Bottle Calves Feeding (Help)

[olsen0928]

I got 2 heifer angus/Holstein bottle calves. They are a month and a week old. I was told to feed them with sweet feed and hay. They eat it right up and look like very healthy calves. They get a bottle in the morning and at night. After some research I can't find whether I should be giving them sweet feed or calf starter. Farmer I got them from told me sweet feed so that's what I did. I'd like to breed them when there're mature enough.

 

[Lucky_P]

Calf starter.
Sweet feed - I'm presuming you're talking something like a 10% horse feed - does not have enough protein to support adequate growth, and Calciun and Phosphorus levels are not proper for growing calves.
Years ago, I saw numerous long bone fractures in a group of HO calves raised on 10% horse feed, once they got up to 250-300#...the novice calf raisers were following the misguided advice of a neighbor.

 

[farmerjan]

Lucky_P is a good one to give you advise. Listen. A calf starter is usually 14-16% protein and some are up to 20%. They need the protein for the bones, ligaments, tendons and all to properly grow.
Some people lump all sweet feed together. Look at the protein %, and see if it is designed for calves. An "all purpose" sweet feed is not enough in the nutrient department. Fine for older more mature animals as a treat but for a growing animal they need what they need. Get a bag of calf starter, and compare the labels. You don't have to get the highest priced one there is, but get a good decent brand. You can mix in the sweet feed you have a little at a time to use it up, and to get them to get used to the new feed. They just need more nutrition when young and growing. You can go to a calf grower after the starter is gone. Giving them a bottle twice a day is one reason why they are looking good and healthy. They are still getting most of their nutrients from the milk replacer.

 

[Son of Butch]

I got 2 heifer angus/Holstein bottle calves. They are a month and a week old.
They get a bottle in the morning and at night.
After some research I can't find whether I should be giving them sweet feed or calf starter.

Calf starter, calf starter, calf starter. It's right in the name.
To start baby calves on dry feed and develop their rumen, feed them calf starter.
Texturized calf starter works best as many calves don't like eating the pelleted only feeds.

"Sweet feed" must be a regional thing as I've never heard of it in Minnesota.
Although 40 yrs ago we fed "Sweet Treat" a texurized calf starter which included molasses.

:welcome: to the boards olsen
Where are you located?

 

[darcelina4]

I get mine going with baby beef( rolled oats, corn. Barley with some molasses) then add in 20% creeper pellets. at a couple of months I give them more creep and less baby beef until just on the creep. They do great. The goal is to get them to eat the grain to develop the rumen. I tried the expensive amplicalf. They would hardly eat it. Baby beef is about 10% protein but they are getting 22% protein milk while just getting the baby beef.

 

[DCA farm]

When I bottle feed one I start introducing 16% calf starter creek feed by hand every time I give them
A bottle. I'll do that for a week or so then I start upping the amount if feed I give but i place it in a tub where they have access to it all day. A lot of people use sweet feed around here just to get them started on feed them swap to the calf starter creep

 

[Son of Butch]

When I bottle feed one I start introducing 16% calf starter creep feed by hand every time I give
them a bottle. I'll do that for a week or so then
I start upping the amount of feed I give, but I place it in a tub where they have access to it all day.

:nod:
and of course access to clean, fresh water daily.

 

[DCA farm]

When I bottle feed one I start introducing 16% calf starter creep feed by hand every time I give
them a bottle. I'll do that for a week or so then
I start upping the amount of feed I give, but I place it in a tub where they have access to it all day.

:nod:
and of course access to clean, fresh water daily.

Yea clean water and good grass