Calf feed - medicated?

[deineria]

The Jersey calf I bought came with 10 days of 22% medicated feed. She is 12 weeks old.
I had bought 16% calf and calf manna and planned to mix the two as I change her over in the next 10 days, but I wonder if she really still needs to medicated. If so, I will need to order it since TSC nor our feedstore keep it instock.

Should I order the medicated or will mixing the 16% calf with the calf manna, though not medicated, be okay for the higher protein?

[Farm 36]

She should be fine with the new milk replacer. Personaly I would not worry about med or nonmed,I use nomed because I also feed what I have left over to other animals . Mixing I would mix 1/4 of the 16% and 3/4 of the 22% for 3 or 4 days and than 50/50 for 3 or 4 days and than 3/4 of the 16% and 1/4 of the 22%for 3 or 4 days .

[topside1]

Deineria, once again congrats on the new calf. She is sure going to be loved, however you maybe going overboard with care. Here's the bottom line from my perspective: At three months old any radical changes in the calf's eating habits will probably go un-noticed. So with that in mind, slow down on the worrying and just feed her twice a day un-medicated or medicated calf starter/grower which can be found most anywhere. Here's what I do after one bag of grower I just switch the calf to 18% dairy pellets, it's the same pellets all my animals eat, of course that's me. I'd avoid TSC for the fact that most feed types don't move fast enough for my taste and may become old. I see no need to begin feeding MR again so avoid that temptation. Water, minerals, hay or pasture the rest of the day. One last thing, give her loads of hugs hourly, I probably didn't have to mention that now did I....Keep up the good work, "Stella" is in good hands.....Topside

[sammyd]

We used to feed a 16% medicated grower to our youngstock after weaning when they had 18% medicated.
At a larger weight we would switch to a 14% non medicated.
All were readily available in 80 lb sacks at the feedmill for far less than anything at TSC or a "feed store".

[deineria]

Thank you all. I am feeling a bit stressed about the calf because things I've read make them sound so fragile, but that probably applied to younger calves coming from auctions, etc.

[topside1]

Fragile calves=birth to one month old....JMO

[deineria]

Good to know

[genebo]

I accidently bought some 14% medicated calf feed from Southern States. They substituted it for the 12% sweet feed that they were out of, without telling me.

I got it home and discovered that the 'medication' was actually BGH, or bovine growth hormone. The dreaded hormone that keeps us from buying store bought beef. It wasn't medicine to protect their health, at all.

I took it back, unopened.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[Allen W]

Genebo

There is no growth hormone legal as a feed additive that I'm aware of. More information please.

[genebo]

Sorry, I took the bags back. I can't read the labels to you.

When I took it back, the man at the store was surprised. He told me that the hormones were there to help the calves put on weight faster. He said that it was a substitute for putting the hormones in by implants. He really tried to talk me into taking the feed.

People in the beef industry have a mindset that they've developed that makes them money. I'm not in the beef industry, so I can afford the luxury of having clean animals, with no traces of hormones or antibiotics in them.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[Lazy J]

Originally Posted by genebo

I accidently bought some 14% medicated calf feed from Southern States. They substituted it for the 12% sweet feed that they were out of, without telling me.

I got it home and discovered that the 'medication' was actually BGH, or bovine growth hormone. The dreaded hormone that keeps us from buying store bought beef. It wasn't medicine to protect their health, at all.

I took it back, unopened.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

I CALL BS!!!!!!

BGH is NOT a feed grade additive.

The Hillbillies at your feedstore do not know what they are talking about.

More than likely the additive was Reactopamine Hydrochloride, a Beta Agonist, which helps use nutrients for muscle growth rather than adipose depisition. Ractopamine is NOT a hormone.

[genebo]

I'm not going to drive back over there and buy another bag just to read you the label.

I don't care if it's what you say it is, or some other chemical growth enhancer. I don't want to eat it and I certainly wouldn't want to feed it to kids.

Those of you who subscribe to the policy of feeding your animals weird science diet may feel free to do so. I'm not stopping you. I wouldn't buy beef from you, but that doesn't surprise you, does it?

My cattle are given no chemicals except to save their lives. That includes antibiotics, hormones, vaccinations or anything else they wouldn't get if they lived wild. They're not certified organic, but are close. That's a personal choice, and one that I never try to enforce on others.

You do as you please.

If I could think of an insult for you comparable to "Hillbillies", I still wouldn't use it. That would make me as rude as you were. Shame on you for showing such poor manners.

Now lets calm down and get back to a rational discussion. I apologise for bringing up a subject which I had not thoroughly documented by saving a copy of the feed tag.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[Farm 36]

The feed additive was rumenson(sp) that is also used for coccidia control and also help on intake there for more gain .

[Allen W]

genebo

I really don't care how you raise your livestock. If you didn't know what additive was in the bag of feed you shouldn't have pulled something out of thin air.

[Allen W]

deineria

Sorry for hijacking your thread.

[deineria]

It is okay. I feed cocci medicated feed to our Nubian kids because I nearly lost two because of it, and so I want to prevent that. I was not even aware it was something calves contracted, which shows how much I know in that area. Here at our new place enviroment, she is in a super dry stall with lots of clean water and bedding, so I hope going to a non-medicated feed will not cause problems where cocci is concerned, and I have the other meds for it now, at any rate.

[Lazy J]

Originally Posted by genebo

Now lets calm down and get back to a rational discussion. I apologise for bringing up a subject which I had not thoroughly documented by saving a copy of the feed tag.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

How can we have a rational discussion when you throw out information that is not factual or rational?

[Lazy J]

Originally Posted by Allen W

genebo

I really don't care how you raise your livestock. If you didn't know what additive was in the bag of feed you shouldn't have pulled something out of thin air.

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!