Baby Calves - Need Advice on Raising

I got my milk replacer for $30 a bag just because the bags would have rips. The feed store would save them for me. It's worth asking. Otherwise the other feed stores wanted to charge me $90 a bag. Just a suggestion. It can be pricey. At one point our steer was drinking 6-7 1/2 gallon bottles a day. When we got him he was being starved.

Thanks for the information. I have been reading alot on backyardcows and checking prices for supplies that I will need to raise a calf.

Milk replacer is $60/50lb bag (Nurse Chow)
8-way is $8-$9/bottle
Probias (sp?) for scours is $9-$10/tub
Powdered Colostrum is $13.25/feeding (I did not know that there was a powdered colostrum)

Also, I did not know that there was a dehorning paste. Has any of you used this. I was told that this would have to be put on very early, within 1-2 days after birth.

I will check with the feed store and see if they have any ripped bags of milk replacer, but the employees also have calves/cattle and they probably get it for themselves.

I am learning alot of good stuff on BYCows.

Thanks,
Dorothy

When I was in highschool I got Brown Swiss Bull calves for my AG projects. The meat was very lean and we had to add fat to the hamberger so it would stick together. The other cuts were really good though. We fed them for about a year and the meat lasted about a year (family of 4)

We got them at 3 days old and I kept them in my pick up truck! Honest! I had a camper shell on it & just put a piece of plywood on the floor of the bed, loaded it up with straw and put the little guy in there. It was a cold year so I even put one of my sweat shirts on him. He was so cute!

I've been thinking of getting another calf but I didn't realize milk replacer was so expensive now. WOW!!!

From a dairy point of view, milk replacer is CHEAP when compared to the loss of milk revenue. So really, cheap or expensive depends on perspective.

But overall I have to agree a cow calf pair is often the best way to go.

Be very cautious concerning dehorning paste. If you don't have experience there do not attempt it. You can blind a calf in seconds and cause serious injury to it or yourself.

Their Other Mother - I am not very familiar with all of the different breeds. The first calf that we purchased was a Holstein and we had him butchered about 2 months ago. The meat is very lean and has a very good taste. We are a family of 3, but of course my DH has to "share" a pack of meat with several different family members, so I do not know how long this will last me. I am ready to start growing a new one, so that I will never have to buy store meat again...lol

kstaven - I am considering a cow/calf pair, but I do not know yet. You have me scared of the dehorning paste now...lol I do not have experience using it and I definitely do not want to harm myself or the calf. I know that I do not want to raise another one that has horns though. My last one was not banded and grew horns and became mean and big. I was afraid of him and I am glad that my sister raised him for the most part.

Thanks,
Dorothy

well,first off you dont need to keep them on milk for 3 months..they are usually weaned (on dairy farms) by 5 weeks,as long as they are eating grain and hay good you can wean them off milk,around 4-5 weeks start making the milk weaker and weaker and they will wean fine,I never put milk babies on grass,makes them get all pot bellied and ugly,dry hay is better until they are weaned,I grew up on a dairy and ran one for many years,3 months on milk is just wasting money,Holstiens make very excellent lean meat,as do jersey,but they take longer to get to kill weight because they have a lot more bone growth to do before they start putting on muscle,the really lean meat you buy in the store is usually Holstien,and as far as dehorning,you can always have a vet do it,wait until they sprout about 2-3 inches and the vet can do it with a dehorning tool,if you have a weak heart you wont like this part,as they have little holes in their heads for a while,and they bleed,but as long as the vet pulls out the vien after removing the horn they will be fine,its better to do this when its cooler out for flys,and they will have a headache for a day or so.we did it ourselves a on the farm but you wont want to.and they dont need to be on a bottle for more then the cholostum,you can pail train them within a few days of birth,but it takes patience as they are not the most intelligent creatures..but at least then you can dump it in a pail and be on you way.

Quote:
Really didn't mean to scare you. But the paste is acid. That is why it burns the horn bud out. Personal preference these days for dehorning, when required, is elastrator banding.