Feeding like mom

[herfdog]

I have a Feltons 517 bull calf that was a twin to a heifer and mom didn't want anything to do with the bull so I am feeding it. How could I get as close to feeding a calf myself as momma does it.
I want it to be as close in size as I can to the other 517 bulls. I wanted heifers but ended up with 4 bulls and a twin heifer thats the way my luck is.
Should I feed it milk replacer for 6 months with calf starter and hay/grass? Any suggestions on feeding this hopefully future herd bull would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
517 bottle calf

517 bull

517 bull

517 bull

517 twin heifer

 

[deenranch]

I just got through with a bottle heifer... I had the same idea... Bottle for 4-6 months with feed and make a replacement out of her... Well she is 2 months old and on full feed with some weaning calves... I just couldn't see putting that much money into her... Cause more then likely, she will end up at the sale barn... Milk replacer around here (Texas) is $40-$50 for a 25# bag.. It adds up in a hurry... Good luck...

 

[randiliana]

We fed 5 of the little suckers a couple years ago. Feed the best quality milk replacer you can find, and an ALL MILK one at that. High protien is a big thing with babies. Then when they are a few days old start them on a good quality baby calf ration. Again, mind your protien levels, you want to find something in the 20% range. Once they are 8-12 weeks, and eating at least 2 lbs (preferalby more) of calf starter per day you can wean them. Then just keep them on the calf starter, the more they eat the better until about 5-6 months.You can give them a little free choice hay to nibble on, but not a lot. Until they are in the 4 month range their rumen really isn't developed enough to get much nutrition out of hay. As far as size, we raised one that was 450 lbs on this regime. And she wasn't pot bellied either. So I wouldn't say that she grew as well as most of our calves on the cow, but she wasn't a runty little thing either.