I read in another post that hay can be "detrimental" to BABY calves. We raise quite a few bottle babies and always keep fresh hay to them. Is this hay that bad for them and is it what causes "pot-bellies"?
Hay bad for calves?
- Thread starter hgfarmer
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Pot belleys is caused more from inadequate nutrition then the hay issue alone. If they're not getting enough high quality milk replacer as babys and enough grain after weaning they'll get pot guted. Too many people don;t keep up with the grain requirement in younger calves so they fill up on less nutritious hay/grass.
Well, I searched it for just a minute.
From the snippets I read, some say yea, and some say nay to hay and baby calves.
The one article I did read from some university said that the reason behind it was calves should begin eating dry calf starter grower which which stimulates rumen health and development and hay does not, so the calf should not be offered anything other than calf starter grower...ya' don't want the calf to fill up on the hay and not eat the starter grower.
Here's the link. It's a 1996 article, so that could be obsolete by now...or it may be right on the money.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/periodicals/ ... alves.html
Alice
From the snippets I read, some say yea, and some say nay to hay and baby calves.
The one article I did read from some university said that the reason behind it was calves should begin eating dry calf starter grower which which stimulates rumen health and development and hay does not, so the calf should not be offered anything other than calf starter grower...ya' don't want the calf to fill up on the hay and not eat the starter grower.
Here's the link. It's a 1996 article, so that could be obsolete by now...or it may be right on the money.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/periodicals/ ... alves.html
Alice
bigbull338
Well-known member
as far as i know hay isnt bad for calves.they wont really need hay till they are 3 or 4 weeks old.once they start eating feed their rumen begins to work.hay belly is caused from calves eating alot of hay.same as with grass belly.
hillsdown
Well-known member
There have been studies done that link hay to causing abomasal ulcers in young calves three to twelve weeks of age.Resulting in perforation and ultimately death.
I can't find the research on this right now but they have found that calves on grass pasture in the first three months of life have less cases of abomasal ulcers than calves that were fed hay.
I can't find the research on this right now but they have found that calves on grass pasture in the first three months of life have less cases of abomasal ulcers than calves that were fed hay.
ALACOWMAN
Well-known member
baby calves dont covert hay to flesh very well . but it's good to keep good quility hay avalible to em. to help with their digestion. grain only is a little rich on emhgfarmer":uzx8wq3q said:
TexasBred
Well-known member
Hg. Mr. Dun is right. Get the calf on a good "all milk" milk replacer and high quality calf starter and monitor intake of both closely. Once weaned it's natural your babies will eat hay and/or graze at will. Hay for bottle raised calves usually only contributes to a messy pen.
Running Arrow Bill
Well-known member
Our Longhorn calves are with their mamas from day one in the pasture and hay bale around. Calves do great, no problems. The calf will suck, drink water, nibble on hay or grass as they are learning to mimic adult cattle behavior. They only ingest what they want to and when they want to.
By the way...we don't feed grain to our animals. They have quality mineral tub, salt, and occasional 20% cubes for "training." We do the "natural grass/hay fed" cattle program.
By the way...we don't feed grain to our animals. They have quality mineral tub, salt, and occasional 20% cubes for "training." We do the "natural grass/hay fed" cattle program.
feelnrite":24wwpisl said:
Hogwash. Calves start nibbling at hay at a couple of days old, that's what they see their mothers and the other calves doing. The start chewing their cuds at 10 days to 2 weeks of age. They may not be able to get much nutrition from it, but they're chewing it anyway.
Well, not as bad as nothing...they will sure do better if they get milk of some kind. All of our bottle calves (one or two every other year or so) get hay right away, they may not take to it for a few weeks though. I start 'em on calf pellets pretty fast too.
Avalon
Well-known member
feelnrite":6jsqn6vd said:
This is my thinking also. If a baby has proper nutrition (milk) they will barley nibble on anything else.
Medic24
Well-known member
Oh no..did i start a debate................
The important thing here is we are talking about calves on the mother in a free range situation..... much different then feeding hay in place of, or more then grain and milk to bottle fed calves. A young gut simply does not have the ability to digest hay or straw efficiently to be of any benefit, and will take up room in the gut that should be filled with milk or grain.
Keep this important thing in mind also.....no matter how good the milk replacer is, it is still not nearly as good nutritionaly then being able to suck on momma when ever it wants to get a much richer and more complete milk then comes in a bag.
And trust me on this, even when a younger calf in a pasture situation eats hay or grass, it still is not getting much nutrition until they get a bit older.......they still are dependent on momma for most of their needs.. :cboy:
The important thing here is we are talking about calves on the mother in a free range situation..... much different then feeding hay in place of, or more then grain and milk to bottle fed calves. A young gut simply does not have the ability to digest hay or straw efficiently to be of any benefit, and will take up room in the gut that should be filled with milk or grain.
Keep this important thing in mind also.....no matter how good the milk replacer is, it is still not nearly as good nutritionaly then being able to suck on momma when ever it wants to get a much richer and more complete milk then comes in a bag.
And trust me on this, even when a younger calf in a pasture situation eats hay or grass, it still is not getting much nutrition until they get a bit older.......they still are dependent on momma for most of their needs.. :cboy:
Avalon
Well-known member
I guess this answers the question of why My wife would'nt let me feed chips and hot sauce to our boys when they were nursing.
hgfarmer
Well-known member
Thanks everyone for he help. feelnrite and avalon, you are wrong, simple as that. I kind of think everyone is a little misled on this thread. All of our bottle calves are beef calves split from momma at the sale. They get the required milk replacer and 18% calve starter free choice at first then bring them up to 2-4 lbs a day, each. We also put out free choice hay, and my question was, is this bad? The calves do eat on the hay, but it is not from being hungry. I just want to know if i should just stop putting out hay? Thanks again guys.
Avalon
Well-known member
Sorry If I offended. I meant that I do not think they will eat enough to be detrimentle when they have good nutrition. I know our babies nibble on hay in the pasture but they do not eat enough to be significant.
hgfarmer
Well-known member
Avalon":j3ij8ejz said:
Yea, see thats what i was asking, if they are actually eating enought to harm them. I just had never hear of hay being a problem for them so i was interested when i saw Medic24s post. Maybe he can explain a little more onhow this hay can be detrimentle to my calves...
hgfarmer
Well-known member
I just read it and it makes a lot of sence. This is actually good news i guess....wont have to waste anymore hay! I just wanted to make sure i wasnt doing anything wrong. we have been doing it along time but there is always room for improvment...
