Bummer Calves

[Hopeful Rancher]

Any good ideas on how to feed a bummer calf so they don't look like a bummer?

 

[Big Swede]

Buy sheep milk replacer, higher in fat I think but more expensive. Even better get a nurse cow that can raise 2 or 3 of them.

 

[Faster horses]

Milk replacer has gotten real expensive. When you buy it, make sure it is
REAL MILK milk replacer. You can get medicated and you can get it with
Bio-Moss. I'd suggest the Bio-Moss for the first bag. Feed them 3 times
a day to begin with.

Believe me, QUALITY MILK REPLACER pays!!

Good for you for wanting your calves to look the best they can.

Many years ago, I did like Big Swede said and used the sheep or nursery formula milk replacer, but any more, you can find a real
good baby calf product. The sheep milk replacer used to come in smaller bags and if I remember correctly, there is no copper in the sheep milk replacer.
Copper will kill sheep, but cattle need it.

Hope this helps!

Check your pms.

 

[Soapweed]

Any good ideas on how to feed a bummer calf so they don't look like a bummer?

Be sure the calf is sucking the milk from a nipple, with its nose up. This is the natural position for a calf to get nourishment from its mother. If you put a bucket on the ground, and allow the calf to drink the milk with nose down, the calf has more likelihood of always looking like a bummer.

 

[Silver]

Seems like the sooner you get them on a good grain mix the better. Takes a little work to train them to eat it but it's worth it.

 

[littlejoe]

Any good ideas on how to feed a bummer calf so they don't look like a bummer?

Be sure the calf is sucking the milk from a nipple, with its nose up. This is the natural position for a calf to get nourishment from its mother. If you put a bucket on the ground, and allow the calf to drink the milk with nose down, the calf has more likelihood of always looking like a bummer.

By gar, Mr. Soap, if you don't prove that it takes an old horse for a long ride, I don't know who does!

(Mr. S is absolutely correct--it has to do with salivia which has to do with proper digestion)

 

[Silver]

Any good ideas on how to feed a bummer calf so they don't look like a bummer?

Be sure the calf is sucking the milk from a nipple, with its nose up. This is the natural position for a calf to get nourishment from its mother. If you put a bucket on the ground, and allow the calf to drink the milk with nose down, the calf has more likelihood of always looking like a bummer.

By gar, Mr. Soap, if you don't prove that it takes an old horse for a long ride, I don't know who does!

(Mr. S is absolutely correct--it has to do with salivia which has to do with proper digestion)

You know, that has been the conventional wisdom for as long as I can remember. Calves that drink from a pail get "wind belly" in local jargon. However, I know a fella that spent a good part of his life on the family dairy farm and he claims they teach them to drink from a pail or a trough right away. I would think feeding a large number of calves from a bottle would be a huge PITA. And you don't see any pot bellied dairy cows :???:
One guy that has bought our bummers in the past says he likes to have the off the milk replacer and on grain by 90 days. FWIW.

 

[littlejoe]

Be sure the calf is sucking the milk from a nipple, with its nose up. This is the natural position for a calf to get nourishment from its mother. If you put a bucket on the ground, and allow the calf to drink the milk with nose down, the calf has more likelihood of always looking like a bummer.

By gar, Mr. Soap, if you don't prove that it takes an old horse for a long ride, I don't know who does!

(Mr. S is absolutely correct--it has to do with salivia which has to do with proper digestion)

You know, that has been the conventional wisdom for as long as I can remember. Calves that drink from a pail get "wind belly" in local jargon. However, I know a fella that spent a good part of his life on the family dairy farm and he claims they teach them to drink from a pail or a trough right away. I would think feeding a large number of calves from a bottle would be a huge PITA. And you don't see any pot bellied dairy cows :???:
One guy that has bought our bummers in the past says he likes to have the off the milk replacer and on grain by 90 days. FWIW.

you get in places like new Zealand and Tasmania where they pasture milk cows, sell milk for way less than they do here and dairy farmers are retired by age 50--and you see lotsa tricks. dairy calves are practically worthless--at least the steers. they use tubing, elevated hard-to-suck nipples and hardly ever wash any part of calf feeding deal. evidently the hard, elevated sucking action is a big part of the process and the bacteria, etc, bred and raised by the 'poor' hygiene is a very positive part of the mix.

 

[Faster horses]

Be sure the calf is sucking the milk from a nipple, with its nose up. This is the natural position for a calf to get nourishment from its mother. If you put a bucket on the ground, and allow the calf to drink the milk with nose down, the calf has more likelihood of always looking like a bummer.

By gar, Mr. Soap, if you don't prove that it takes an old horse for a long ride, I don't know who does!

(Mr. S is absolutely correct--it has to do with salivia which has to do with proper digestion)

You know, that has been the conventional wisdom for as long as I can remember. Calves that drink from a pail get "wind belly" in local jargon. However, I know a fella that spent a good part of his life on the family dairy farm and he claims they teach them to drink from a pail or a trough right away. I would think feeding a large number of calves from a bottle would be a huge PITA. And you don't see any pot bellied dairy cows :???:
One guy that has bought our bummers in the past says he likes to have the off the milk replacer and on grain by 90 days. FWIW.

I agree, Silver. Our recommendation is to feed each calf 2 bags of milk replacer. Have grain introduced to them so that they are used to eating it when you feed up the last bag of replacer. Works well and sure beats bottle feeding calves all summer. Been there, done that!

 

[Denny]

By gar, Mr. Soap, if you don't prove that it takes an old horse for a long ride, I don't know who does!

(Mr. S is absolutely correct--it has to do with salivia which has to do with proper digestion)

You know, that has been the conventional wisdom for as long as I can remember. Calves that drink from a pail get "wind belly" in local jargon. However, I know a fella that spent a good part of his life on the family dairy farm and he claims they teach them to drink from a pail or a trough right away. I would think feeding a large number of calves from a bottle would be a huge PITA. And you don't see any pot bellied dairy cows :???:
One guy that has bought our bummers in the past says he likes to have the off the milk replacer and on grain by 90 days. FWIW.

I agree, Silver. Our recommendation is to feed each calf 2 bags of milk replacer. Have grain introduced to them so that they are used to eating it when you feed up the last bag of replacer. Works well and sure beats bottle feeding calves all summer. Been there, done that!

We always had them weaned after one bag of milk replacer as a kid it was my and my brothers job to feed these calves which basically ended up paying the farm payment. After they nursed we would have them suck a little sweet feed off our fingers.My dad was a firm believer in bottle feeding them the two boys doing all the work thought otherwise and pail trained the whole works which at times numbered 20 calves at once all having to be fed prior to the school bus showing up at 6:50 am.

My son has 5 we just picked up tuesday evening all are under 2 weeks old and all are pail broke and all will be weaned after 1 bag each of milk replacer but they will have very good hay and ALL the grain they want.

 

[Soapweed]

Be sure the calf is sucking the milk from a nipple, with its nose up. This is the natural position for a calf to get nourishment from its mother. If you put a bucket on the ground, and allow the calf to drink the milk with nose down, the calf has more likelihood of always looking like a bummer.

By gar, Mr. Soap, if you don't prove that it takes an old horse for a long ride, I don't know who does!

(Mr. S is absolutely correct--it has to do with salivia which has to do with proper digestion)

You know, that has been the conventional wisdom for as long as I can remember. Calves that drink from a pail get "wind belly" in local jargon. However, I know a fella that spent a good part of his life on the family dairy farm and he claims they teach them to drink from a pail or a trough right away. I would think feeding a large number of calves from a bottle would be a huge PITA. And you don't see any pot bellied dairy cows :???:
One guy that has bought our bummers in the past says he likes to have the off the milk replacer and on grain by 90 days. FWIW.

Maybe it was just the breed of cattle I remember, but those little poddy calves slurping milk out of the top of a bucket still leaves a vivid visual impression in my mind. :wink:

 

[RSL]

You put a name (not a number) on their eartag and get your kids to bottle feed. 3 to 5 years later as an attached, full grown oxen they will not look potty at all. They really bloom around year 4. (We are close to having kids convinced about the plan to sell him and use the proceeds for a heifer that can expand their herd)... :lol:

 

[Faster horses]

You know, that has been the conventional wisdom for as long as I can remember. Calves that drink from a pail get "wind belly" in local jargon. However, I know a fella that spent a good part of his life on the family dairy farm and he claims they teach them to drink from a pail or a trough right away. I would think feeding a large number of calves from a bottle would be a huge PITA. And you don't see any pot bellied dairy cows :???:
One guy that has bought our bummers in the past says he likes to have the off the milk replacer and on grain by 90 days. FWIW.

I agree, Silver. Our recommendation is to feed each calf 2 bags of milk replacer. Have grain introduced to them so that they are used to eating it when you feed up the last bag of replacer. Works well and sure beats bottle feeding calves all summer. Been there, done that!

We always had them weaned after one bag of milk replacer as a kid it was my and my brothers job to feed these calves which basically ended up paying the farm payment. After they nursed we would have them suck a little sweet feed off our fingers.My dad was a firm believer in bottle feeding them the two boys doing all the work thought otherwise and pail trained the whole works which at times numbered 20 calves at once all having to be fed prior to the school bus showing up at 6:50 am.

My son has 5 we just picked up tuesday evening all are under 2 weeks old and all are pail broke and all will be weaned after 1 bag each of milk replacer but they will have very good hay and ALL the grain they want.

The bag does say "1", but I always feel sorry for the calves acting hungry and wanting to suck something, so I like to go through 2 bags before weaning them. :wink: :lol:

 

[mrj]

I saw a contraption something like a tank with lots of nipples attached in a circle around the bottom for feeding calves on a ranch on Hawaii several years ago.

I have no idea how long they were fed on that, or when other feed was introduced. I'm not even sure what breed the calves were, whether they were orphan calves from their cow herd, purchased calves, or maybe even dairy calves.

It apparently worked for them, but don't know for how long they did that. They still have the ranch and am quite sure they bring calves over to the mainland to feed out, by airplane, or at least that is how they were doing it back then. I wonder if that calf feeder was for dairies?

It was probably close to twenty years ago that we were there for a meeting of APHIS, where the 'locals' were trying to get our government to let them ship cattle on ships other than US flagged ships, mainly because there were NO Us flagged ships at that time that would, or could, haul cattle, but 'rules are rules' where government is concerned. Not sure there was any success in the attempt, and they haul them in specially outfitted planes, I believe yet today.

mrj

 

[Mike]

It's always best to have more than one calf if you're bottling raising them. The trick to keeping them healthy is to get them on a good, high protein feed & excellent hay as soon as possible.

If you are using a replacement cow, every time one sucks, the other will too.

But when you have two more together, they create competition between each other and consume more earlier.

In this instance, greed is good.

 

[Soapweed]

Once in a while we would have a milk cow raise both her calf and another one. Dad would put a leather strap with a buckle around the neck of each calf, with a light chain about four feet in length between the two calves. The reason for this was so both calves would show up together at meal time. The cow and calves would get along fine out in a pasture, with very rare happenings of entanglement. We did this on numerous occasions with good suck-sess.

 

[Silver]

 

[Denny]

I saw a contraption something like a tank with lots of nipples attached in a circle around the bottom for feeding calves on a ranch on Hawaii several years ago.

I have no idea how long they were fed on that, or when other feed was introduced. I'm not even sure what breed the calves were, whether they were orphan calves from their cow herd, purchased calves, or maybe even dairy calves.

It apparently worked for them, but don't know for how long they did that. They still have the ranch and am quite sure they bring calves over to the mainland to feed out, by airplane, or at least that is how they were doing it back then. I wonder if that calf feeder was for dairies?

It was probably close to twenty years ago that we were there for a meeting of APHIS, where the 'locals' were trying to get our government to let them ship cattle on ships other than US flagged ships, mainly because there were NO Us flagged ships at that time that would, or could, haul cattle, but 'rules are rules' where government is concerned. Not sure there was any success in the attempt, and they haul them in specially outfitted planes, I believe yet today.

mrj

The Mooremans feed rep used to sell in this area and they had those feeding systems you filled them with cold milk replacer they claimed that would help keep them from over eating a friend of mine had some but it was winter when he was doing it so what they did'nt eat in the first feeding he would thaw out for later feeding.

 

[Hopeful Rancher]

Thanks for all of the great input

 

[PPRM]

well my, Beef calves went for over $300 each at a sale I was at this week. I could of used one for $250 or less. When the cow will pound out at $1.05-1.10, I have a hard time wanting to buy work, LOL.

I have always felt one other thing. Replicate nature. Calves nurse a lot of times a day. I'll go 4 times a day and smaller amounts for a week or 2. Then 3 times. I know it is a lot of work, but two things. I feel we get better calves and.... I have my wife doing all that work ;-}