weaning problem

[Anonymous]

i have 2 cross brown swiss and holstein calfs 5 weeks old. my problem is that there still on the milk replacer and they dont seem to want to quit it.they do eat alittle grain but right after they suck the replacer down and then they dont eat very much then just a hand full at best. what can i do to help them along to weaning ??? they are drinking 2 gallons a day in water so there getting plenty. help me please... kenny

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[Anonymous]

> i have 2 cross brown swiss and
> holstein calfs 5 weeks old. my
> problem is that there still on the
> milk replacer and they dont seem
> to want to quit it.they do eat
> alittle grain but right after they
> suck the replacer down and then
> they dont eat very much then just
> a hand full at best. what can i do
> to help them along to weaning ???
> they are drinking 2 gallons a day
> in water so there getting plenty.
> help me please... kenny

Well here is my advice...Keep them on replacer till they are 2-3 months old at least. Especially if they are not eating alot of grain. They make a calf grain bottl. it is a bottle that has a nipple on it large enough for the calf to suck the grain out of. They are made by a company named Bradden and you can get them out of the Nasco Catalog. I think their site is like Nasco.com. Give it a try or just keep them on milk till they come around. Make sure they are eating at least 2-3 lbs a day. Another thing you can try is a different grain one that smells good and is really wet with molasses try putting calf manna in it they like that too. Anyway if you need more help email me and good luck!

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[Anonymous]

> Well here is my advice...Keep them
> on replacer till they are 2-3
> months old at least. Especially if
> they are not eating alot of grain.
> They make a calf grain bottl. it
> is a bottle that has a nipple on
> it large enough for the calf to
> suck the grain out of. They are
> made by a company named Bradden
> and you can get them out of the
> Nasco Catalog. I think their site
> is like Nasco.com. Give it a try
> or just keep them on milk till
> they come around. Make sure they
> are eating at least 2-3 lbs a day.
> Another thing you can try is a
> different grain one that smells
> good and is really wet with
> molasses try putting calf manna in
> it they like that too. Anyway if
> you need more help email me and
> good luck!

thanks alot for the info you was quite helpful i thought maybe they was alittle behind some people told me they was but thanks again kenny



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[Anonymous]

> i have 2 cross brown swiss and
> holstein calfs 5 weeks old. my
> problem is that there still on the
> milk replacer and they dont seem
> to want to quit it.they do eat
> alittle grain but right after they
> suck the replacer down and then
> they dont eat very much then just
> a hand full at best. what can i do
> to help them along to weaning ???
> they are drinking 2 gallons a day
> in water so there getting plenty.
> help me please... kenny

Another way of getting a calf to eat grain is to get them drinking their milk from a bucket. Then mix a little grain in with the milk replacer. Gradually add more grain and less milk replacer. When you get to a 50/50 ratio start adding less water. This method has worked well for me on calves that I am wanting to wean but just don't want to eat enough grain. And not eating grain at five weeks is not unusual. Best of luck Dave