Understand orphan calf care

On a cow-calf operation, the goal is always to have a calf be raised by its birth mother until weaning, but in a situation when the cow won’t claim the calf as its own or she dies in calving, producers can be left with an orphan calf that needs immediate care.

How to manage those calves was the topic of a recent Cattle Chat discussion with the veterinary and nutrition experts at the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute. Joining them was Amelia Woolums, veterinarian and professor at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

After the calf has received colostrum either from the cow that has been milked or via a colostrum replacer, the next step is to select the right type of milk replacer, said nutritionist Phillip Lancaster.

“I recommend giving the calf a milk replacer that is formulated with whey protein rather than a plant-based protein because the whey protein is much more digestible in the first three weeks of life,” Lancaster said.

Lancaster recommends that producers aim to feed the calf 10 percent to 20 percent of its birth weight divided into two equal feedings per day.

“In time, I try to get the calf to consume four quarts per day before I gradually step it down from the milk as it eats more feed,” Lancaster said.

He begins to offer the calf a starter feed at two weeks of age and increases that in time.

“When they are two weeks old, I put a handful of starter feed in a raised pan for them to nibble at,” Lancaster said. “That feed should be a textured feed, not pelleted, and should have some molasses added to make it appealing.”