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<blockquote data-quote="pleasantpasturesbeef" data-source="post: 1752068" data-attributes="member: 42506"><p>Welcome [USER=42673]@gailbelanger[/USER] !! I learn so much from these forums, and my family has had cattle a good portion of my life! But you're in TX and I'm in NY, so you have a better head start than your average NYer lol.<img class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" alt="😂" title="Face with tears of joy :joy:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f602.png" data-shortname=":joy:" /> My brothers raised bottle calves for years.<img class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" alt="😁" title="Beaming face with smiling eyes :grin:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f601.png" data-shortname=":grin:" /></p><p></p><p>I always fed bottle calves milk replacer until the big bag (50 lb.?) was empty, and sometimes if I wanted them to eat grain, I would soak the calf feed pellets in some of milk (toward the end of their bottle feeding days, like when the bag was getting pretty low), and they would usually gobble it up after their bottle was empty because they wanted more milk, and the pellets tasted like milk! Do you let your calf suck on your hand? I always do, and they really get attached to you, I find. If so, you can put the calf pellets in your hand and they'll suck them off and then crunch them up. They're more interested in sucking, tho, and will let a good portion dribble out onto the ground.</p><p></p><p>I agree with [USER=42463]@Travlr[/USER] that calves do not need grain. Even when they are not interested in grain, if you leave your calves tied to a tree in your yard where you can see them, they'll mow circular shapes around the tree, so you know they're eating grass! Since I'm a "grass-fed" operation now, and my calves live with their mommies who feed them real milk, I just let them transition on their own. When the mama cows come up to me for sweet feed, to keep them friendly and used to humans like Travlr mentioned, the calves eventually join in with the big cows eating grain off the ground. They're used to grazing off the ground anyhow, so they don't mind. <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" alt="😀" title="Grinning face :grinning:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" data-shortname=":grinning:" /></p><p></p><p>Also, yes, food is not love...I've had cows associate that, and then if I have food, they'll knock me down for grain if I'm not careful lol <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" alt="😂" title="Face with tears of joy :joy:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f602.png" data-shortname=":joy:" /> My bottle-fed calves loved nothing more than a good long scratching session right under their head and neck, or letting them suck and suck and suck on my hand while they follow me around the yard. A good way to get them to learn to follow you, btw...<img class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" alt="😉" title="Winking face :wink:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" data-shortname=":wink:" /> </p><p></p><p>Enjoy your cows!<img class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" alt="🤩" title="Star-struck :star_struck:" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f929.png" data-shortname=":star_struck:" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pleasantpasturesbeef, post: 1752068, member: 42506"] Welcome [USER=42673]@gailbelanger[/USER] !! I learn so much from these forums, and my family has had cattle a good portion of my life! But you're in TX and I'm in NY, so you have a better head start than your average NYer lol.😂 My brothers raised bottle calves for years.😁 I always fed bottle calves milk replacer until the big bag (50 lb.?) was empty, and sometimes if I wanted them to eat grain, I would soak the calf feed pellets in some of milk (toward the end of their bottle feeding days, like when the bag was getting pretty low), and they would usually gobble it up after their bottle was empty because they wanted more milk, and the pellets tasted like milk! Do you let your calf suck on your hand? I always do, and they really get attached to you, I find. If so, you can put the calf pellets in your hand and they'll suck them off and then crunch them up. They're more interested in sucking, tho, and will let a good portion dribble out onto the ground. I agree with [USER=42463]@Travlr[/USER] that calves do not need grain. Even when they are not interested in grain, if you leave your calves tied to a tree in your yard where you can see them, they'll mow circular shapes around the tree, so you know they're eating grass! Since I'm a "grass-fed" operation now, and my calves live with their mommies who feed them real milk, I just let them transition on their own. When the mama cows come up to me for sweet feed, to keep them friendly and used to humans like Travlr mentioned, the calves eventually join in with the big cows eating grain off the ground. They're used to grazing off the ground anyhow, so they don't mind. 😀 Also, yes, food is not love...I've had cows associate that, and then if I have food, they'll knock me down for grain if I'm not careful lol 😂 My bottle-fed calves loved nothing more than a good long scratching session right under their head and neck, or letting them suck and suck and suck on my hand while they follow me around the yard. A good way to get them to learn to follow you, btw...😉 Enjoy your cows!🤩 [/QUOTE]
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