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3wk 4H dairy calf bloating on bottle
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<blockquote data-quote="milkmaid" data-source="post: 522411" data-attributes="member: 852"><p>Well, she's what, 4 weeks old now? I've weaned them around that age before, and a lot of the large dairies have them weaned by 5 weeks. Just not economical to feed milk - esp milk replacer - at the current price.</p><p></p><p>My thoughts-- give her free choice grain (my preference is straight corn mixed with Purina Growena, provides the nutrition they need and they like it too) and a little bit of high quality straight alfalfa hay (necessary for digestion of grain since a cow wasn't designed to eat only grain) and feed less milk. When they're hungry they're more inclined to search for alternative feed sources, LOL, which is what you want. </p><p></p><p>Just expect she'll lose weight until she starts eating grain well, so keep her on electrolytes, probiotics, and in a stress free environment since her immune system is compromised, and you don't need her getting sick on top of everything else. Once she starts eating grain like she ought (preferably 2.5% of her body weight per day) then she should catch up, and you won't see much difference between her and her contemporaries by fair time. Absolutely no reason she can't do as well as any other bottle raised (or cow raised!) calf. My heifers are usually 800lbs+ as yearlings regardless of whether I raise them on a bottle or nurse cow.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="milkmaid, post: 522411, member: 852"] Well, she's what, 4 weeks old now? I've weaned them around that age before, and a lot of the large dairies have them weaned by 5 weeks. Just not economical to feed milk - esp milk replacer - at the current price. My thoughts-- give her free choice grain (my preference is straight corn mixed with Purina Growena, provides the nutrition they need and they like it too) and a little bit of high quality straight alfalfa hay (necessary for digestion of grain since a cow wasn't designed to eat only grain) and feed less milk. When they're hungry they're more inclined to search for alternative feed sources, LOL, which is what you want. Just expect she'll lose weight until she starts eating grain well, so keep her on electrolytes, probiotics, and in a stress free environment since her immune system is compromised, and you don't need her getting sick on top of everything else. Once she starts eating grain like she ought (preferably 2.5% of her body weight per day) then she should catch up, and you won't see much difference between her and her contemporaries by fair time. Absolutely no reason she can't do as well as any other bottle raised (or cow raised!) calf. My heifers are usually 800lbs+ as yearlings regardless of whether I raise them on a bottle or nurse cow. [/QUOTE]
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3wk 4H dairy calf bloating on bottle
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