To Wean or Not To Wean...That Is The Question

[RichieMaGoo]

I usually start weaning my Holstein bull calves at 4 weeks, however, I currently have two calves that are twins, and therefore they are small. They are doing fine.

I was kind of thinking that it might be a good idea to keep them on the bottle a little longer, being they're small....BUT, a while back I had a small Jersey calf that I kept on the bottle for eight weeks. This Jersey was not growing, and I thought he was going to be lame, as he was having trouble getting up and walking. As soon as I took him off the bottle, he picked right up- he started growing, and his mobility problem went away quickly- this makes me wonder if it is such a good idea to keep the twin holsteins on the bottle longer? (The jersey turned out to be a fine looking steer)

Whadduyahs think?

 

[milkmaid]

The first thing that comes to mind is that perhaps the Jersey had a mineral deficeny that was taken care of when he started eating more grain post-weaning. I wouldn't normally assume any calf would do better off the bottle/cow than on.

I *usually* wean my bottle calves around 7 weeks, and calves on the nurse cow no earlier than 11-13 weeks or so. There will always be exceptions and twins are one of those - I like to leave them on milk a few extra weeks.

 

[ctlbaron]

I feed bottle calves twice a day for 6 or 7 weeks depending on how much calf starter they are eating. I cut them back to once a day at 7 or 8 weeks. I like to cut them to once a day on the 7th week if possible and off the bottle by week 8. Jerseys are just small and grow a little slower than larger breeds. They are very hearty though. Tuff little critters. You may need to check your milk replacer. If it is soy base instead of milk base it will basically just keep them alive. To get them growing from day one you need to use a good milk based medicated milk replacer with an analysis of no less than 20% protein and 20% fat. If they don't get enough fat in their milk they will grow slow and be very sallow and scrawny. Some look worse after a week on the bottle than the day they were born. I use 1 of two kinds that are available here. Co-op Calf-Pro Med. or Land of Lakes. Land of Lakes is 25% protein and 28% fat. They really do well on it. It's expensive, but it's good stuff.

 

[Farmhand]

We feed our holstein bottle/bucket calves milk replacer twice a day for 6-7 weeks. Then go to once a day for 2 weeks. There are always exceptions. They get fed longer if they are a little smaller or don't seem to be eating enough grain. A couple of times we have had one that seemed to go down hill a couple of days after weaning so we put 'em back on one bottle a day for another 1-2 weeks. Our gauge of when to wean comes from how much grain, hay, and water they are consuming between bottles/buckets.

 

[RichieMaGoo]

I don't know what the deal was with my Jersey- he was eating grain and drinking water along with the bottles- and I do use a good quality milk made with real milk- 20% fat/22% protein- and my holsteins have always done great on it. (Lactose intolerant cow? :lol: )

I think I will keep the twin holsteins on for a few more weeks, just to be safe though.

 

[ctlbaron]

How are they doing now Richie? Any improvement?