talk me out of bottle calves

[mrpink]

I'm gonna sit down tonight and read through the bottle calf thread, but thought I would post this as well for your honest input. in our market bulletin this week there is an ad for newborn jersey and jersey\Holstein cross calves. bulls are $35 heifers $150. A friend of mine wants me to raise a couple of the bull calves.currently I just have a couple of sheep around the place. so I have the space for one or two and the time. I've not raised any calves before but I have had the thought in my mind for a few years. just never had the time to devote to it before now. any thoughts and\or opinions?

[copperhead46]

It's tricky, for sure. Baby calves are hard to raise, they take a lot of time and vet knowledge. you will think one is doing fine and by the next feeding he's dead. I have raised hundreds of bottle calves and it's always a challange. Now, having said that, if you are able to stand the losses that come with the job, it is very rewarding to raise a baby into a good steer. You need to have a good vet that will be able to answer your questions and a good neighbor, is even better. I raised a lot of them on milk replacder, but had to fight the scours and sickness that it seems to bring. Once I switched to raising them on goats, I didn't have to fight the scour problem anymore. If you're able to get good "fresh" calves you will stand a lot better chance of getting them raised, than if they have been to the sale barn. Learn how to give shots and how to administer all kinds of meds. Like I said at the beginning, it's a lot of work, and a lot of heartbreak, when you lose one.

[mrpink]

I haven't called about them yet. I do believe they are at the farm and have not been to the sale barn. do have a vet but no neighbor. all beef herds around here. the heartbreak I can stand. I would be using milk replacer since I don't have goats at the moment.

[stifflej]

I bought my first 2 bottle calves this past summer, Holstein steers. I bought right from the farm. He let me pick which ones I wanted, and they were already bucket trained. He had a very clean operation, and you could tell he took very good care of his cows and calves, he would rather sell from the farm then take them to auction. I had no issues with them when I got home. My advice is if you are going to do it, visit the farm, check the cleanliness of the farm, and how well he takes care of his animals. It will be a lot less stress coming from the farm then a sale barn, plus less chance of picking something up. I will buy from the farmer again. And if the guy you wanna buy from is anything like the fellow I did, he will help you any way he can to get you started.

[linn]

If these calves are healthy and have had plenty of colostrum, then they would be OK to raise to eat. Check their joints and navels, if either is swelled, pass on that calf. Take a look at their rear ends, they should not be messy. If the calf has a bare-looking tail, you will know someone has cleaned dried, runny poop off the tail. I would get the Jersey/Holstein cross. Jersey and Jersey cross steers don't bring much in the sale ring. So if you are planning on selling them you will probably not make any money.
Make sure to feed a good milk replacer, one made up of all milk ingredients, that has plenty of protein and fat content. Soybean based milk replacers are not a good option, in my opinion.

[Callieslamb]

Price the milk replacer and other equipment you will need and see if that $35 makes sense to you. Sometimes you come out ahead to buy a feeder calf instead of the bottle babies. Add the price of one vet visit and abouty $30 worth of antibiotic to the total, just in case.

That said, we have let DS raise a couple bottle calves at at time. We sell them at weaning. we've been doing it for just under a year now. Some calves do really well and others - well we won't be buying from those dairies any more. Make sure they have had colostrum (3 feedings worth at least) before you buy them! Ask to bring some raw milk home with the calves so you can transition them over to milk replacer slowly. Do not delay if you think they aren't doing well. Do not buy a calf that doesn't have bright eyes and a curious outlook. One that comes running for food is best...but that doesn't always happen in calves so young.

Good luck.

[genebo]

It should be emphasized that sometime bottle calves die. You get more closely attached to them than to nursing calves. Make sure you're strong enough to handle that before you start.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[sammyd]

if they are straight from a farm and if they have received colostrum I would not worry as hard.

but still, heed genebos advice........

[topside1]

Just buy a weaned one, really not expensive. (8 weeks old) Let someone else deal with the stress....Topside

[topside1]

http://www.golsn.com/listings/farm-l...k/2057917.html

These are not weaned but look to be about 3-4 weeks old...Usually out of the death zone by then...Not a bad deal really, for first time buyers...Topside

[livinzoo]

probably the guy I talked to. He has people he buys them from. Some are from sale barns some are direct from the farm. He said he raises them and when his barn is full he has to sell them.