Holstien Day old calf ??'s

[rancherswife]

My little grandson is going to raise a day old calf for his first 4-H project. They call them market calves here and they have to be a dairy breed. The only thing we can get is a holstein.
Anyway we have raised them before but we are having to pay 200.00 for it of the grandsons money and I am scared of losing it. We are going to have to use replacer so any suggestions you all have would be greatly appreciated.
I wish I still had milk goats but we sold them all after the daughter got to old for FFA cuz MOM wasn't gonna milk everyday.
What is the best replacer, and any tricks you all have for keeping them alive would help a bunch!!
Thanks

 

[Hill Creek Farm]

Well, I would suggest buying a nurse cow, they give plenty of milk. Hope this helps! :cboy:

 

[milkmaid]

Run a search for bottle calves...that'll give you some info for starters. Make sure you have any drugs you might need on-hand before getting the calf. The way animals are, they'll show up with scours on Friday night before a holiday weekend, and you won't be able to get in touch with a vet until Tuesday.

Can you talk the fellow you're getting the calf from into keeping it an extra day or so? It would probably make you a lot more comfortable having a slightly older animal. At that stage, even days make a difference --- and besides, a three-day old calf should know how to drink from a bottle much better than a day-old calf. Would make it a lot easier on you.

Keep the calf warm, sheltered, and dry...and things should be fine.

 

[rancherswife]

Thanks for the suggestions!!
I'm driving to the dairy tomorrow to talk to the guy and hoping he will sell us some milk! He won't keep it any extra time because he has to hide it from the guy he has a contract with for all his bull calves. He won't sell us a heifer.
I would love to get a nurse cow but my hubby would have a fit. He wants to let the grandson show the longhorns but I just don't feel comfortable with him doing that his first year. Maybe next year.
Anyway, if I have any problems I will come a runnin on here lookin for help!!! :lol:

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Once again Milkmaid posted excellent info.
As to milk replacers, I use Cow's Match made by Land-O-Lakes. It is one of the more expensive ones, but well worth it. You want a replacer with the most amount of actual "milk" product, not soy. The Cow's Match is 28% protein and 20% fat. The first few (and most of) listed ingredients are comprised of "milk" product. I've always had good results using the Cow's Match.
At one time I used a product call Calf-maker, it was the "middle-of-the-road" price wise replacer, was fairly decent had a fair amount of milk product but not enough for my liking.
Have a feeding tube handy or a turkey-baster (in case it won't drink and you need to get the fluids in).
Good luck.

Katherine