The Raising Of Calves

Categories: History and Breeds

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 deciding whether a promising calf from a good cow and bull

shall be k pt, 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 prefer to judge of the peculiar characteristics of

the animal itself. This will often save the great and useless outlay

which has sometimes been incurred in raising calves for dairy purposes,

which a more careful examination would have rejected as unpromising.






The method of judging stock which has been recommended in the previous

pages is of practical utility 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, indeed, 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 carefully 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 fattened

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 suck 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, upon the ground that there is a more profitable way of

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, it is better that the cow

should not be suffered to become attached to it at all: since she is

inclined to withhold her milk when it is removed, and thus a loss is

sustained. The farmer will be governed by the question of profit,

whatever course it is decided 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 almost

universally done 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 is usually the case when the

calf is taken off from the cow. Allusion is here made, of course, to

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 generally 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 which comes from the cow,

which is of a turbid, yellowish color, unfit for any of the purposes of

the dairy, but somewhat purgative and 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 it 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 would seem to be--and such is in

accordance with the experience of the most successful stock-raisers--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. No great difficulty will be experienced 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

appears 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 which 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

it is 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

suck 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 much more, after this attachment is once

formed, at the removal of the object of it, than she does at its being

taken at first out of her sight. The cow's memory is far more retentive

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 are 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 for two or three days, if it is then to be taken away.



The practice in Holland is to remove the calf from its mother even

before it has been licked, and to take it into a corner of the barn, or

into another building, out of the cow's sight and hearing, put it on

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 unaided. 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 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

buttermilk at the age of two weeks and after; but the change from new

milk, fresh from the cow, is made gradually, some sweet skimmed milk and

warm water being 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 buttermilk; 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 awhile on it. An

egg is frequently broken into such a mixture. Others still take pains at

this age 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 any thing in its way.

It will very soon learn to eat linseed-meal. A little sweet clover is

put in its way at the age of about three weeks, and it will soon begin

to 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 buttermilk

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. A lot as near the house as possible, where they can be easily

looked after and frequently visited, is the best. Calves should be

gradually accustomed to all changes; and even after having been turned

out to pasture, they ought to be put under shelter if the weather is not

dry and warm. The want of care and attention relative to these little

details will be apparent sooner or later; while, if the farmer gives his

personal attention 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 or three

weeks--and that, too, when they have sucked the cow up to that time--and

allow them nothing in the shape of milk and tender care. This,

certainly, is the poorest possible economy, to say nothing of the

manifest 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 buttermilk 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, to which 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 part is to keep it growing

thriftily without getting too fat, if it is to be raised for the dairy.



The calves in the dairy districts of Scotland are fed on the milk, with

seldom any admixture; and they are not permitted to suck 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 until 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 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 into 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, etc., have all been sometimes used to advantage in

feeding calves; but milk, when it can be spared, is, in the judgment of

the Scotch breeders, by far their most natural food.



In Galloway, and other pastoral districts, where the calves are allowed

to suck, the people are so much wedded to their own customs as to argue

that suckling is much more nutritious to the calves than any other mode

of feeding. That it 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 dairymaid 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 be given slowly before it is cold, the secretion of saliva

may be promoted to all the extent that can be necessary; besides,

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 not only to give them 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 often so improperly

deprived, and it would also promote the formation of saliva. Indeed,

calves are very much disposed to lick and suck every thing which comes

within their reach, which seems to be the way in which Nature teaches

them to supply their stomachs with saliva.






But though sucking 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 dairyman. The calf does not when young draw off the milk

completely, and when it is taken off by the hand, the cow withholds a

part of her milk, and, whenever a cow's udder is not completely emptied

every time she is milked, the lactic secretion--as before stated--is

thereby diminished.



Feeding of calves by hand is also, in various 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 the 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 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 suck

her--but it can be increased, or the richest or poorest parts of the

milk given at pleasure.



Such are, substantially, the views upon this subject which are

entertained by the most judicious farmers in the first dairy districts

of Scotland.



In those districts--where, probably, the feeding and management of

calves are as well and as judiciously conducted as in any other part of

Great Britain--the farmers' wives and daughters, or the female

domestics, have the principal charge of young calves; and they are,

doubtless, much better calculated for this duty than men, since they are

more inclined to be gentle and patient. The utmost gentleness--as has

been already remarked, in another connection--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 up the

cow; 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 in the barn.



With respect to the use of hay-tea--often used in this country, but more

common abroad, where greater care and attention are usually bestowed

upon the details of breeding--Youatt says: "At the end of three or four

days, or perhaps a week, or near 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 of milk and one part of 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 a meal, but gradually increasing to four

quarts as the calf grows older. Toward 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 toward 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

buttermilk, 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--which, during the summer, need not be warmed--will suffice." 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 simplest and

cheapest substitutes. Experience shows that the first two or three

calves are smaller than those which 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. Opinions upon

this point, however, differ.



According to the comparative experiments of a German agriculturist, cows

which as calves had been allowed to suck 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 suck from five

to eight weeks, brought calves which weighed from sixty to eighty

pounds. It is difficult to see how there can be so great a difference,

if, indeed, there be any; but it may be worthy of careful observation

and experiment, and as such it is stated here. The increased size of the

calf would be due to the increased size to which the cow would attain;

and if as a calf she were allowed to run in the pasture with her dam for

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 or 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 milk will do all that is necessary up to the time

of her 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 greater

injury is at the same time 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. Even if a heifer comes in at two years,

it is generally deemed desirable to let her run barren 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 infrequently left

exposed to cold, unprotected and unhoused, and thus stinted in their

growth. This is, surely, the very worst economy, or rather it is 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 the strength and vigor which may, possibly,

enable it to resist ill treatment.



To raise up first-rate milkers, it is absolutely necessary to feed on

dairy food even when they are 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.