Holstein calf question

[SSacres]

Bought a holstein bull calf this spring, to raise for the freezer. He was on four (4) quarts of MR per day and I steadily increased calf starter feed up to 4-5 lbs per day. Always has access to pasture.

I started reducing the bottles when he was 8 weeks old and gave him the last of the MR today (11 weeks old), still eating 4-5 lbs of calf starter feed per day.

As I increased the feed, he stopped grazing, eats very little grass, which was one of the pluses to getting this calf. I had hoped he would be able to keep my pastures trimmed down, so I could stop mowing. Is this normal and will he start grazing more now that the bottles have been stopped???

This is my first experience with a cow, but wondering if I'm already messing up, any advice appreciated. Oh, he was banded and dehorned at 3 weeks old & dewormed with pour on Cydectin last week.

Thanks!

[myheaven]

I would give him grain only at night when he come up from pasture.

[myersfarm]

what they said ^^^^ let him eat his feed and lay down for the night he will wake up hungry and go out to pasture during the day

[francismilker]

If he's getting too much feed he won't have the appetite to graze. I'd try cutting back on the feed and see if his grazing appetite increases. If he's only 11 weeks old he ought to be 150lbs or less. If you have plenty of grass for him to graze I'd skip a day of the feed and see if grazing increases. Make sure he's got good loose mineral out and plenty of fresh water.

If he's got a good appetite for grain he's only going to eat enough roughage to keep his rumen working properly. It's like offering a kid candy or brussel sprouts. They're going to choose the candy even though the brussel sprouts are better for them. The grain is good and will make them gain weight but you're defeating the purpose you bought him for.

FYI, I try to give a calf a tetanus shot anytime I band or dehorn. It's just a good precautionary measure and won't hurt anything. You can usually buy them at a local farm store like TSC or Orsheln's. Also, a good multipurpose vaccination like a 5-way or 7-way vaccine followed up with a booster would be a good idea. The one I use is called Vira-shield. It just heads off some of the possiblities of future sickness.

[SSacres]

Alright, I'll stop going out at 4:30 am (before I get ready for work) to feed him , really like that option!
He's not fat, but not boney either, just want to make sure he's getting enough to grow properly. I would estimate his weight at close to 200 lbs. I've got about 3 acres of pastures that were overgrown, so mowed them down this spring and they're doing pretty good. They are cross fenced, so I can rotate areas and clean up manure to help control flies.
I've put out fresh loose pasture mix minerals, but he shows no interest. Thanks francismilker, for the vacination suggestion, my vet was not much help with this info.

I raised meat goats previously, so this is a whole new learning experience. Thanks again.

[tinknal]

Don't worry about "fat" for a long time. Holstein steers on pasture are bony things and never really bulk up until their frame is built at around 750 lbs

[haypoint]

I'm not going to assume anything. Do you know what you have growing in your pasture? There are many types of weeds that look "grass-like" but are fairly unpalatable.
He may just be getting enough in the barn, but without seeing what your pasture is made of, no one can say for sure what you should do.

[SSacres]

Haypoint,
I'm not sure exactly what type of grasses are growing in my pasture, seeded it with a pasture mix seed years ago. I've managed to keep the weeds down reasonably well, even pulling some by hand before they could seed out. The horses and goats always kept it grazed down well in the past.
He was eating the grass better until I increased the pelleted feed, but I'll throw some hay out this evening just to see if he's interested.