Too much calf starter?

[Red Boots Farm]

Thanks in advance to any seasoned bottle-calf veterans. This is our 6th bottle calf over the past couple of years. We obtained a large Holstein/Char. cross calf (150 lb. birthweight) that is now 18 days old. He is a very vigorous and a big feeder and loved the calf starter from the get-go (about Day 7). We introduced it by hand and have kept doing that because he enjoys it so much (up to 1.5 lb per day!) but now I remembered I should have just let him self feed out of a bucket to avoid overdoing it. Now I'm concerned we've invited gut problems. His poops have been normal so far though.

I was prompted to review his nutrition because one of his knees became swollen and tender tonight, which I do not think is related but and will address on another board.

Thanks!

 

[Nesikep]

as long as the poops are normal I don't think you have an issue, I've never used calf starter because mine have their mommas to learn to eat from.. does he have any interest in hay yet? I've found these monster calves really start eating early.
Last monster I had had contracted tendons, I've found that it doesn't always show up right at birth but sometimes delays by a day.. though never 18.

This is the one i had, he was chewing cud at 3 weeks, 140ish BW, I wasn't going to pick him up to find out. I kept him for freezer beef in a year, though you don't see the effect anymore

 

[Red Boots Farm]

Wow that IS a nice big calf!! Yes, ours has started eating some hay too. He has been watching the goats in the next stall eat their hay -- he's not big enough to be with the yearlings and learn from them. We have started all our calves on goat milk, then we phase over to milk replacer. They have grown fast and do great. Have to watch overfeeding of that too, especially when they start really revving up on the calf starter.

 

[Bigfoot]

Straight oats fed free choice, makes a nice bottle calf feed. I try not have any bottle calves, but it seems inevitable that always have a few. I've fed oats for 7 or 8 years now. The calves don't seem to look as much like a bottle calf when weaned, and shouldn't have any worries about them getting too much.

 

[Red Boots Farm]

Thanks, great idea! We've only had Holstein x beef bottle calves so far -- we get them from a very reputable dairy south of us. Some 4-H kids lease them as club calves to get experience, then we sell the freezer beef. It's worked out well for us, but next year will be our first trial with a cow-calf pair (we plan to AI our British White X this summer). I'm sure I'll be haunting the boards during that!

 

[TexasBred]

Thanks, great idea! We've only had Holstein x beef bottle calves so far -- we get them from a very reputable dairy south of us. Some 4-H kids lease them as club calves to get experience, then we sell the freezer beef. It's worked out well for us, but next year will be our first trial with a cow-calf pair (we plan to AI our British White X this summer). I'm sure I'll be haunting the boards during that!

You ahve a good problem. Ordinarily folks worry about getting them to eat calf starter at all. It shouldn't be a problem so let him have it....free choice even. Watch him and see if he's ruminating.

 

[Red Boots Farm]

None of our calves have eaten quite like this one! It's like having another teenager around.