calf starter?

[Anonymous]

Our little sale barn calf who was very sick with joint ill, is doing extremely well. runs and jumps, (almost like normal, but not quite) my question---she is 12 weeks old, barely nibbles grass or hay, wont touch calf starter or grain, BUT LOVES her bottle!! She is huge, Id say at least 150 lbs now. What can I do to make her eat more grass or calf starter.? Soon, she will knock me over coming for her bottle!(She gets almost 7 quarts of milk a day, and would drink more if we let her)I need to wean her, but how.?

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[Anonymous]

i had one similar to what you are describing... finally had to just cut back on the bottle... she wont like it but after a few days she will go to nibbling, then eating the feed... at least that was my experience. she is getting enough from you, so she doesnt need the feed.. cut those bottles down, she will eat. i would shake the bottle and my calf would go crazy... when he came up to me i let him keep sticking his head into the feed bucket.. guess he thought the bottle was in there... he didnt eat for a while, but i cut his bottle down by 1/3, then 1/2 half and he finally started eating.

good luck gene

little sale barn calf who was
> very sick with joint ill, is doing
> extremely well. runs and jumps,
> (almost like normal, but not
> quite) my question---she is 12
> weeks old, barely nibbles grass or
> hay, wont touch calf starter or
> grain, BUT LOVES her bottle!! She
> is huge, Id say at least 150 lbs
> now. What can I do to make her eat
> more grass or calf starter.? Soon,
> she will knock me over coming for
> her bottle!(She gets almost 7
> quarts of milk a day, and would
> drink more if we let her)I need to
> wean her, but how.?

[email protected]

 

[Anonymous]

#1 thats way, way, way too much milk. Unless it's big brown swiss, holstein or chianina it sure doesn't need that much. The normal feeding is 4 qts a day divided into two or three feedings, sometimes four. Cut back on the milk and it should start eating more of the stuff she should be eating.

dunmovin farms

> Our little sale barn calf who was
> very sick with joint ill, is doing
> extremely well. runs and jumps,
> (almost like normal, but not
> quite) my question---she is 12
> weeks old, barely nibbles grass or
> hay, wont touch calf starter or
> grain, BUT LOVES her bottle!! She
> is huge, Id say at least 150 lbs
> now. What can I do to make her eat
> more grass or calf starter.? Soon,
> she will knock me over coming for
> her bottle!(She gets almost 7
> quarts of milk a day, and would
> drink more if we let her)I need to
> wean her, but how.?

 

[Anonymous]

I was having that problem, too, and finally started sitting with the calf and putting the grain in her mouth every time she started to try to suck on my fingers. Finally, I asked the list and was told that the texture of the calf starter puts the calf off, and to get a sixteen % grain that has some corn, some grain, some pellets and molasses in it. Now (ten days later, if it has been that long) I mix the calf starter with the regular grain (for a total of about eight ounces per feeding) and she is doing better on the grain. She seems to like it better when I am sitting there with her, but she will eat it on her own. The other thing I have done is add a half bottle of water to the feeding. I give her the regular milk formula and then replace that bottle with a bottle of fresh cold water. She is starting to suck less of the water each time before she comes looking for the grain. I put her out in the field with the other calves and cows so that she gets the idea that she is a cow, and she has started eating what she sees them eating. Sometimes, I walk in the field with her and do some weeding.... I guess she thinks I am grazing, because pretty soon, she puts her head down and starts getting her own feed. Do you mean you are feeding her that much milk and she doesn't make watery manure all over the place???? I'm amazed! The others are right.... as long as you are filling her up with milk, she won't be looking for food anywhere else.

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[Anonymous]

> Well, she is a charlais,and is big. I will start cutting down the amount of milk. Her poop is fine. firm, normal. The calf starter we have has hard pellets in it,and doesnt seem very palatable, maybe I could mix some other grain in it. I do stick some grass hay in her mouth after bottle feeding, and she seems to nibble at the grass when I put her in the yard. I cant put her with the other cows/calfs, as there out on 200 acres, plus her joints are notnormal yet. I wonder if they ever will be. I will concentrate on getting her milk consumption cut back and makeing her eat more hay/grass.

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[Anonymous]

I made a mistake. I was thinking seven quarts was seven of my two quart bottles. DUH! and, i even LIKED math! Anyway, that really isn't too much... depending on whether she is a big breed or small breed calf. If you are thinking of weaning her, however... I would handfeed grain... add some of that 16% dairy/calf feed to the the calf pellets... and all the rest.

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