This classification includes such feeds as wheat bran, shorts, cow-peas. Of these feeds the most commonly used for calves are bran and shorts or middlings. They are considerably lower in protein than the protein concentrates previously discussed, but also higher in protein than the high carbohydrate concentrates. For this reason they enjoy an intermediate position as regards proteins and carbohydrates or energy value. Being rather bulky in nature they add to the palatability of the concentrated grain ration.
Minerals.To build a sound and healthy skeleton and body, adequate amounts of minerals, especially calcium and phosphorus, are required. A lack of sufficient minerals may be even more disastrous to the calf than a shortage of protein or carbohydrates. Should a mineral-deficient ration continue over long periods, skeleton development is abnormal, resulting in serious deformities. The calf's bones are unable to stand the increasing weight and may bend, become unsound in the joints and in some cases may even break. There is also a tendency for the calf to become unthrifty, listless, and to use his feed very inefficiently.
Vitamins.Luckily the cattle feeder is relatively free of vitamin troubles in his feeding operations with calves. Vitamin Ñ is not needed by the calf, and vitamins A and  are quite likely to be present in the good grain mixture containing any grains. Vitamin D and to some extent vitamin A are found in limited amounts in good green leafy alfalfa hays and in the pasture grasses. Most milk contains some vitamin A and to a lesser extent vitamin D. If the calves show a tendency toward respiratory troubles, lack of thriftiness, and crooked legs with big joints when fed rations high in mineral, this is evidence of a lack of vitamin A and D. The condition can be corrected by feeding cod-liver oil which is rich in both vitamins. Cod-liver oil fed at the rate of one tablespoonful daily should prove ample.
Salt.Common salt is required by animals and should be provided either in the feed mixture or be available to the calf as such whenever he desires it. The latter way is a good practice, and for calves fine salt is better than block salt. A calf from birth until a year of age will require a little less than 28, 34 gr of salt per day.
Water.Too often the calf is made to get all his drink from milk. Even the small calf from two or three weeks on should have access to good clean water at frequent intervals. This is especially true in the summer. The water in winter should not be near freezing as is too .often the case. Ice water chills the calf and stops digestion until that water is warmed by the body heat. If the calf is to be kept thrifty, the water should also be clean.