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Best tips on bottle feeding calf
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<blockquote data-quote="Lucky_P" data-source="post: 1128957" data-attributes="member: 12607"><p>Good overview of dairy calf raising, with in-depth discussion here: <a href="http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/ud013.pdf" target="_blank">http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/ud013.pdf</a> </p><p></p><p>Best management practices have changed somewhat since back in the day, 20 yrs ago, when I was raising Holsteins.</p><p>For instance, the 2 quarts twice daily thing is not set in stone, and may be inadequate in many cases -</p><p>"Provide liquid feeds at 8 to 14 percent of the calf's body weight. Typically, a rate of 12 percent of body weight is</p><p>recommended. At this rate, a calf weighing 100 pounds would receive 12 pounds of liquid feed per day and a calf</p><p>weighing 80 pounds would receive 9.6 pounds. If calves are fed the same amount regardless of body weight, some</p><p>will be underfed and some will be overfed"</p><p></p><p>Providing hay or grazing is no longer recommended for calves under 8-12 weeks of age; you get far better and faster rumen development feeding milk replacer and a good quality PALATABLE calf starter ration. The publication linked above has some really good photos showing the difference in rumen development between calves fed MR only, MR+calf starter, MR+hay; the difference is pretty striking.</p><p></p><p>I always kept fresh calf starter ration in front of 'em from Day One, and would cram a handful in their mouths after every feeding, and any other time I happened to be passing by. Had the vast majority of them consuming 1.5-2#/day by 4-6 wks, and could stop bottle feeding and ratchet up grain amounts pretty rapidly.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lucky_P, post: 1128957, member: 12607"] Good overview of dairy calf raising, with in-depth discussion here: [url=http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/ud013.pdf]http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/ud013.pdf[/url] Best management practices have changed somewhat since back in the day, 20 yrs ago, when I was raising Holsteins. For instance, the 2 quarts twice daily thing is not set in stone, and may be inadequate in many cases - "Provide liquid feeds at 8 to 14 percent of the calf’s body weight. Typically, a rate of 12 percent of body weight is recommended. At this rate, a calf weighing 100 pounds would receive 12 pounds of liquid feed per day and a calf weighing 80 pounds would receive 9.6 pounds. If calves are fed the same amount regardless of body weight, some will be underfed and some will be overfed" Providing hay or grazing is no longer recommended for calves under 8-12 weeks of age; you get far better and faster rumen development feeding milk replacer and a good quality PALATABLE calf starter ration. The publication linked above has some really good photos showing the difference in rumen development between calves fed MR only, MR+calf starter, MR+hay; the difference is pretty striking. I always kept fresh calf starter ration in front of 'em from Day One, and would cram a handful in their mouths after every feeding, and any other time I happened to be passing by. Had the vast majority of them consuming 1.5-2#/day by 4-6 wks, and could stop bottle feeding and ratchet up grain amounts pretty rapidly. [/QUOTE]
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