Whether you ended up with it by accident or decided you were up for that challenge; raising a bottle baby calf can be a great experience. However, it does come with some challenges but if you cover your bases, you should be on the road to success.
What Milk Can I feed My Calf?
Whether you have purchased the calf or it was born on your farm. Always Always, Always! make sure it has been fed colostrum in the first 6-12 hours of birth. The sooner the better. Without colostrum, your calf won’t have the necessary immunity and will have a very rough start or even fall ill and die.
If you have cows’ milk available that is always recommended to feed the calf. However, if that is not available then you will have to purchase a milk replacer.
For best results, milk replacer with 22-26% protein and 17-20% fat is best. Make sure that it is formulated with all milk proteins! Some cheaper versions have plant-based and will be difficult for the calf to digest at a young age.
How Much milk do I need to feed my Calf?
First and foremost feeding the calf the proper amount of milk is key. The amount of milk can depend greatly on the size of the calf you have. The averages are shown in the table below below. However, I find that if a calf is quite small you can make them sick by overfeeding them and turning them off their milk.
| Age of Calf | Meals/day | L/Meal of Milk |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 days | 3-4 | Colostrum |
| 4-7 days | 3 | 1.5-2L |
| 8-14 days | 3 | 2-4L |
| 15-42 days | 2 | 4-6L |
| 43-49 days | 2 | 3L |
| 49+ | 1 | 3L |
What Types of Feeding equipment do I need?
You need to have a bottle with a nipple and at least two buckets. One for feeding solid feeds and one to feed milk with and to supply water in between feeding.
Always ensure your bottles are clean and rinsed after each feeding to prevent bacteria growth and disease transmission.
Ensure your nipple is in good condition. An overused nipple that leaks milk should be thrown out.
This is because this can cause mechanical pneumonia in calves. If it leaks out between suckles, it gets into the lungs and can cause pneumonia.
What health conditions should I look for in bottle calves?
There is a wide range of health conditions that calves could come down with the two most common in bottle calves are the following
- Scours
- Scours is a general term, there are many different factors that can cause a scour. There are different types of scours. If it’s a parasite, bacterial, viral, or overfeeding. Monitoring for scours is very important with early intervention most calves can survive scours. They may just need to be rehydrated, decrease in milk given or they may need antibiotic treatment which you then need to consult with your local veterinarian.
- Pneumonia
- Pneumonia is a very deadly infection. There are several signs to look more excessive drooling around the mouth, head stretched out and lethargy are all signs of pneumonia. If you notice your calf in this state consult with your veterinarian immediately.
When should I start introducing Hay or Grain?
You should offer fresh feed daily. As little as a handful. Don’t worry if your calf doesn’t take to the solid feed immediately but they should be consuming it by at least 2 weeks
Feeding solids before weaning will help develop the rumen wall and microbe population necessary for digestion. This way the calf will have a proper supply of nutrients during weaning.
By weaning, your calf should be consuming 0.5-0.75kg of grain.
How do I wean my bottle calf?
The weaning process is one of the most stressful stages your calf will experience. Since stress makes calves susceptible to infection and disease providing the least aggressive and most supportive method is key.
There are three popular methods.
- Cold turkey: this method is an immediate change from milk to water. This method can be stressful and sometimes calves won’t drink water immediately.
- Dilution of milk to water: This method slowly dilutes the milk over time. This will gradually increase the intake of solid feed since they will not feel satisfied. The calves will also continue to drink and not directly realize the weaning process
- One feeding milk-one feeding water: this method feeds the calves water at one feeding and then offers milk the other and then eventually goes to full water. This method can be similar to the cold turkey method and if the calf does not take to the water they can learn to wait till their next feeding for the milk and then eventually have to go cold turkey.
There are multiple reasons people use different methods. They must consider practicality or cost. The least stressful method in my opinion would be the dilution of milk to eventually provide just water. This gives a gradual change and would be the least stressful on the calf.
Your ready!
By following the steps above you are on the road for success. Raising calves if one of my most experienced fields so if you have anymore questions feel free to email me at adamarie@beentherefarmedthat.com!