Five Feed Tips for Weaning Calves
- Use Cattle Lick Tubs When Weaning Calves.. Cattle lick tubs can be used as a free-choice supplement in calf receiving...
- Offer Palatable Calf Starter Feed.. When calves search for feed, make sure there’s a palatable feed in the bunk. If...
- Select a Feed That Supports the Immune System of Weaning Calves.. It’s critical to support...
How do you start feeding weaning calves?
Using the 1,2,3 rule:
- Use the first milk (colostrum) from the cow
- Feed the calf colostrum within the first two hours of birth
- Calves must be offered at least three litres of good quality colostrum
How much do you feed a weaned calf?
consume 1.5 to 2.5% of their body weight in dry matter the first week on feed. These are calves that were fed on the farm in which they were raised and typically had been creep feed. The only major stress on the calves was weaning, and death loss and sickness were minimal. Yearling
When should calves be weaned from their mothers?
The short answer: Some calves can be weaned as early as 60 - 90 days and still be quite successful. The long answer: A calf can be weaned from its mother any time after birth. Typically, calves perform best if left on the cow until a good percentage (80-90%) of the diet they consume each day is grass or hay.
How to start Creep feeding your calves?
How to Start Creep Feeding Your Calves
- Benefits to calves. You can introduce creep feed to calves at an early age. ...
- Do the math. Consider the cost of gain relative to calf prices. ...
- Modifying intake to maximize efficiency. Creep feeding is sometimes avoided due to fear of overconsumption, which can cause loose stool or bloat in extreme cases.
What to feed a calf after weaning?
Examples of post-weaning diets which beef producers are using:high quality legume based silage (lucerne silage with 60 per cent dry matter)lucerne hay, 30 per cent grain and some soy protein or canola meal.lucerne pasture.high protein and energy calf or heifer rearer pellets.
How do you take care of a weaned calf?
Here are some tips to get freshly weaned calves eating quickly:Use Cattle Lick Tubs When Weaning Calves. ... Offer Palatable Calf Starter Feed. ... Select a Feed That Supports the Immune System of Weaning Calves. ... Find the Right Feed Form. ... Prioritize Starter Feed Quality.
What is a good feed for calves?
Most experts recommend mixing alfalfa with grass hay, rather than relying exclusively on alfalfa hay. Alfalfa hay is often recommended for dairy cattle, but may not be a good fit for beef cattle, since it can lead to bloat. Legume hay is another nutritious option for cattle, since it's high in protein.
How long does a calf need starter feed?
2 to 3 weeksCalves can be maintained on the starter for 2 to 3 weeks postweaning and then transition to a grower diet offered with long forage.
How much grain should I feed my weaning calf?
You can increase the intake of the calves about a pound of feed every 2-3 days. Each group of calves is different, and health problems may cause some setbacks, but on a normal healthy group of calves they should be consuming 2.5 to 3.0 % of their body weight by 3-4 weeks on feed.
Do calves Need grain?
Calves will need 4 to 5 pounds of a grain-protein mixture per head daily to average 1.2 pounds daily on winter fescue pastures (Table 3). Forage sorghum, small grain and grass legume silages work well for wintering calves but are lower in energy than corn silage.
Do calves need a salt block?
Calves need salt to help their body's to build strong bones. It also helps them to have regular heartbeats. Salt helps with blood clotting. It also helps with muscle movement.
Is Cracked corn good for cattle?
Even though corn can be fed whole with satisfactory results, cracking or rolling prior to feeding will increase digestibility by 5 to 10 percent. In most instances, grinding or rolling corn will not markedly improve average daily gain, but proper processing will improve feed conversion efficiency.
How much feed should a calf eat per day?
Calves should be fed daily approximately 10% of their body weight (1 quart of milk weighs 2 pounds). For example, a Holstein calf weighing 90 pounds at birth would be fed 4.5 quarts (9 pints) of milk daily or 2.25 quarts per feeding when fed twice daily.
When should I switch from calf starter to grower feed?
Eight to 12 weeks old Don't limit intake at this stage of development and don't allow calves to go periods of time without calf starter. Once calves reach 12 weeks old, introduce a calf grower feed. Grower feeds can help calves transition more easily to a high-fiber diet.
When should I introduce grain to my calf?
In early weaning systems calves need to begin eating some grain by 2 weeks of age to allow enough rumen development to occur before weaning at 5 or 6 weeks of age. If we do a good job of managing grain intake, it is possible to wean calves at 6 weeks, even when milk feeding rates are high.
When should calves start eating pellets?
Feeding solid feed. The calf should have access to hay and concentrates from one week to stimulate rumen activity. The rumen is usually functioning well by 10–12 weeks. They can be fed high quality baby calf meals or pellets after about five weeks of age.
What age can calves go outside?
Calves weaned at 3 weeks can be reared in an outdoor housing system and have growth rates comparable to later-weaned calves housed indoors in a heated barn.
How long do calves bawl after weaning?
The nose flaps allow calves to graze but prevent nursing, allowing the calves to wean off milk but stay with their mama, explains Kenny Elrod, Spring Creek Ranch, Pleasant View, Tenn. Elrod leaves flaps in for a week to 10 days. There's a lot less bawling when the pairs are separated, he notes.
How long should calves be weaned before selling?
After weaning, it takes a minimum of 30 days before calves can sell as preconditioned calves. This is the term often used for calves that are weaned from the cows, vaccinated, and accustomed to feed bunks, processed feed, and water bowls.
What do you feed a 3 month old calf?
A 3-month-old calf does not have the rumen capacity or digestive capability via rumen microbes to utilize diets with free-choice hay or large amounts of fibrous feeds like soybean hulls, wheat midds, cottonseed hull, and corn gluten feed.
Why is it important to keep calves eating?
“It is important to keep the calves eating because there are many times where we create more problems for ourselves in a weaning program by getting ahead of the calves and offering them too much feed ,” Waggoner said.
What is a weanling's diet?
Weanlings are often used to feedstuffs such as grass and hay, which are not rich in nutrients, so producers must find a way to balance the familiar feedstuff with new, nutrient-rich feeds.
What is the K-state Hays weaning protocol?
Waggoner referenced a series of studies called the K-State Hays weaning feed management protocol, a step-by-step process used to wean calves so it would be standardized across different treatment groups. It transitioned the calves from a grass and milk diet to some sort of a total mix ration.
What happens if you don't feed your cows?
If they do not eat properly there’s an increased risk of disease. * Feeding both cows and calves a small amount of a supplement or the weaning ration out of a bunk prior to weaning when the calves are with the cows can be a good way to acclimate them to those feeds.
Is spring beef weaning good?
GARDEN CITY, Kan. – As spring beef calves are beginning to be weaned, it is the producer’s responsibility to help make that transition as smooth as possible. Improper weaning can result in poor growth, which may stay with the animal through its life, according to Kansas State University animal scientist Justin Waggoner.
What is the best protein for a young calves?
Soybean meal or alfalfa is a preferable protein source over cottonseed meal for young calves, and Lalman says the ration labeled Diet B is well tested and favored by producers starting lightweight calves. 5.
What is the best way to wean cows from drought?
One of the biggest components to successfully early weaning of calves from drought-stressed cows and pastures is a prosperous transition to a feed ration or rations.
How much weight did a calf gain in a day?
In that older OSU data, calves gained 1.75 pounds per day for the weaned period and in recent years have gained 1.75 to 2.25 pounds per day on the two rations we show here. In North Dakota trials, early-weaned calves gained 1.51 to 2.32 pounds per day.
Why are the first two weeks after weaning important?
That paper notes the first two weeks after weaning are critical because stress can be high and calves need to learn how to eat and drink.
How many calves per pen?
To insure that smaller and more timid calves get a chance at feed and water, limit 20 calves per pen during the critical first few days on the starter ration. Placing one or two older calves that are accustomed to eating and drinking in with the early-weaned calves helps to reduce stress on the weaned calves and give them someone to follow to ...
Does Oklahoma State University have a confined cow operation?
Oklahoma State University has for several years now maintained a confined-cow operation and therefore has calves on feed. Beef Producer asked OSU beef specialist Dave Lalman if he has any new lessons or thoughts from those experiences he would share. This is his answer:
Can silage be used in weaning?
Although they have high nutrition, he says, silages should only be used in limited amounts because the high moisture level and the palatability characteristics of silage make it unlikely calves will consume silage-based diets in amounts adequate to grow at targeted levels.
What do I feed my finishing steers?
I feed WSC to my finishing steers. They are fall calves weaned in May, on grass w/ corn , then hay w/ corn. I get them up to about 20# WSC with a little bit of protein pellets.
What do you feed whole shell corn with?
Against what a lot of people do - I feed whole shell corn, with a protein pellet added to get the protein level needed.
Why do cattlemen fear feeding whole corn?
That’s because they can see the corn in manure and fear their cattle aren’t getting anything from it.
How much corn should I feed my dog?
I would feed him 1-2% of his body weight. What does he weigh? If he is 1000#, 1% is 10#. So 9# corn & 1# 45%, should be about 12.5% which I would think is "just right" for protein. With good hay, that should be good to grow him out. 2% will help him grow out better - just watch for fat.
What is the only thing that gets grain?
Basically, the only thing that gets grain (corn) is my replacement heifers, show cattle and a few steers I feed out for freezer trade.
Can you feed straight corn to prevent acidosis?
I generally don't feed straight corn to prevent acidosis since they are grazing and getting grain, was told the high levels of starch in straight corn while grazing was more likely to cause acidosis.
Can you research PB cattle?
You can research it - there have been lots of research on the subject . I have been feeding steers to finish and showing PB cattle for many years. My show string also gets WSC with pellets added. I do all right in the show circle.
How to keep calfs hydrated?
Until then, one way to keep calves hydrated is to place some additional water tanks or tubs in the pen. Like feed bunk placement, water tanks or tubs should be placed along the fence line so calves will quickly find them and start drinking.
How much bunk space do calfs need?
If you’re using a calf starter feed with intake control properties in a self-feeder, each calf only needs six to eight inches of bunk space because they won’t all eat at once.
Is it stressful to wean a calf?
Weaning calves can be very stressful, but implementing a few new nutritional strategies can make the transition more seamless.
Can you walk a calf out of a waterer?
If your calves are suddenly moved into a pen with an automatic waterer and they’ve never used one before, you can’t expect them to walk right up and drink out of one. It will take some time for calves to adapt to their surroundings and navigate the facilities with ease.
Can you wean cattle?
Weaning calves can be a stressful time for you and your beef cattle. But, the sooner you can get your calves to eat, the less likely they are to get sick. A few adjustments to your nutrition program can make a huge difference. 1.
