
The practice in Holland is to remove the calf from the mother even
before it has been licked, and to take it into one corner of the barn,
or into another building, out of the cow’s sight and hearing, put it
upon soft dry straw, and rub it dry with some hay or straw, when its
tongue and gums are slightly rubbed with salt, and the mucus and saliva
removed from the nostrils and lips. After this has been done, the calf
is made to drink the milk first taken as it comes from the mother. It is
slightly diluted with water, if taken last from the udder; but, if the
first of the milking, it is given just as it is. The calf is taught to
drink in the same manner as in this country, by putting the fingers in
its mouth and bringing it down to the milk, and it soon gets so as to
drink alone. It is fed at first from four to six times a day, or even
oftener; but soon only three times, at regular intervals. Its food for
two or three weeks is clear milk, as it comes warm and fresh from the
cow. This is never omitted, as the milk during the most of that time
possesses certain qualities which are necessary to the calf, and which
cannot be effectually supplied by any other food. In the third or fourth
week the milk is skimmed, but warmed to the degree of fresh milk;
though, as the calf grows a little older, the milk is given cold, while
less care is taken to give it the milk of its own mother, that of other
cows now answering equally well. In some places calves are fed on
butter-milk at the age of two weeks and after; but the change from new
milk, fresh from the cow, is made gradually, some sweet skim-milk and
warm water being at first added to it.
At three weeks old, or thereabouts, the calf will begin to eat a little
sweet, fine hay, and potatoes cut fine, and it very soon becomes
accustomed to this food. Many now begin to give linseed-meal mixed into
hot water, to which is added some skim-milk or butter-milk; and others
use a little bran cooked in hay-tea, made by chopping the hay fine, and
pouring on boiling hot water, which is allowed to stand a while on it.
An egg is frequently broken into such a mixture. Others still at this
age take pains to have fresh linseed-cake, broken into pieces of the
size of a pigeon’s-egg; putting one of these into the mouth after the
meal of milk has been finished, and when it is eager to suck at anything
in its way. It will very soon learn to eat linseed-meal. A little sweet
clover is put in its way at about the age of three weeks, and it will
soon eat that also.
In this manner the feeding is continued from the fourth to the seventh
week, the quantity of solid food being gradually increased. In the sixth
or seventh week the milk is by degrees withheld, and water or
butter-milk used instead; and soon after this, green food may be safely
given, increasing it gradually with the hay to the age of ten or twelve
weeks, when it will do to put them upon grass alone, if the season is
favorable for it. A lot as near the house as possible, where they can be
easily looked after and frequently visited, is best. Calves should be
gradually accustomed to all changes; and even after being turned to
pasture they ought to be taken in if the weather is not dry and warm.
The want of care and attention to these little details will be apparent
sooner or later; while, if the farmer give his own time to these
matters, he will be fully paid in the rapid growth of his calves. It is
especially necessary to see that the troughs from which they are fed, if
troughs are used, are kept clean and sweet.
But there are some even among intelligent farmers who make a practice of
turning their calves out to pasture at the tender age of two and three
weeks, and that, too, when they have sucked the cow up to that time, and
allow them nothing in the shape of milk or tender care. I cannot but
think that this is the poorest possible economy, to say nothing of the
cruelty of such treatment. The growth of the calf is checked, and the
system receives a shock from so sudden a change, from which it cannot
soon recover. The careful Dutch breeders bring the calves either skimmed
milk or butter-milk to drink several times a day after they are turned
to grass, which is not till the age of ten or twelve weeks; and, if the
weather is chilly, the milk is warmed for them. They put a trough
generally under a covering, where the calves may come and drink at
regular times. Thus they are kept tame and docile.
In the raising of calves, through all stages of their growth, great care
should be taken neither to starve nor to over-feed. A calf should never
be surfeited, and never be fed so highly that it cannot be fed more
highly as it advances. The most important point is to keep it growing
thriftily without getting too fat, if it is to be raised for the dairy.
Mr. Aiton, in describing the mode of rearing calves in the dairy
districts of Scotland, says: “They are fed on milk, with seldom any
admixture; and they are not permitted to suckle their dams, but are
taught to drink milk by the hand from a dish. They are generally fed on
milk only for the first four, five, or six weeks, and are then allowed
from two to two and a half quarts of new milk each meal, twice in the
twenty-four hours. Some never give them any other food when young except
milk, lessening the quantity when the calf begins to eat grass or other
food, which it generally does when about five weeks old, if grass can be
had; and withdrawing it entirely about the seventh or eighth week of the
calf’s age. But, if the calf is reared in winter, or early in spring,
before the grass rises, it must be supplied with at least some milk till
it is eight or nine weeks old; as a calf will not so soon learn to eat
hay or straw, nor fare so well on them alone as it will do on pasture.
Some feed their calves reared for stock partly with meal mixed in the
milk after the third or fourth week. Others introduce gradually some new
whey among the milk, first mixed with meal; and, when the calf gets
older, they withdraw the milk, and feed it on whey and porridge.
Hay-tea, juices of peas and beans, or pea or bean straw, linseed beaten
into powder, treacle, &c., have all been sometimes used to advantage in
feeding calves; but milk, when it can be spared, is by far their most
natural food.
“In Galloway, and other pastoral districts, where the calves are allowed
to suckle, the people are so much wedded to their own customs as to
argue that suckling is much more nutritive to the calves than any other
mode of feeding. That suckling induces a greater secretion of saliva,
which, by promoting digestion, accelerates the growth and fattening of
the young animal, cannot be doubted; but the secretion of that fluid may
likewise be promoted by placing an artificial teat in the mouth of the
calf; and giving it the milk slowly, and at the natural temperature. In
the dairy districts of Scotland, the dairy-maid puts one of her fingers
into the mouth of the calf, when it is fed, which serves the purpose of
a teat, and will have nearly the same effect as the natural teat, in
inducing the secretion of saliva. If that, or an artificial teat of
leather, be used, and the milk given slowly before it is cold, the
secretion of saliva may be promoted to all the extent that can be
necessary; besides, that secretion is not confined to the mere period of
eating, but, as in the human body, the saliva is formed and part of it
swallowed at all times. As part of the saliva is sometimes seen dropping
from the mouths of the calves, it might be advisable to give them not
only an artificial teat, when fed, but to place, as is frequently done,
a lump of chalk before them to lick, thus leading them to swallow the
saliva. The chalk would so far supply the want of salt, of which cattle
are so improperly deprived, and it would also promote the formation of
saliva. Indeed, calves are much disposed to lick and suckle everything
that comes within their reach, which seems to be the way that nature
teaches them to supply their stomachs with saliva.
“But, though suckling their dams may be most advantageous in that
respect, yet it has also some disadvantages. The cow is always more
injured than the calf is benefited, by that mode of feeding. She becomes
so fond of the calf that she does not, for a long time after, yield her
milk freely to the dairy-maid. The calf does not when young draw off the
milk completely, and when it is taken off by the hand the cow withholds
part of her milk; and, whenever a cow’s udder is not completely emptied
every time she is milked, the lactic secretion is thereby diminished.
“Feeding of calves by the hand is in various other respects
advantageous. Instead of depending on the uncertain or perhaps
precarious supply of the dam, which may be more at first than the young
animal can consume or digest, and at other times too little for its
supply, its food can, by hand-feeding, be regulated to suit the age,
appetite, and purposes for which the calf is intended; other admixtures
or substitutes can be introduced into the milk, and the quantity
gradually increased or withdrawn at pleasure. This is highly necessary
when the calves are reared for stock. The milk is in that case
diminished, and other food introduced so gradually that the stomach of
the young animal is not injured as it is when the food is too suddenly
changed. And, in the case of feeding of calves for the butcher, the
quantity of milk is not limited to that of the dam (for no cow will
allow a stranger calf to suckle her), but it can be increased, or the
richest or poorest parts of the milk given, at pleasure.”
In these districts, where, probably, the feeding and management of
calves is as well and judiciously conducted as in any other part of
Britain, the farmers’ wives and daughters, or female domestics, have the
principal charge of young calves; and they are, no doubt, much better
calculated for this duty than men, since they are more inclined to be
gentle and patient. The utmost gentleness should always be observed in
the treatment of all stock; but especially of milch cows, and calves
designed for the dairy. Persevering kindness and patience will, almost
invariably, overcome the most obstinate natures; while rough and
ungentle handling will be repaid in a quiet kind of way, perhaps, by
withholding the milk, which will always have a tendency to dry a cow up;
or, what is nearly as bad, by kicking, and other modes of revenge, which
often contribute to the personal discomfort of the milker. The
disposition of the cow is greatly modified, if not, indeed, wholly
formed, by her treatment while young; and therefore it is best to handle
calves as much as possible, and make pets of them, lead them with a
halter, and caress them in various ways. Calves managed in this way will
always be docile, and suffer themselves to be approached and handled
both in the pasture and the barn.
With respect to the use of hay-tea, often used in this country, but more
common abroad, where greater care and attention is usually given to the
details of breeding, Youatt says: “At the end of three or four days, _or
perhaps a week, or even a fortnight_, after a calf has been dropped, and
the first passages have been cleansed _by allowing it to drink as much
of the cow’s milk as it feels inclined for_, let the quantity usually
allotted for a meal be mixed, consisting, for _the first week_, of three
parts milk and one part hay-tea. _The only nourishing infusion of hay is
that which is made from the best and sweetest hay, cut by a chaff-cutter
into pieces about two inches long_, and put into an earthen vessel; over
this boiling water should be poured, and the whole allowed to stand for
two hours, during which time it ought to be kept carefully closed. After
the first week, the proportions of milk and hay-tea may be equal; then
composed of two thirds of hay-tea and one of milk; and at length one
fourth part of milk will be sufficient. This food should be given to the
calf in a lukewarm state _at least three, if not four times a day, in
quantities averaging three quarts at each meal_, but gradually
increasing to four quarts _as the calf grows older_. _Towards the end of
the second month_, beside the usual quantity given at each meal
(composed of three parts of the infusion and one of milk), a small wisp
or bundle of hay is to be laid before the calf, which will gradually
come to eat it; but, if the weather is favorable, as in the month of
May, the beast may be turned out to graze in a fine, sweet pasture, well
sheltered from the wind and sun. This diet may be continued until
towards the latter end of the third month, when, if the calf grazes
heartily, each meal may be reduced to less than a quart of milk, with
hay-water; or skimmed milk or fresh butter-milk may be substituted for
new milk. At the expiration of the third month the animal will hardly
require to be fed by hand, though, if this should still be necessary,
one quart of the infusion given daily, and which during the summer need
not be warmed, will be sufficient.” The hay-tea should be made fresh
every two days, as it soon loses its nutritious quality.
This and other preparations are given not because they are better than
milk, than which nothing is better adapted to fatten a calf, or promote
its growth, but simply to economize by providing the most suitable and
cheaper substitutes. Experience shows that the first two or three calves
are smaller than those that follow; and hence, unless they are
pure-bred, and to be kept for the blood, they are not generally thought
to be so desirable to raise for the dairy as the third or fourth, and
those that come after, up to the age of nine or ten years. On this point
opinions differ.
According to the comparative experiments of a German agriculturist, cows
which as calves had been allowed to suckle their dams from two to four
weeks brought calves which weighed only from thirty-five to forty-eight
pounds; while others, which, as calves, had been allowed to suckle from
five to eight weeks, brought calves weighing from sixty to eighty
pounds. It is difficult to see how there can be so great a difference,
if, indeed, there is any; but it may be worthy of careful observation
and experiment, and as such it is stated in this connection. The
increased size of the calf would be due to the larger size to which the
cow would attain; and if as a calf she were allowed to run with her dam
in the pasture four or five months, taking all the milk she wanted, she
would doubtless be kept growing on in a thriving condition. But taking a
calf from the cow at four or even eight weeks must check its growth to
some extent, and this may be avoided by feeding liberally, and bringing
up by hand.
After the calf is fully weaned, there is nothing very peculiar in the
general management. A young animal will require for the first few
months--say up to the age of six months--an average of five or six
pounds daily of good hay, or its equivalent. At the age of six months it
will require from four and a half to five pounds, and at the end of the
year from three and a half to four pounds of good hay, or its
equivalent, for every one hundred pounds of its live weight; or, in
other words, about three and a half or four per cent. of its live
weight. At two years old it will require three and a half, and some
months later three per cent. of its live weight daily in good hay or its
equivalent. Indian-corn fodder, either green or cured, forms an
excellent and wholesome food at this age.
The heifer should not be pampered, nor yet poorly fed or half starved,
so as to receive a check in her growth. An abundant supply of good
healthy dairy food and drink will do all that is necessary up to the
time of having her first calf, which should not ordinarily be till the
age of three years, though some choose to allow them to come in at two
or a little over, on the ground that it early stimulates the secretion
of milk, and that this will increase the milking propensity through
life. This is undoubtedly the case, as a general rule; but I think
greater injury is done by checking the growth, unless the heifer has
been fed up to large size and full development from the start, in which
case she may perhaps take the bull at fifteen or eighteen months without
injury. I have had several come in as early as two years, and one at
less than twenty months. This last was not by design, however, and I
would rather have given a considerable sum than had it happen, as she
was an exceedingly beautiful pure-bred Jersey, and I was desirous to
have her attain to good size and growth. Even if a heifer comes in at
two years, it is generally thought desirable to let her run farrow for
the following year, which will promote her growth and more perfect
development.
The feeding which young stock often get is not such as is calculated to
make good-sized or valuable cattle of them. They are often fed on the
poorest of hay or straw through the winter, not unfrequently left
exposed to cold, unprotected and unhoused, and thus stinted in their
growth. This seems to me to be the very worst economy, or rather no
economy at all. Properly viewed, it is an extravagant wastefulness which
no farmer can afford. No animal develops its good points under such
treatment; and if the starving system is to be followed at all, it had
better be after the age of two or three years, when the animal’s
constitution has attained strength and vigor to resist ill treatment.
To raise up first-rate milkers, it is absolutely necessary to feed on
dairy food even while young. No matter how fine the breed is, if the
calf is raised on poor, short feed, it will never be so good a milker as
if raised on better keeping; and hence, in dairy districts, where calves
are raised at all, they ought to be allowed the best pasture during the
summer, and good sweet and wholesome food during the winter.