bottle feeding question

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tim1970

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I have been reading all the posts about bottle feeding, since I am about to attempt this, and I have a few questions. Also, I am not looking to do this for profit, I am just wanting to raise some of my own beef + have a learning experience for my kid and me :) So here are my questions...

1. How large of an area should I keep the calf in? Would one stall of my barn be too small of an area?

2. When I feed the calf, do I need to wait until he finishes so I can remove the bottle from his stall, or would it hurt to leave the empty bottle until next feeding.

3. How well do I need to clean the bottle and nipple after each feeding? Do I just need to scrub them with hot water, or do I need to sanitize each time?

4. What do I do about scours if it develops? Do I just switch to electrolytes instead of milk replacer (or maybe a combo of both) until the symptoms are gone, or do I need to give the calf some sort of injection.


Things I already plan on doing (thanks to this website) are using a high quality milk replacer, keeping the stall area clean, keeping plenty of fresh water, and slowly introducing hay and a calf starter.

Thanks for any help


Tim
 
how long are you planning on leaving the calf in the stall?
 
tim1970":1g1irf7f said:
I have been reading all the posts about bottle feeding, since I am about to attempt this, and I have a few questions. Also, I am not looking to do this for profit, I am just wanting to raise some of my own beef + have a learning experience for my kid and me :) So here are my questions...

1. How large of an area should I keep the calf in? Would one stall of my barn be too small of an area?

2. When I feed the calf, do I need to wait until he finishes so I can remove the bottle from his stall, or would it hurt to leave the empty bottle until next feeding.

3. How well do I need to clean the bottle and nipple after each feeding? Do I just need to scrub them with hot water, or do I need to sanitize each time?

4. What do I do about scours if it develops? Do I just switch to electrolytes instead of milk replacer (or maybe a combo of both) until the symptoms are gone, or do I need to give the calf some sort of injection.


Things I already plan on doing (thanks to this website) are using a high quality milk replacer, keeping the stall area clean, keeping plenty of fresh water, and slowly introducing hay and a calf starter.

Thanks for any help


Tim

Do a search under "bottle baby" or bottle feeding" - there is a lot of info at your finger tips.

Have fun,

Bez!
 
I am not sure how long to leave the calf in the stall. This is one of my many questions :)
 
I do holstein bottle babies and they be alot of fun and very educational. I be keepin mine in a fairly small pen with shelter for 6-8 weeks and then they be ready ta be weaned. There be no set rule on how big the pen should be. Ya be wantin ta get some scour tablets from ya vet and keep em on hand. If ya calf be with scours ya pretty much just force those tablets down his throat with ya finger. They be big tablets.Also get ya some Corid if ya can find it and put a dash in every bottle ya calf drinks. Take the bottle away when empty or the calf will surely destroy it while ya gone. :lol: Be warned ; you gonna become mamma ta the little guy and it may not be as easy as ya might think ta haul him off ta the slaughterhouse when the time comes. Maybe I just be softer in that respect that most. Best I can do is take em ta the sale barn and trade one in for a beef breed ta feed out for myself. Good luck.

george
 
It seems everyone does it a little different. My most recent ones were kept in a 5 foot by 10 foot dog kennel for about a week. I wasn't planning on having any but wound up with an orphan. I got her a pen built and bought a couple more since its a twice a day commitment. I put in chutes to seperate them with a bottle rack in each chute. I'd go out in the a.m. before work and drop bottles in the racks. I'd go back out and pick them up and bring them in and my wife would immediately rinse them completely and stack them on a towel to dry. She never had to brush them extensively but she kept them clean.

I fed mine for three months, then once a day for a few weeks after that. The orphan was a twin and tiny so I felt she needed a bit more. Since I was bottling her, I kept on bottling the other two as well.

I have 8 acres fenced here at my house. When I thought they were big enough to run from stray dogs, I turned them into the the little pasture. I had a little shed too but they didn't much care to stay in there when it rained. Probably the noise on the tin. They would gather under a live oak.

The scour tablets everyone is referring to can be obtained at Tractor Supply. I took them, put them in a bag, and beat the bag with a hammer. The pills were powdered and put in their bottles. It worked just fine.

There is a lot of info out on the net, and here on this forum as you have already noted.
 
Have raised quite a few bottle calves. Do the search and you will find lots of useful information. One thing I have to stress is do not leave the bottle in with them. They will nurse on it all the time taking in way too much air. Think how uncomfortable you are when you need to belch and can't. pm me if ya want.
 
I agree with everyone so far, some good info. I am currently raising 4 now. I keep mine in 6x6 pins in the barn, and they do well, I let them out and run around in a small lot roughly one acre, on the weekend when I am home during the day. As far as the bottles go, I rinse them out with hot water after each feeding. I usually boil my nipples once or twice a week to keep the the possibilities of bacteria low. Scours can be sierous, but if cought early there not usually a problem with me. If I notice them early, I put one raw egg in their bottles for a couple of days and that usually clears them up. Dont know exactly what that does, but an old dairy farmer told me about it and it does work. But only if cought early.
I introduce calf starter, water, and hay from day one. Most of the time I feed one 50 lb bag of milk replacer per calf then I am done with the bottle. Of course there have been a few exception, all depends one how the calf is comming along, but thats just my rule of thumb. After they are 2 or 3 months old, they are out of the pins completely and out on their own in the pasture, I still feed them grain daily and they always have access to hay once they are out. After I get one group out of the pins, I sanitize them with bleech, put down a layer of lime, wait two weeks, put down new bedding, and restock them. Never had any problems doing it this way. One other thing, if possible get at least two, they do so much better if they have a companion. You will learn as you go, and you always have these board to help, and they are great, Milkmaid is real helpful with the bottle babies, I would go back and read some of her posts, and others as well. Good luck in your adventure, and have fun.

Bulldog
 
tim1970":3pu780n4 said:
1. How large of an area should I keep the calf in? Would one stall of my barn be too small of an area?

Not at all. Most places keep bottle calves in "hutches" - little 4x8 pens or similar sizes. Your barn stall is probably 12x12, at least, isn't it? So that's certainly not too small. Calves are generally kept in hutches until they're 4-8 weeks old and weaned or close to weaning.
 
Thanks for everybody's help. Does anybody have any suggestions for where to get bottle babies in the North East Texas area? (I live about 10 miles east of Decatur). It sounds like I need to try and get a companion for the one I was planning on getting. If I do end up with 2 should I keep them in the same stall? I read somewhere that the 2 calves might end up sucking on each other which would cause problems. Also, is putting some hay down, adequate bedding?


Thanks Again

Tim
 
Hay is expensive bedding. LOL. Straw is better.

I wouldn't pen two young calves together; they'll suck on ears, tails, and navels - first two can (if your weather's cold enough) freeze and fall off, latter will "just" get infected and you really don't want to deal with a navel infection, trust me on that.
 
To answer your question, I feel its best to get your calves from cow calf splits at auction. If the pair don't bring enough nickels, they often split them and sale the cow for a cutter. Calves have already nursed a week or so.

Second choice would be from an individual. If you can catch a dairy that has crossbed their cows, that is a good place and be sure they have had their first milk from mom.

There are other places such as orphaned calves but you don't know their history or if they got the first milk.

Last choice is a dairy sale. They have one in Stephenville each week on Friday and you are not too far away but still a distance. Heifers fetch a bunch of nickels there and you could get a Free-Martin etc. Bulls are in the $85 range. Its a small sale and there are many folks there looking so prices seem to jump when something good comes along. I picked up a bottle heifer there for a nurse cow, got her cheap because she was mostly black and didn't "look" holstein. I got a good one. Lucky I guess.
 
Rookie":3as7ek7y said:
I do holstein bottle babies and they be alot of fun and very educational. I be keepin mine in a fairly small pen with shelter for 6-8 weeks and then they be ready ta be weaned. There be no set rule on how big the pen should be. Ya be wantin ta get some scour tablets from ya vet and keep em on hand. If ya calf be with scours ya pretty much just force those tablets down his throat with ya finger. They be big tablets.Also get ya some Corid if ya can find it and put a dash in every bottle ya calf drinks. Take the bottle away when empty or the calf will surely destroy it while ya gone. :lol: Be warned ; you gonna become mamma ta the little guy and it may not be as easy as ya might think ta haul him off ta the slaughterhouse when the time comes. Maybe I just be softer in that respect that most. Best I can do is take em ta the sale barn and trade one in for a beef breed ta feed out for myself. Good luck.

george

dont get me wrong; i am glad you have helpful information, but is it necessary to use terrible spelling and grammar on purpose?
 
I raise holstien bull calves on milk replacer to sell as feeders, keep them in outside hutches until weaned at about 8-10 weeks , we only use a bottle for a day or so after we get them , then we train them to drink from a bucket , It pays to keep your bottles and buckets clean , we make sure each calf always has his own buckets . after they are weaned they are put in a pen with others of the same size.
 
I bottle feed 6 to 8 weeks. I let them outside all the time from the day I buy them. They are able to get in the barn to lay around and get in out of bad weather. Personally I think I experience less sickness when they are out in the open.
 
One more question...

Would it hurt to put the baby calf in a large dog kennel in the back of my truck for the ride home, if I decide to buy one at a sale?


Thanks

Tim
 
If it's the crate type, wouldn;t hurt it at all, bed it with a pit of straw and it'll be fine that way. The folks that bought the popsicle calf last year hauled her home that way.

dun
 

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