Holstein Baby

[iacceptcash]

I am currently bottle feeding a new holstein calf and have a few questions.

1. When is the proper time to vaccinate/deworm?
2. When is proper time to castrate/band? I am thinking about 2 weeks old for this.
3. When should I start giving him some starter feed, and loose minerals.
4. What are the chances that he will have horns? When should I plan on de-horning?

He is currently 3 days old.

Thanks for your help

[topside1]

Welcome to the forum, and to the challenging world of bottle calves. I raise six-eight calves a year and here is what I do. Others may not agree, but each of us uses different management techniques.
1. I never vaccinate or deworm. If your animal is in top shape and growing naturally then why dump wormer on it's back or shoot it up with chemicals. If I was keeping cows long term (years) then that would be a different story.
2. I band and burn on the same day @ one month old. Less stress at that age.
3. Starter feed now, no need for loose minerals at that age. Read whats in the starter feed probably contains every thing a calf will need.
4. He will have horns, so as I mentioned burn @ 1 month of age.
Glad I could help...TJ

[iacceptcash]

Also, I have been feeding him 2 qts of replacer 2 times a day (4qts total a day). I was talking to the lady at the feed store, and she told me to only feed 1 qt 2 x a day (2qts total) and also only mix the replacer at 75% of the strength the directions call for. Does this seem right? I have not read where anyone is only feeding 2 qts of replacer a day. (And yes, she knows that my calf is only 3 days old)

Thanks again

[HazyDay]

My Uncle and Aunt never wormed for the years and years they have been dairy farming. Plus my grandparents never wormed. This year my Uncle had 3 hefiers, one went down and died 8 hours after. Then another went down and they finally got a vet to do a test. It turned up all they needed was wormed and now the second one is half dead,(She can't move her back end. She will be jumping over the clouds soon...) And the last one is looking ok. I don't know much, but when I seen the calf I knew she needed wormed!

[topside1]

Cash, the lady at the feed store is wrong, read the replacer bag and stick with it....The only two modification you could safely make would be:
1. Feed the same amount 4 qts. but divide it into three feedings per day for three weeks. Then drop back to two feeding of 4 qts per day. Obviously more work and if you have a full time job, well enough said.
2. You could safely drop down to 3 qts a day and add a egg to each feeding.
If your calf is healthly and feedings are going smooth why bother making changes, the milk replacer folks have been in business longer than me.
How about adding your location (State) to your profile it would be helpful when asking questions.

[menollyrj]

We used to feed 2 quarts, twice a day. However, with feed prices being a bit high, we dropped to 1 1/2 quarts, twice a day, with feed offered, even for newborns. The newest calves don't know to eat the feed, but they will chew it up when it is trickled into their mouths. If you feed too much too soon, calves will scour.

Bottom line on bottles: If what you are doing is working, keep doing it. If the calf has scours, reduce the bottle volume or concentration.

We just wormed & castrated our bull calves today at 8 weeks old.

-Joy

[Up North]

From this day forward, provide a bucket with clean fresh water *in addition to* the milk replacer you are feeding.
For a Holstien Calf, 2 Quarts of milk or milk replacer fed twice a day would be appropriate.