Calf feeding

Volume 3

|

Number 25

Article 3

July 2017

Calf feeding

C. F. Curtiss

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Curtiss, C. F. (2017) "Calf feeding,"Bulletin: Vol. 3 : No. 25 , Article 3. Available at:http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/bulletin/vol3/iss25/3

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-C A L F F E E D IN G .

BY C . F . C U B T I S S .

Iowa’s position as a cattle producing State, together with m odem methods in utilizing the highest available per centage of b u tter fat in milk, renders the subject of this investigation of unusual interest at the present time. T hat the future of both the beef and the dairy industry of the W estern States depends largely upon successful calf raising is universally recognized. Bulletin No. 14 of this Station presents the re ­ sults of an investigation showing th at substantially as good results may be obtained from skim milk, properly fed, as from whole milk and at greatly reduced cost. This conclusion is fully substantiated in the results of this and a preceding ex­ perim ent in this line, recorded in Bulletin No. 19. The latter two, however, were undertaken with a view to determ ining how best to utilize skimmed or separator milk in feeding to calves. B ulletin No. 19 contains the results of the first investigation in this line, indicating th at corn meal and ground flaxseed constitute a better and much cheaper grain ration for feeding with skim milk than oil meal.*

As this was contrary to the prevailing opinion on th is point, and it being the only investigation th at the w riter was aware of m aking a direct comparison of the nitrogenous and non-nitro- genous grains as supplem entary feeds for skim milk, the pres­ ent experiment was undertaken with a younger and more uniform lot of calves in order to obtain additional information bearing on this point, as well as to investigate the best methods of raising calves on separator milk.

* In comparing the results obtained in Bulletin 19 the reader will ob­ serve by the errata that the nutrients and cost of gain were inadvertently calculated from the ration of one calf instead of the two in each lot.

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Curtiss: Calf feeding

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P L A N O F E X P E R I M E N T .

I n Septem ber of 1893 the writer purchased of Mr. C. M. Minkler, of Story County, the calves used in this experiment: six h ig h grade Short-H orns all from the same sire and ranging in age from one to two weeks. The calves were all males and on a separator milk ration when bought, having had nothing else after they were two or three days old. These calves were divided into three lots of two each and put into this experiment September 26 at the weights given in the table presenting the record of feeding and gains. Each lot was given a pen twelve feet square in a barn well suited for the purpose and opening into separate yards 12x40 feet. The pens were provided with grain and hay boxes and kept clean and well bedded, and the calves given the run of the yards during the day when the weather was favorable. All feed, including grain and hay, was weighed in and the leavings weighed back. No other feed was accessible.

The milk used in this experiment was taken from the college herd and carted about th irty rods to the creamery, where it was run through a DeLaval “ b a b y ” separator, and thence to the calves in a b am about twenty rods distant. The tem perature of the milk was taken at each feeding and ranged from 86° to 90°, the average for the ninety day period being 88.8° for the m orning and 89° for the evening feed, without the application of any artificial heat. The milk of course was never sour and always in uniform condition. Samples taken at various times during the progress of the experiment revealed scarcely a trace of .butter fat when subjected to the Babcock test. The daily allowance of milk per calf ranged from fifteen pounds at the beginning to eighteen at the close, and the amount was uniform for each animal. I n spite of extreme caution to have the milk in the best condition for feeding, there were occasional cases of scouring in each lot th at lasted for a day or two, bu t caused no serious interference, except in case of one calf th at died in a lot fed in a sim ilar m anner b u t not included in this experiment; this calf, however, seemed to be unwell from the start and did not recover. Small doses of rennet (from one to two tea­ spoonfuls) were given to all of the calves as often as needed to

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correct derangem ent of digestion. Salt was kept constantly accessible.

Lot I had a ration consisting of separator m ilk and new process oil meal as shown by the records presented in Table No. 1. L ot I I had separator milk and oat meal, and L ot I I I had separator m ilk and a grain ration consisting of ground flaxseed and finely ground corn meal mixed at the rate of one to nine by weight. In addition each lot had a full allowance of hay. All calves had a small amount of the grain given in the milk until they were accustomed to eating it dry from th e boxes. A t the be­ ginning of the experiment each calf had a daily allowance of fifteen pounds of milk and one fourth of a pound of grain, which was increased as the appetite of the calf demanded, until at the close they were taking one and one-fourth pounds of grain and eighteen pounds of milk.

The following table presents a record of the feed consumed and gain made by each lot du rin g the experiment:

3 Curtiss: Calf feeding

F ra c ti o n a l w e ig h ts ar e du e to th e a v e ra g e b e in g ta k e n of th re e da il y w e ig h ts . L o t . H C al C al r o H O O y so SO —*»►-»» Q P 9 HH b - i O O l-H L L ' i co to I . . o . . *-s . . a -O at m ea l-194 ... 196 ... : : 8 . I ® • • EL : : 1 o o M* 5 o o , CO g 00

Separator milk to two calves in 90 days.

to

CJf o

Hay and sheaf oats to two calves in 90 days.

Oil meal to two calves in 90 days.

Oat meal to two calves in 90 davs.

Corn meal and ground flax seed to two calves in 90 days.

First weight Sept. 26.

>*>. o co o_{__} Weight Oct. 25. Weight Nov. 25. to to _{h-1 Oi} CO ^ fcO to to Ot to to ^ O t

^ o Last weight, Dec. 24.

CO t o GO «*-«<*> O ' CO o^o»o Individual gains in 90 days. t o *

ox Lot gains in 90 days.

T A B L E N o . I — F E E D A N D G A IN S . 4 Bulletin, Vol. 3 [1894], No. 25, Art. 3

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I t will be seen th at the total quantity of feed consumed was substantially the same and th at th e gains did not differ greatly. In dividing the calves preparatory to the experiment, care was taken to have the lots as uniform as possible, although calf No. 193 was the youngest and smallest in the experiment, and on this account perhaps suffered some disadvantage. W hatever difference there may have been, if any, was thus in favor of Lots I and II.

The following table gives the amount of digestible nutrients, the nutritive ratio and cost of grain for each lot of calves d u r­ ing the experiment:

T A B L E No. II. L O T I . ---O I L M E A L A N D M I L K . d ‘S_4J O u Q, a 3 O 0-. .c A o 0-o Xi © ^

.

a

o a t s ... 3008 lbs. of separator milk, 15.92 9.00 87.23 18.60 106.75 156.41 1.58 2.50 112.15281.76! 4 .0 8 1 :2 .7 $ .73 .62 4.50 275*$ 5.85j$ .021 • L O T . I I . ---O A T M E A L A N D M I L K . 1 P o u n d s p ro te in . P o u n d s c a rb h y ­ d ra te s. _w a S3 o Ph Nut rit iv e ra ti o . G ai n m ad e by tw o c a lv e s. ' C os t of fee d. C os t of ga in p e r p o u n d . 68.5 lbs. of oat m eal... 6.61 29.19 3.39 $ .73 $...

249 lbs. of hay and sheaf

oats... 8.96 106.32 2.49 .62

3008 lbs. of separator milk. 87.23 156.41 4.50

102.80 291.92 5.88 1 : 3 301 $ 6.85 $ .019

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2 2 -l o t I I I . --- O O E N M E A L , F L A X S E E D A N D M I L K . P o u n d s p ro te in . P o u n d s c a rb h y - d ra te s. P o u n d s fa t. Nu tr it iv e ra ti o . i G ai n m ad e by tw o ! calves. C os t of feed . C os t of ga in p e r p o u n d . 50.9 lbs. of corn meal . . . . 3.61 31.91 2.14 $ 25 $ __ 5.6 lbs. of ground flax... 1.46 1.04 1.96 .06

253 lbs. of hay and sheaf

9.11 108.03 2.53 .63

3008 lbs. of separator milk. 87.23 156.41 4.50

101.41 297.39 6.63!l : 3.1 281 $ 5.44 $ .019

On comparing the nutritive ratios we find all of them quite narrow, as is always the case when separator milk constitutes the bulk of the ration. The ratios are also quite sim ilar on ac­ count of the milk and hay constituting the greater part of the ration being uniform with the three lots. The results obtained in this experiment in the main confirm those previously ob­ tained by the writer in sim ilar work although the difference is not so marked, which may be partially due to the fact th at the calves used heretofore were older than this lot and consumed more grain. The h igh er gain made from the oats and milk can perhaps be explained by the fact th at the oats in th is ex­ perim ent was fed in b etter condition than in the other, being first ground on buhrstone and th e hulls separated from the product by a seive leaving only the oat meal, while in the other case the ground oats was fed entire. Oats prepared in this m anner makes an excellent feed for young calves, and has the one advantage over com of being b etter relished. The com meal calves were fad all of the time as much grain as they would eat, while those having oat meal would have eaten more.

W hen the expense of the feeds is considered, it is found that the gains made by Lots I I and I I I were produced at the same cost of feed per pound, while th at by the oil meal lot was con­ siderable higher. I n this connection it is interesting to note th at growth was made very economically by all of these calves and especially Lots I I and I I I fed entirely on common farm products. A t the close of the experiment December 26th, the

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-calves were castrated and the milk gradually withheld. From January 15 to A pril 15 the average daily gain of these calves was one and four-fifths pounds per day on dry feed and at the present tim e— Ju n e 1st— they are m aking an average of two and a half pounds per day on grain, hay and green feed. A complete record has been kept of all feed these calves have eaten, and th e cost of m aking baby beef will be determined.

From the results of the foregoing and other work in this line, the conclusion seems warranted th at a nitrogenous feed such as oil meal is neither necessary nor most profitable to supplem ent a separator milk ration for young calves. All of these rations, even when corn and flaxseed were used were narrower than whole milk, and it is evident th at the element lacking in separator milk is not albuminoids, but fat or its equivalent, carbhydrates in some form palatable and digestible to calves. Fortunately the western farm er has at hand an abundance of what seems to be best adapted to the economical growth of good calves, viz.: corn, oats, flaxseed and milk. I n this connection it is of in ter­ est to note some observations on the effect of feeding different kinds of hay during this experiment.

H A Y .

W hile a study of the hay used was not an object of the ex­ perim ent the records reveal some interesting facts. A t the be­ ginning of the experiment mixed clover and tim othy hay were used, the clover predom inating. D uring the time the calves were fed on this hay, they ate less of it and were inclined to scour more than when wild hay was substituted, and it is the opinion of the w riter th at good upland wild hay is better for calves during the skim milk feeding period than clover, on ac­ count of the over laxativeness of a ration of clover and milk and the b etter adaptation of the wild hay to replace the ele­ ments wanting in the skim milk. As there are many farms th at do not afford wild hay, other hay of sim ilar qualities m ight be substituted. In this experiment some cut sheaf oats (one-half pound a day to each calf during the last m onth) was fed, and while this constitutes a good feed for supple­ m enting milk it must be fed with caution and not until the danger of scouring is past.

7 Curtiss: Calf feeding

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The feeds used in this experiment were rated as follows, based upon prevailing m arket values in this locality:

W hile the hay varied some in kind it was the same to each lot of calves and for convenience it is here all estimated to­ gether and includes a small amount of cut sheaf oats fed.

D R Y M A T T E R I N F E E D P E R P O U N D O F G A IN .

Another point of interest developed in this and preceding experiments at the Iowa Station is the amount cf dry m atter in feed consumed for a pound of increase in live weight. D uring the ninety days covered by this experiment the six calves con­ sumed 1,690 pounds of dry m atter in the milk, grain, and hay eaten, and made a gain of 857 pounds; equivalent to a pound of gain for every 1.97 pounds of dry matter. D uring the month of May these calves at the age of eight months con­ sumed an average of 11.5 pounds of dry m atter per day and made an average daily gain of 2.5 pounds, or the equivalent of one pound of gain in live weight to each 4.6 pounds of dry m at­ ter consumed. In this connection it will be found by referring to B ulletin 24 of the Iowa Station th at five two year-old steers fed at this station from Janu ary 4 to December 1, 1893, ate an average of 25.2 pounds each of dry m atter per day and made an average daily gain of 2.44 pounds during the entire period, thus requiring an average of 10.4 pounds of dry m atter in their feed for each pound of increase in live weight. These figures present a marked variation between the first and last ages and clearly illustrate two im portant principles in feeding, viz.: the superior adaptability and digestibility of separator milk for young animals and the application of the law of growth th at an in ­ creasing quantity of feed is required for a given gain as grow­ ing animals advance in age. Concerning this point, however

Oil meal, per pound Oat meal, per pound Com meal, per pound . G round flax, per pound Separator milk, per cwt H ay, per to n ... 1J cents, cents. \ cent. 1 cent. 15 cents. 5 dollars.

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-more will be added when the complete report of feeding these calves is given.

S U M M A B Y O F R E S U L T S .

The following results are summarized from this investigation: Calves may be successfully and profitably grown on separator milk and farm grains and hay.

In this and a preceding experiment, com meal, with ten per cent of ground flax-seed added, and ground oats have each given better results in feeding with separator milk than oil meal.

Gain was made in the first three months feeding at the rate of one pound of increase in live weight from each 1.97 pounds of dry m atter in the feed.

Gain was made in the eighth month at the rate of one pound of increase in live weight from each 4.6 pounds of dry m atter in the feed.

Good calves can be grown on separator milk and farm feeds at a cost for feed not exceeding two cents per pound for the growth made in the first sixty or ninety days.

9 Curtiss: Calf feeding