TIME TO SWITCH TO FEED

[jd35154]

I HAVE SIX BOTTLE FED HOLSTEIN BULL CALVES. THEY ARE NOW 5 WEEKS OLD. I HAVE BEEN PUTTING OUT FREE CHOICE GRAIN FOR THEM SINCE DAY ONE. THEY ARE STARTING TO EAT ABOUT 1 LB. PER HEAD PER DAY. HOW DO I MAKE THE TRANSISTION FROM BOTTLE MILK TO FULL FEED?

THANKS

 

[bigbull338]

to fully wean calves.the calves need tobe eating 3lb a day.thats how i weaned them/but i also bottled them 8wks.

 

[dun]

I HAVE SIX BOTTLE FED HOLSTEIN BULL CALVES. THEY ARE NOW 5 WEEKS OLD. I HAVE BEEN PUTTING OUT FREE CHOICE GRAIN FOR THEM SINCE DAY ONE. THEY ARE STARTING TO EAT ABOUT 1 LB. PER HEAD PER DAY. HOW DO I MAKE THE TRANSISTION FROM BOTTLE MILK TO FULL FEED?

THANKS

Wait till they're eating at least 2 pounds of grain a day. We alwasy just quit cold turkey. As long as they were eating grain and hay well it didn;t seem to bother them any.

dun

 

[Anonymous]

I have always done four weeks 2x bottle, two weeks 1x bottle, the thicker the feed is with molasses the more they will eat it, at least that's how it has worked for me. If they get to scouring or get sick, however long they are sick that's how long I lengthen the bottle feeding for. Just what has worked for me, the other people on here have a lot more experience than I do.

 

[Farmhand]

I have always done four weeks 2x bottle, two weeks 1x bottle, the thicker the feed is with molasses the more they will eat it, at least that's how it has worked for me. If they get to scouring or get sick, however long they are sick that's how long I lengthen the bottle feeding for. Just what has worked for me, the other people on here have a lot more experience than I do.

Pretty much the same here.

 

[ctlbaron]

We do 5 weeks two feeding a day and 1 week 1 feeding of milk a day. It has worked good so far. Also these calves on grass will start to pick a little at two weeks old. So if they are picking grass its hard to say how much they are eating in graze a day. They are droping green plops at two or three weeks old when they are still being fed two milk feedings a day. So they must be grazeing quit a bit. They will graze when the creep is plenty full.