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Author Topic: calf feed  (Read 2925 times)

sokel

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • S W northumberland
calf feed
« on: March 10, 2013, 09:14:11 pm »
When is a good age to change a calf over from calf creep to calf rearer ? Our 2 jerseys are on at lib creep as thats what they where getting when we brought them home.
He did say to change them over to the larger calf rearer once they grew a bit.
One was born at the  end of November the other at the begining on january and both seem to just suck the creep up
Graham

Paul Sill

  • Joined Jan 2009
Re: calf feed
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2013, 09:44:20 pm »
Ours tend to be started on a course mix, which would be fed at the same age as the creep, they are then moved over to the cattle nuts at 6-7 weeks to get them ready for weaning.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: calf feed
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2013, 11:22:32 pm »
Your calves being already weaned and eating cake well, I'd just start mixing a rearer cake with their creep and gradually switch them over.  The rearer will probably say on the bag/label if there is a minimum age it is suitable for.

Our regular stockblend (16% or 18%) is for cattle 'aged 3 months and older'.  I can't get our calves to eat creep, they only want what the mothers are eating  ::) so they all get stockblend right through.  But I don't wean at less than 3 months so they only eat a little until then.  I start taking mum off at night, and leaving it longer and longer, so they get hungry and eat more cake.  Then when they're weaned they know how to eat it and use it to replace the milk they are no longer getting.

(I'm talking my house Jerseys' calves and set-ons; the sucklers get to keep their calves on them until at least 8 months when they're sold, or when winter arrives for those being kept on longer.)

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

sokel

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • S W northumberland
Re: calf feed
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2013, 07:38:24 am »
Thanks for the advice.
Sally they are still both getting milk morning and night  :innocent: seeing as we had a sack in we might aswell use it  ::)
Wheelbirks seem to give them at lib creep from day one so they really do tuck into it.
I will add some other too it when we can get out, we have well over 2ft  of snow on the drive this morning
Graham

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: calf feed
« Reply #4 on: March 11, 2013, 08:40:28 am »
We've a picture postcard winter wonderland here this morning too - not quite the depth you have up there, though.

I'd have done exactly what you've done - use up the milk and start to introduce a rearer cake about now  :thumbsup:
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

si-mate

  • Joined Aug 2010
  • Kent
Re: calf feed
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2013, 11:44:38 am »
I feed mine ad-lib creep until 10 - 12 weeks then onto a 16% beef nut at the rate of 1.5kg twice a day.

sokel

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • S W northumberland
Re: calf feed
« Reply #6 on: March 11, 2013, 07:41:39 pm »
Could they have a few brewers Grains in the diet aswell ? Not instead of the creep just as an extra bucket ?
We have unlimited access to them so usualy pick them up fresh every other day while they are still steaming hot
everything else we have here loves them
Graham

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: calf feed
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2013, 07:58:36 pm »
BH says "Aye"
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

sokel

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • S W northumberland
Re: calf feed
« Reply #8 on: March 12, 2013, 10:25:29 am »
 :thumbsup: Thanks Sally
Graham

 

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