TMRwife
Active member
We have our first bottle calf this year - he is now 7 weeks old. He is eating a little hay. Have offered him some manna - he doesn't really eat much of that. What is the best way to wean him?
hillsdown":z3c5ops3 said:Get him eating at least 2 pounds of 18% calf starter ration a day, eating good leafy hay for at least a week. I would then gradually cut back on his milk by a pint every 2-3 days until he is completely off milk. Then make sure he has free choice fresh water , hay always and make sure he has free choice calf starter until he is around 6 months old. Then you can treat him like his weened contemporaries.
It is my understanding that fiber is no longer believed to stimulate rumen development as much as the production of VFA's produced from the fermentation of grain,hay, etc.Lucky_P":326o3h4u said:There's enough fiber in most calf-starter rations to get rumen development started.