Calves need access to clean, fresh water at all times. They may not consume a large amount of water when they are only a few days old, but once they reach a week old, the amount of milk they consume will not provide enough water for proper hydration.
DRY FEED
Within a few days to a week of birth, the calf should have access to dry feed. This could include a calf starter ration (Table 1), milk pellets or creep feed and hay. The calf must learn how to eat these feeds before it can be weaned from milk, which could be as early as six weeks-of-age. One way to introduce dry feed is to put a small amount into the bottom of the milk bucket. Once the milk is finished, hold the dry feed up to their nose and mouth to get them curious about it. Even if they don’t eat much right away, they will lick it off their nose and mouth, giving them the taste for it.
It is necessary for calves to start consuming dry feed early for proper rumen development. By having access to these dry feeds throughout the day, calves will be curious and start nibbling at the feed as they learn to consume it. The hay needs to be a high-quality grass or a grass-legume mix that is green-in-color, has fine stems and contains many leaves.
The calf starter ration should be highly palatable, and pelleted or coarse feeds are best. Below is an example calf starter ration (Table 1). Offer both milk and dry feed until calves consume one and one-half to two pounds of dry feed per day, then they can be weaned off the bottle slowly. Calves can then increase consumption of dry feed and hay to two to three percent of body weight by six to eight weeks-of-age and should double in weight by two months-of-age.
Table 1. Calf Starter Ration (100-pound batch)
Ration | Amount |
---|
Corn, Cracked | 37 pounds |
Oats, Rolled | 20 pounds |
Soybean Meal | 30 pounds |
Molasses | 7 pounds |
Limestone, Ground | 3 pounds |
Trace Mineral Salt | 3 pounds |
Vitamin Supplement | Should supply 1000 I.U. Vitamin A and 10 I.U. Vitamin E per-pound of starter. |
Long-Term Management of Orphaned Calves
Once calves are consuming dry feed and approaching when they can be weaned from milk, plans can be made for managing them on grass. Grazing is a learned behavior, so it may take orphaned calves longer to learn how to graze, because they don’t have mom to teach them what is “good” to eat. If there is an older cow that can be placed with orphaned calves, she can help teach grazing behavior.
With commitment and proper attention to nutrient intake, orphaned calf performance can be similar to calves on the cow. However, more often than not, orphaned calves may fall behind in performance and growth compared to their counterparts. Thus, these orphans may not meet the requirements to join the replacement heifer pen or background lot in the fall. If this is the case, consider seeking niche markets for the calves, such as 4-H youth bucket-calf projects or Farm Service Agency Youth Loans to start small cattle projects. The goal is to optimize profit potential and minimize losses from these calves.
Source : sdstate.edu