bottle weaning?

[wildsawmill]

well i searched but got no hits on
advice weaning bottle raizsed calfs
i got a heffer, plan to keep , shes about 7 weeks now. still wont take feed
i m thinking i want her to be a grass raised cow anyway
any advice on weaning & or when
thanks for all advice youall can give

 

[backhoeboogie]

No one replied to your post so I will.

Each calf is evaluated and there is no set rule for me. I generally go 3 months minimum either on a bottle or on a nurse cow. When I wean a bottle calf, I cut them to one feeding per day with a bottle for about a week and see how they transition onto feed and pasture.

It is good to have an older dry cow around for them to graze with.

 

[novaman]

She needs to be eating some kind of feed well before you take her off milk or she'll have problems. Is she getting access to good clean water? My calves all get starter and water within a few days of birth and eventually they start to consume it. I want them eating ~3 pounds of starter per day for a few days before I consider weaning, otherwise they don't transition very well.

 

[wildsawmill]

ok thanks she's been eating grass in the pasture for 2 weeks & following a 500 lb heffer

 

[dun]

ok thanks she's been eating grass in the pasture for 2 weeks & following a 500 lb heffer

You have to get her eating somehting with more protein then grass. The lack of grain or some supplement after weaning bottle calves is 90% of the reason they are potty looking and people claim bottle calves never grow as well as one on a cow

 

[jack1234]

Effect of grain on calves' rumen development...
Not for squeamish--anatomy pics.

http://www.das.psu.edu/research-extension/dairy/nutrition/calves/rumen

 

[chippie]

7 weeks is too young to wean. She is still a baby. She needs to be on the bottle for a while longer. This link might help you.

http://www.cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=49811

 

[novaman]

7 weeks is too young to wean. She is still a baby. She needs to be on the bottle for a while longer.

That is your opinion. Basis for weaning should not be on age. Dry feed intake should be the deciding factor. I've heard of several dairies that average weaning age of 5 weeks with no problems. Obviously that takes a high level of management and wouldn't work for everybody but the point is you can't look at them as babies or feel they need milk to grow properly.

 

[chippie]

Yes, I think that 7 weeks is young, however did you read the link about how much feed the calf should be consuming before being weaned? If she isn't eating well, she should still be on the bottle until she is. I have always weaned around 9 to 12 weeks as long as the calf is eating it's feed, hay and grass. But that's me. Plus you need to be sure that it can reach the water to drink.

I've seen the bottle calf farms (there's one near Hamilton, TX). Probably not the largest, but pretty good sized. The people running those have more experience in transitioning a calf to feed from a bottle. You shouldn't just quit giving a bottle cold turkey on a calf if it doesn't know how to eat feed.

 

[novaman]

You shouldn't just quit giving a bottle cold turkey on a calf if it doesn't know how to eat feed.

7 weeks is too young to wean. She is still a baby. She needs to be on the bottle for a while longer.

That is your opinion. Basis for weaning should not be on age. Dry feed intake should be the deciding factor. I've heard of several dairies that average weaning age of 5 weeks with no problems. Obviously that takes a high level of management and wouldn't work for everybody but the point is you can't look at them as babies or feel they need milk to grow properly.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I really don't want to weigh into anything here. But, I've seen plenty of pot gutted bottle calves come through the sale barn. There is never a need to have an animal look like a doggy (doagie for one or more of ya'll). They've been referred to as a doggy all my life so please forgive me.

If a calf is properly cared for, it won't have a pot gut and stick legs. You'll get much more for it when you sell it versus giving it away. What's your time worth?

 

[Caustic Burno]

I really don't want to weigh into anything here. But, I've seen plenty of pot gutted bottle calves come through the sale barn. There is never a need to have an animal look like a doggy (doagie for one or more of ya'll). They've been referred to as a doggy all my life so please forgive me.

If a calf is properly cared for, it won't have a pot gut and stick legs. You'll get much more for it when you sell it versus giving it away. What's your time worth?

This is the best way to raise bottle or day old calves.

http://www.southeasttexas.com/classifie ... pe=general

 

[Deminie]

I've found that as calves naturally nurse with their head upright, it pays big dividends to use a nursing bottle instead of a pail or nursing pail. Nursing bottles are large, two-quart plastic bottles with a slip-on rubber nipple or one that has a plastic screw-on ring to hold the rubber nipple in place. There is a tiny air vent hole on the flat part of the nipple, and I always run the tip of a small pocket knife through it because it never lets enough air into the bottle to prevent the nipple from collapsing while the calf is nursing.