I have feed calves before with a bottle, but that was a long time ago and my dad always had the bottles ready for me. I'm getting a calf this morning. She was a twin and the momma doesn't want to take both of them. She was born on the 16th of March. How much do I start feeding the calf. I bought a 50lb bag of milk and a bottle. She probably weighs 40-50 lbs the owner said. Also how much milk do I mix up. The bag was torn a little and can't read the instructions. Lost in Ks. Its been 15 years since I've had a baby calf around.
Feeding a calf a bottle
- Thread starter nixter93
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nixter93":2j6lwhhh said:
The general mix is 2 ounces of milk replacer/1 pint of warm water. Make sure your milk replacer is at least 20% fat and protein and all milk by-products, no soy. If you're not sure of the intake of the calf previous to your acquiring her start slow - a pint or two every 2 hours and build up from there a half pint at a time every three or four feedings. A lot of folks on here advocate 1 gallon per day, but I don't subscribe to that philosophy as a calf on it's mother will get more than that. I generally feed my calves 2 gallons per day. It's up to you to decide which philosophy to subscribe to. Another thing that folks on here will disagree with is whether to feed via bottle or bucket. I feed bottle because nursing is the way it's done in natural surroundings, again it's up to to you to decide which method to use. If your calf is a week old or better, keep a good calf starter in front of her - a handful is enough until she starts eating it good - keep it fresh. Try Purina Startena or a COB (Corn, oats, and barley mixed with molasses) mixture. With the Startena, the calves will usually sort out the pellets. That's to be expected as their teeth aren't strong enough to eat them until they reach a few weeks old. Some calves will sort out the barley in the COB mixture at first, too, some will not. I hope this helps.
For qa calf that small I'ld start with about 1-1 1/2 quarts for the first feeding to see how well it took to it. If it loses interest after drinking most of it I would hold it at that amount for each feeding for a couple of days. Gradually increase the amount till it's up to 2 quarts twice a day. I'm hoping that this is a high quality milk replacer made from milk and milk by-products and not the junk made from soy and a minimum of 20% protein and 20% fat. If it isn;t, or you're in doubt, dump it and get some of the good stuff. If your temps will be running in the freezing or below range at night I'ld lean towards something that's 22% fat.
Watch for scours and keep it out of drafts.
dun
Watch for scours and keep it out of drafts.
dun
jaydill":23t84y50 said:
All the soy does is make the person feeding it feel like they're providing enough protein. Milk and milk byproducts are what the calf will digest and utiize most efficiently. A calf can almost starve to death with a full belly of the soy junk. An older calf can probably utilize it advantageously, but not a baby.
dun
TheBullLady
Well-known member
Read the ingredients on the label, the first two ingredients listed will tell you everything you want to know about it.
deaconcreek
Well-known member
Wow, glad I red this first. Went out today to get a big bag of milk replacer and found out that, one with 100% milk product is hard to find and expensive. Smallest bag I could find was 50# and cost me about $63 bucks. Most people must by the junk with soy and whey in it since it is 1/2 the price and everyone carries it. I found one feed store 25 miles away that had what I wanted. My honey is going to have a heart atack when he gets home $63 for milk replacer and I got the vet bill....... 
nothing cheap or easy about raising cattle. Why do we do this again ????
nothing cheap or easy about raising cattle. Why do we do this again ????deaconcreek":3aze5gln said:Wow, glad I red this first. Went out today to get a big bag of milk replacer and found out that, one with 100% milk product is hard to find and expensive. Smallest bag I could find was 50# and cost me about $63 bucks. Most people must by the junk with soy and whey in it since it is 1/2 the price and everyone carries it. I found one feed store 25 miles away that had what I wanted. My honey is going to have a heart atack when he gets home $63 for milk replacer and I got the vet bill.......
The good stuff usaully runs around twice what the junk costs. The chep stuff is penny wise and pound foolish. Calves will thrive on the good stuff and will repay itself with better growth and a healthier calf over all.
dun
deaconcreek
Well-known member
That's why I drove 25 miles this morning. IMO, if you do things halfa$$ed, then you get halfa$$ed in return. Always taught anything worth doing is worth doing right. Thanks for the info though, I would have never known the difference if I hadn't of seen it on here.
samm
Well-known member
we just picked up a calf the other day, less than a week or so old, as with the others in the past, i give one full bottle with the milk mixture and with a spoon of yogurt, and an egg all shook togather, and i make up about half of another bottle with just the milk mixture, feed one time in the mornin and again the same thing in the evening. they never get more than 2 full bottles at any one feeding. also in the next several weeks will give the sweet feed. i only give the egg and yogurt to them untill i know they are not having and digestion/scour problems.
i always ask the people at the feed store if they have any ripped bags of the milk replacer, in the past instead of paying 50 bucks a bag, i have gotten lucky and paid 5 bucks a bag cuz the regional mgr was coming in and they had to have everything neat and orderly.
good luck samm
i always ask the people at the feed store if they have any ripped bags of the milk replacer, in the past instead of paying 50 bucks a bag, i have gotten lucky and paid 5 bucks a bag cuz the regional mgr was coming in and they had to have everything neat and orderly.
good luck samm
TR
Well-known member
I'm having a hard time finding milk replacer without any soy in it too. Even from my Purina dealer. Best I could find was an 8lb bag of Purina Pro Nurse that went for 18$. Everything else I found had the milk products, and the right fat and protein content, but also contained soy, although it was further down in the ingredients list. I sure wish this crittur would eat more feed......or any feed for that matter.......
As long as the soy is way down the list it's not that bad. Just as in all things, you have to do what you can do. Around here the good stuff runs about 48 bucks per 50 lbs. or almost a buck a pound.
dun
dun
samm":1pibxw9x said:we just picked up a calf the other day, less than a week or so old, as with the others in the past, i give one full bottle with the milk mixture and with a spoon of yogurt, and an egg all shook togather, and i make up about half of another bottle with just the milk mixture, feed one time in the mornin and again the same thing in the evening. they never get more than 2 full bottles at any one feeding. also in the next several weeks will give the sweet feed. i only give the egg and yogurt to them untill i know they are not having and digestion/scour problems.
i always ask the people at the feed store if they have any ripped bags of the milk replacer, in the past instead of paying 50 bucks a bag, i have gotten lucky and paid 5 bucks a bag cuz the regional mgr was coming in and they had to have everything neat and orderly.
good luck samm
I am bumping up this post. I have been searching the boards for a while now, learning information. I did bottle calves for several years, and am just now getting back into it, but it's been a while. Can I ask what the egg and yogurt do? I have never heard of that before. Anyone that can answer that, I appreciate it!
Yogurt replaces good bacteria...however probios does the same thing and is more complete.
And egg? That's what alot of oldtimers did to stop a calf from scouring. People still do it, and some swear by it. It never did a thing for my seriously scoured calves...yeah, I'll admit it...I actually tried it once.
Alice
And egg? That's what alot of oldtimers did to stop a calf from scouring. People still do it, and some swear by it. It never did a thing for my seriously scoured calves...yeah, I'll admit it...I actually tried it once.
Alice
samm
Well-known member
i havent had time to get on line here lately, and Alice is correct, about the egg and yogurt. i have 2 more calves and am doing the same on them, one day last week i noticed something sticking out of the end of the nipple, and the calf had sucked a hunk of strawberry into it, i had to take a double take it looked like a piece of meat at first :shock: i usually just use plain ole yogurt with the live bacteria in it, but i used what i had, and it strawberry/banana. they eat em up.
samm
samm
