Calf -- moving from bottle to hay.

[winton]

I've been offered a beef calf. I'd be raising her on a bottle for the first two months, and then she'd be on pasture with the rest of my cows. All of the instructions about weaning from bottles talk about grain and calf rations, but I'm all-grass, here. How will a calf do, going from a bottle to hay/grass, without having it's mother around to teach it what to eat? Thanks.

[Ronney]

Winton, don't panic because they don't need Mum to teach them how to eat. Your coming into spring now so put her on pasture from day one rather than keeping her in a barn although if it is still very cold at night, it might pay to house her. You will find by the time she is between one and two weeks old, she will be nibbling on grass and if you offer her hay, she will experiment with that too - but more than likely sleep on it

All my hand reared calves are paddock reared with free access to housing and get offered meal and hay from about a week old. By the time they are weaned at 2-3 months, grass is making up a large portion of their feed intake.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[travlnusa]

I would put her out on pasture as soon as the pasture is ready. A calf that young will need the higher rate of protien, and you will have that with new growth pasture.

I would also still have her on the bottle when you do this. She will eat grass without training, and will run back to you as soon as she sees the bottle in your hand.

Make sure fresh water and loose mineral is avaliable at all times.

[sammyd]

I wouldn't put anything under 6 months on straight pasture. It would have to stay on milk or have a starter grain.

[JulieLou42]

My four bull calves over the past 5 years, have all stayed with their mamma, and they try to eat grass or hay within a day or two. I've never had to do anything with them in that regard, they just take right to it. One of them didn't ever learn to like the little grain he was offered. The 7/8's Guernsey right now over 9 mo. old, tries to eat all the grain I give his mamma. He's still "tapping" her, till weather permits and I can get him into another pasture. They all just took right to grass or hay without ANY problems whatsoever, and I've never used any special calf foods for them at all.

[JulieLou42]

My four bull calves over the past 5 years, have all stayed with their mamma, and they try to eat grass or hay within a day or two. I've never had to do anything with them in that regard, they just take right to it. One of them didn't ever learn to like the little grain he was offered. The 7/8's Guernsey right now over 9 mo. old, tries to eat all the grain I give his mamma. He's still "tapping" her, till weather permits and I can get him into another pasture. They all just took right to grass or hay without ANY problems whatsoever, and I've never used any special calf foods for them at all.

[copperhead46]

I have two holstien calves right now that nurse morning and nite, and they have been nibbling on hay and now calf creep from just a few weeks old. When they finish nursing I give them a pound of creep feed and they clean it up by morning. They just naturally know to eat grass and hay.
P.J.