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Author Topic: Feeding weaned calf  (Read 3449 times)

ferdi

  • Joined Aug 2010
  • Devon
Feeding weaned calf
« on: November 01, 2015, 08:44:50 pm »
hi there
I am struggling to find relevant feeding information for my situation as most guidelines seem to be for rearing high performance dairy cows or beef calves, and wondered if anyone could give me advice.
I have a Charolais x Guernsey calf that I'm rearing up to be a house cow. She is 8 weeks old and I'm just weaning her off milk powder. She is currently eating hay ad lib and about 2 kgs of calf pencils a day.
What I really want to know is how much concentrate should I feed once she is weaned. At the moment she would seem to eat anything I put in front of her, so am conscious that I don't want to over feed her concentrates, but what's enough??
Also should I provide any sort of mineral lick.
Any help gratefully received




farmers wife

  • Joined Jul 2009
  • SE Wales
Re: Feeding weaned calf
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2015, 03:21:15 pm »
When we were raising milking calves they were having a small scoop a day only you must be careful the amount you feed. Plenty of quality barley straw.


We used to grain feed ad-lib older stock however now we are organic and grass fed all the stock is having lucerne (alfalfa) pellets from B&W feeds.  You can buy mixed grain from specialist suppliers however we always got our off a farm - much cheaper. 


We dont do lick blocks anymore we make our own salt/dom lime/seaweed mix which they love and avoids the need for worming.  We do have a natural pink salt block available though.


Have you read - Keeping a Family Cow by Joann Grohman so much information on the importance of feed and instead of monoculture more herbal and varied foods.


May help?


http://beefandlamb.ahdb.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Manual-7-feedinggrowingandfinishingcattleforbetterreturns.pdf


http://www.ukagriculture.com/livestock/dairy_rearing_calves.cfm


http://www.nationalbeefassociation.com/workspace/technical-pdfs/Beeftrial2014a(ConcQuality)v114072015110342.pdf




SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Feeding weaned calf
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2015, 02:08:20 pm »
I don't wean mine till 4 months as I have Jersey cows for them to suckle.  At 8 weeks she'll still need baby cake, yes. A scoop twice a day sounds about right, I think that's what you're giving her?  Perhaps increase it by 50% as you wean her to make up for the milk she's not getting.

At three months she can go onto 'grown up' (regular stockblend) cake, but you'd maybe want to keep her on a higher-protein cake to 4 or 5 months, especially if you have weaned early.  Perhaps start mixing in the grown-up stuff till she's on all that at 18 weeksish?

I'd gauge whether you're getting it right by her condition.  Too thin?  More cake.  Too fat?  Less.  Coat dull?  More cake, perhaps higher protein.

There'll be licky buckets that would suit her but if she's getting cake she shouldn't need them.

BH likes them to have fresh feed-grade barley straw every day, for bedding but also because they like eating it.  It keeps their digestion working well, he says.  This is in addition to ad lib hay and/or silage.

Silage may have greater feed value than hay, but needs to be fresh.  Also may make her squitty so introduce slowly and feed plenty of straw alongside.

(I say 'silage may have greater feed value than hay' because it depends on the hay and the silage ;))

BH just came in so this from him:

He used to rear calves on a bucket (before we had the Jerseys) and thinks 8 weeks is a bit early to wean.  He used to keep them on to 3 months / 100 days at least.

Cake might not have enough minerals for a young calf without its mum's milk so he'd dose them with a mineral drench to be sure.  If you can't get a single dose drench, then yes he'd get a licky bucket.

He always had them in groups of three or so.  They need company of their own age.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

landroverroy

  • Joined Oct 2010
Re: Feeding weaned calf
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2015, 09:09:30 am »
hen we were raising milking calves they were having a small scoop a day only you must be careful the amount you feed. Plenty of quality barley straw.


 


We dont do lick blocks anymore we make our own salt/dom lime/seaweed mix which they love and avoids the need for worming.  We do have a natural pink salt block available though.


Was just wondering - what do you add that avoids the need for worming?
Rules are made:
  for the guidance of wise men
  and the obedience of fools.

Sbom

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Staffordshire
Re: Feeding weaned calf
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2015, 12:57:38 pm »
Id get her off the hay and onto good quality barley straw or she'll soon have a belly any pot bellied pig would be proud of  ;)

farmers wife

  • Joined Jul 2009
  • SE Wales
Re: Feeding weaned calf
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2015, 01:46:49 pm »
hen we were raising milking calves they were having a small scoop a day only you must be careful the amount you feed. Plenty of quality barley straw.


 


We dont do lick blocks anymore we make our own salt/dom lime/seaweed mix which they love and avoids the need for worming.  We do have a natural pink salt block available thou
Was just wondering - what do you add that avoids the need for worming?




Probably worded incorrectly by me - the supplementation improves the gut of the animal hence preventing worm infestation (in hand with good husbandry and land management). Diatomaceous earth has shown to have some deworming tendencies but little studies can prove this but worth a go and we have little issues here. Kelp has enormous prebiotic qualities through amino acids, trace minerals and vitamins.  Since we have farmed under an organic system much of our research has been completed through what's happening in the USA and so far working very well.  The cows love this mix and our stock looks amazing while under a low input system. Its very difficult to find real scientific facts because the funding isnt there but we find it works.

nutterly_uts

  • Joined Jul 2014
  • Jersey - for now :)
Re: Feeding weaned calf
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2015, 01:54:13 pm »
I'm always iffy on the goodness of DE purely on how it works. I don't doubt it helps kill parasites by scratching them up and desiccating them but its not a selective mechanism and so how safe is it internally? Is it not doing the same to the animal inside?! Natural isn't always good or safe! In a few minor studies done in dogs, there was no noticeable difference in fecal egg counts between unwormed dogs and dogs done with DE.

Pumpkin seeds fed ground up are also supposed to be effective at clearing a worm burden but again no idea how it works.

farmers wife

  • Joined Jul 2009
  • SE Wales
Re: Feeding weaned calf
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2015, 04:53:05 pm »
as a whole for a minerals its very effective and saves on very expensive lick blocks.  I dont have an issue with worms and prevention is always better, with strip grazing and minerals you will help prevent worms.  We do worm counts on a regular basis and nothing to talk about.  Therefore to us the mix is working extremely well in promoting health. Kelp is an excellent supplement too.

 

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