ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with feeding the calf born to the dairy cow from the time it is taken from its mother, or ceases to be fed colostrum, until the time it is weaned onto a diet of solid food. In most bucket-feeding systems calves are kept in individual pens, each with two buckets, one for milk replacer and water, the other for the calf starter ration. Systems of teat-feeding are usually employed when calves are reared in groups. The arrangement of teats should be the same whether cold milk is fed direct from a bucket or whether the people use a machine to dispense warm milk. Gruel is best considered not as a low-cost alternative to milk powder, but as a starter ration fed as a drink rather than in solid form. Substances like Nitrovin added to milk powders are best thought of as preservatives designed to keep the milk fresh up to the time it is drunk.
