Starter feed?

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Haviris

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I gave up and have started bottle feeding my dummy calf, I want to get him started on feed as soon as I can and went to the feed store and asked for starter feed and told them it was for a newborn calf, I expected to get something that was specially for newborns, but instead what they gave me is for cattle of all ages. How do I know what is a good starter feed for a bottle baby and when should I start him on it?
 
I give mine a little calf manna(kinda pricey) along with the bottle.Then when he starts gettin' a little stronger i mix a little manna with creep feed and let him have that for a while and then put him on straight creep feed til he's ready to go on grass. Good luck !
 
We use All Stock feed. Get it at Bomgaars or a farm supply store. Keep the feed in front of him - about a quarter of a coffee can to start. Give him milk replacer. We bucket break them right away. Use a finger or two to act as a nipple to get their head in the bucket. Then slowly take your fingers out when the start sucking. Put 'em back in when they stop. Takes a few days to get them bucket broke. After the milk, scoop a little feed on your fingers and stick it in their mouth. Only do a few hand fulls - it takes a while before their bellies can handle feed. Usually don't start feed until a couple weeks old and then work in gradually. The feed is sweet which makes it easier to start 'em but can bind them up if over done. Get 'em to like the feed, keep some in front of 'em - the fresher the better, then let them decide when to get going on it. Also keep a little fresh hay in front of 'em. Can work a bit of that with your fingers too. After they drink their milk and eat a little feed, make sure they drink some water too. Use same finger trick. Do this twice a day until they do it themselves.
 
You can also use a 12%-14% sweet feed. I have better luck getting calves started on that.

After his bottle, take a handful of the feed and put it in his mouth. It won't take long for him to figure it out.

We try and start ours on grain as early as 1 week old. My current bottle calf has a creep feeder she can get into with two other calves. They will learn to eat quicker if they have some competition.
 
We raised a Holstein bottle calf for the boys a few years ago. Our Co-op manager recommended something with a name similar to this: "Baby Beef, Horse, & Mule." It had smaller pellets, and oats in a sorghum flavored mixture.
 
They do make special calf starter feeds, but they are expensive....often in the $8-$10 a 50 pound bag range. What they have is usually a 16-18% protein, with a deccox medication.

We get around that by buying a 16% stocker heifer feed with bovatec, and adding a bit more whole corn. About half the price.
 
I use a couple handfuls of manna disolved in the bottle with the milk replacer. Let it set till it gets runny like applesauce so it doesn't plug up the nipple. The calves make the transition very quickly because they have the taste of their old familiar milk and the smell and texture of the new manna. Same thing using a creep feed.

Just as importantly it eases their digestive system to feed without binding them up because there is still lots of liquid getting into them... and makes 'em stronger faster.

Hope this helps,
Richard
 

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