I buy bull holstein calves from a farmer right after he weans them. I start them on an 18% textured calf feed. Then I slowly switch them over to ground corn,16.2% pellet and a little hay. My problem is, once I get them switched over to ground corn they eat it good for a couple of days, then they back way off eating. Then to try to get them to eat something I just give them all pellets, then they will clean their feeder for about a day and a half, then they will back way off feed again. At that point I start mixing a little ground corn in again, and then they eat a tad better. I've never had this problem before. Is there something better I could be feeding them? I need them to gain weight as fast as they can, and ship them out. I normally take them up to 325 pounds before I ship. I just started this, and going to be doing roughly 400 a year. I have been farming all my life, so i'm not a complete idiot
Weaned calves not eating
- Thread starter Primebeef
- Start date
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novaman
Well-known member
My thinking is along the lines of bandit's. It sounds like they are overeating and then getting a gut ache. Once they feel better they start gorging again. Do they eat the textured feed well? If so I would feed them that for a bit to get them accustomed to new surroundings and settled in to how you are managing them. After they seem to be doing good for a stretch I would start blending your corn/pellets with the textured feed, starting with just a small amount blended in. I would feed that for a bit until they are accustomed and then up the corn/pellets a little more. Calves can be very fussy so it seems the key is to get them to develop a taste for what your giving them.
novaman":1a30mlhx said:
Yes they eat the textured feed well. Once I get them, I give them the textured feed for 1-2 weeks then I start adding the corn/pellets slowly. I don't know how good my pellets are, I get a skid at a time from Tractor supply. Here is the analysis
Crude protein 16.20%
Crude Fat (Min) 1.80%
Crude Fiber (Max) 12.50%
Acid detergent fiber (ADF) (Max) 14.50%
Calcium (Min) 1.00%
Calcium (Max) 1.20%
Phosphorus (Min) 0.50%
Salt (Min) 0.50%
Salt (Max) 1.00%
Potassium (Min) 0.75%
Selenium (Min) 0.3ppm
Vitamin A (Min) 15,000 IU/LB
Whats your thoughts on this pellet. Its not cheap, $511 a ton.
TexasBred
Well-known member
The pellet is probably all you need but it is made by Purina and sold under TSC brand...go to purina store and buy it there. You'll probably same $120 a ton and be the same feed. Back off on the corn. You're calves are slug feeding, getting some acidosis and backing off the feed until their rumen settles down. Make sure they get all the hay they can eat.
Suzie Q
Well-known member
Yes to all the hay they can eat.
We had a friend here the other day. He works in the industry. He was talking about feeding grain and said that you should have it in a feeder that you can limit how much is put out and that you only put out enough that they have to lick it up. That way they get all of it and don't sort through what they want to eat and what they don't want to eat.
We had a friend here the other day. He works in the industry. He was talking about feeding grain and said that you should have it in a feeder that you can limit how much is put out and that you only put out enough that they have to lick it up. That way they get all of it and don't sort through what they want to eat and what they don't want to eat.
I feed them twice a day, I only give them what they are going to eat. I've gave them all the hay they wanted, but noticed they would fill up on hay, and not eat much grain. So I backed off the hay, and today they seem to be eating better.
Feeding all pellets, and good hay. Any idea what they should gain a day?
Feeding all pellets, and good hay. Any idea what they should gain a day?
