3m old calf, start on bottle or not?

[exmoor dave]

As per title I've got a suckler calf who's mum went as a reactor yesterday, its exactly 3 months old.

Its eating cake strongly (it learnt while in isolation with mum for 10days)

It's got another tame calf (on bottle) as a buddy.

Is it worth (or really necessary?) getting it on to milk?

Or just give it as much cake as it wants?


Good strong heifer calf, but wild!

Thanks in advance

 

[Johngee]

Try mixing some milk powder in with the cake maybe?

 

[Hampton]

I'd feed once a day for a fortnight. Keep checking him. When you feed him if he is hollow keep him on milk, or if he looks full of corn, start to reduce milk

 

[Old Tip]

If he will suck yes if he won't no, not worth the hassle fighting with them, life's to short and if you get hurt it's a very expensive calf.
A lot of folk would just wisk him off to the next stork sale

 

[twizzel]

We had a cow that had to go earlier than planned, her calf was 3ish months old when its mother went, eating cake and would snatch a drink from one of the other cows at any given opportunity. We had to be careful it wasn't sucking freshly calved cows though before their own calf had even got up it's mother was a fiesty one and the calf certainly wasn't backwards in coming forwards

 

[exmoor dave]

If he will suck yes if he won't no, not worth the hassle fighting with them, life's to short and if you get hurt it's a very expensive calf.
A lot of folk would just wisk him off to the next stork sale

Under restriction so nothing can leave the farm,
She's out of a hill cow to so we'd rather hold on to her- her mum was one of our oldest hill girls, done over 12 years on the moor so the genetics must be right!
Poor end of things for her to go as a reactor

 

[exmoor dave]

Try mixing some milk powder in with the cake maybe?

Thanks hadn't thought of that, I'll give that a whirl

 

[Northeastfarmer]

If it's 3 months old and eating cake it won't need milk

 

[Poorbuthappy]

As said I wouldn't worry if it won't take bottle - I'd be surprised if it would.
Are the rest of the group still on the hill? Are they being creep fed? She may well pinch from others if left out, but if not being crept and/or grass is tight just feed cake with some company - how much depends on how hard you want to push her. If keeping as a heifer when do you bull? She might need reasonable amount if you calve at 2 (without wishing to start that argument again )

 

[rc mx110]

As per title I've got a suckler calf who's mum went as a reactor yesterday, its exactly 3 months old.

Its eating cake strongly (it learnt while in isolation with mum for 10days)

It's got another tame calf (on bottle) as a buddy.

Is it worth (or really necessary?) getting it on to milk?

Or just give it as much cake as it wants?


Good strong heifer calf, but wild!

Thanks in advance

I wouldn't bother Dave. Jo is in the same boat but has 4 her 2 week old calf with have to probably have the bottle. Get plenty of creep and some nice straw into it a d it be fine

 

[Henarar]

we have had a couple of younger calves who's mothers have gone very often they will nick a bit where they can
but as you have her separate anyway I would try her with milk if she don't want it maybe a bit of powder in with the feed for a bit

 

[Alicecow]

You could try one of those multi teat bucket type milk feeders with the other calf and she might copy it, otherwise just a bit of milk powder onto her cake. Be careful about putting her out on the hill until she's able to look after herself as the other cows won't really look out for her because she's not their own calf, but then you probably know that already!
Good Luck

 

[Whitepeak]

Most beef x dairy calves would be weaned at 3mths old anyway, so if it's eating corn well I shouldn't worry about it.
You will struggle to get it to drink milk if it's been on a cow that long anyway. Chap near us buys the best calves in the market, the ones that have been on a cow for a month, and he never bothers with bucket or teat feeding milk. As they never take and its a frustrating few days/weeks trying to get them to! He just puts the milk powder in the starter corn.

 

[multi power]

If it was a dairy calve it would have been weaned weeks ago

 

[Newby]

He just puts the milk powder in the starter corn.

Anyone else routinely do this?

 

[exmoor dave]

As said I wouldn't worry if it won't take bottle - I'd be surprised if it would.
Are the rest of the group still on the hill? Are they being creep fed? She may well pinch from others if left out, but if not being crept and/or grass is tight just feed cake with some company - how much depends on how hard you want to push her. If keeping as a heifer when do you bull? She might need reasonable amount if you calve at 2 (without wishing to start that argument again )

No we winter graze the moor so they calf in the top fields in may/June then go back out nov- march

No creep feeding.

Calf at 3yrs old....... thats me hung drawn and quartered

 

[exmoor dave]

You could try one of those multi teat bucket type milk feeders with the other calf and she might copy it, otherwise just a bit of milk powder onto her cake. Be careful about putting her out on the hill until she's able to look after herself as the other cows won't really look out for her because she's not their own calf, but then you probably know that already!
Good Luck

Calves would only go out on moor with mums,
This one won't go out now til shes 18mths in Nov 18, as long as she does one winter on the moor before going to bull in 2019 so she can encounter redwater while not pregnant or milking.

 

[Old Tip]

Sorry @exmoor dave didnt know the circumstances, I usually find they tend to soon start pinching off the other cows on the hill. If that's not an option as others have said a bit of milk powder on the hard feed helps but clean the trough out every day otherwise it's soon a stinking toxic mess

 

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Thats a tricky one tbh. We wean ours at 3 months onto cake. However if he does want to take the bottle it may be worth giving him a try, if not then he should be ok on cake, provided he gets plenty of forage and such. I am only commenting on experience of my animals tho. Hope all goes well!

 

[milkloss]

Anyone else routinely do this?

I'm doubtful on this because I always thought the oesophageal groove diverted the milk to where it could be processed by the gut. That's not going to happen mixed with hard grub is it?