Milk replacer

mickmac1

Lost a cow last week after calving I have been giving the calf milk from a neighbour since but started him on powder milk today. It says on the bag to build up to 2 litres twice a day. He is a big calf and had been drink a lot more than that should I stick to what it says on the bag or could I give him more? Also should I have water available to him?

_Brian

mickmac1 wrote: »

Lost a cow last week after calving I have been giving the calf milk from a neighbour since but started him on powder milk today. It says on the bag to build up to 2 litres twice a day. He is a big calf and had been drink a lot more than that should I stick to what it says on the bag or could I give him more? Also should I have water available to him?

Stick to what it says, excess milk is just wasted.. I tried myself comparing calves getting one and two bags of milk and by 12 months they are the same weight anyway..

Have fresh clean water, meal and clean straw to eat..

ALso if your giving him a slap of extra milk he'll not be as interested in meal etc and the goal is to get them onto meal ASAP !!

mahoney_j

mickmac1 wrote: »

Lost a cow last week after calving I have been giving the calf milk from a neighbour since but started him on powder milk today. It says on the bag to build up to 2 litres twice a day. He is a big calf and had been drink a lot more than that should I stick to what it says on the bag or could I give him more? Also should I have water available to him?

600 gramnes in 3 ltrs oad and build up to 750 gramnes in 3 ltrs oad over 10 days.keep fresh water and straw and a good ration//nut to eat into him and you'll have a crackin icalf at weaning.used to follow the bag instructions and feed twice a day up to 3 years ago and huge improevements in calf lwg and performance since going oad

Reggie.

mahoney_j wrote: »

600 gramnes in 3 ltrs oad and build up to 750 gramnes in 3 ltrs oad over 10 days.keep fresh water and straw and a good ration//nut to eat into him and you'll have a crackin icalf at weaning.used to follow the bag instructions and feed twice a day up to 3 years ago and huge improevements in calf lwg and performance since going oad

Have to agree on the OAD. Less workload and better performance I found also.

Carrigogunnell

600 to 750 grams sounds a lot to me to be honest. Generally milk replacer is 120 grams to 1 ltr of water so 300 for 2 1/2 lts morning and evening. The most I'd be going up to is 140 grams per ltr plenty of meal and straw

Reggie.

Carrigogunnell wrote: »

600 to 750 grams sounds a lot to me to be honest. Generally milk replacer is 120 grams to 1 ltr of water so 300 for 2 1/2 lts morning and evening. The most I'd be going up to is 140 grams per ltr plenty of meal and straw

The 600 to 750 is for the OAD feeding

Carrigogunnell

Reggie. wrote: »

The 600 to 750 is for the OAD feeding

Sorry my bad I miss read the oad. It seems to be getting very popular with good results

marathon

what oad stand for

Reggie.

marathon wrote: »

what oad stand for

Once A Day ...its means feeding here but can also mean once a day milking too. Depends on who your talking to

Reggie.

Carrigogunnell wrote: »

Sorry my bad I miss read the oad. It seems to be getting very popular with good results

Far less work required and calves move to the 1 kg of meal far quicker. I think I had calves off milk by 10 weeks last year

marathon

and does the once a day give better results i was using twice a day last year

marathon

i gave them bag and half milk replacer dat sound right or is there better way

Reggie.

marathon wrote: »

and does the once a day give better results i was using twice a day last year

Makes them move onto concentrates quicker
i.e meal

marathon

cheers reggie ive bn lookin at this a while n u seem to know ur stuff

Reggie.

marathon wrote: »

i gave them bag and half milk replacer dat sound right or is there better way

No that's about it. I usually feed about 7 bags to 6 calves and then they are weaned off. Far more experienced lads here than me so they might have different ratios but it's whatever works for you really

Deepsouthwest

Anyone got any prices on milk replacer this yr? Had it come way back with world markets? Anyone considering switching to it after april 1st?

Reggie.

marathon wrote: »

cheers reggie ive bn lookin at this a while n u seem to know ur stuff

I or two lads here are top of their game and can educate ya far more than I could. Just find what works best for you. Just make sure you mix the replacer right for OAD as it's supposed to firm a lump in the calves stomach to last the 24hrs

frazzledhome

A few tips for OAD

All feeding at same time daily
All calves drinking at same rate
Clean water they'll drink a lot
Fresh quality straw to eat
Ad lib meal
Feeding equipment clean

Build up to 750-800 gms over a week. 3litres water. When eating 1kg pellets you can reduce concentration over a few days and wean with no stress

The reason for less water and more powder is to increase dm of grub developing the rumen quicker.

I'd wager that anyone doing it wouldn't go back to TAD

marathon

frazzled would it havta be straw or could i get away with hay as have loadsa hay

Reggie.

marathon wrote: »

frazzled would it havta be straw or could i get away with hay as have loadsa hay

To be honest I always use hay as I can't get calves to eat the straw at all.

frazzledhome

marathon wrote: »

frazzled would it havta be straw or could i get away with hay as have loadsa hay

Good quality roughage. I always found hay gives pot bellies where straw didn't.

Not everyone agrees.

Reggie.

frazzledhome wrote: »

Good quality roughage. I always found hay gives pot bellies where straw didn't.

Not everyone agrees.

The pot bellies always disappear after a short time at grass for me.

RightTurnClyde

Reggie. wrote: »

The pot bellies always disappear after a short time at grass for me.

And what about the calves

mahoney_j

frazzledhome wrote: »

Good quality roughage. I always found hay gives pot bellies where straw didn't.

Not everyone agrees.

Fully agree on straw rather than hay and the oad feeding of replacer at higher rates.many advantages,consistent feed daily if mixed correctly,better calves with less scours who thrive and gain condition quicker and better than twice a day feeding.also the labour and time it saves during a busy spring.oad dosnt mean u feed them at say 10 am and don't see them again till following am.i always walk through the calf pens after evening milking to check them..big advocate of oad powder here from day 7/10 onwards

marathon

some my calves got pot bellies last year alrite but im
n fairness lost it when went out to grass

Reggie.

RightTurnClyde wrote: »

And what about the calves

What about them

Reggie.

marathon wrote: »

some my calves got pot bellies last year alrite but im
n fairness lost it when went out to grass

I don't really think it makes much of a difference
. I tried straw last year first off and the calves refused to eat it. Left them for two days and it was never touched. Changed to hay and it was devoured in no time

marathon

that will do me so as i have lots hay and not goina buy in straw

Milked out

Whats the best replacer out there based on ingredients?

Carrigogunnell

I started selling milk replacer this spring. It's selling for €42 high protein.(no names not here to advertise but it's not volac) Maverick is €44 and heifer lac is €47. When feeding straw its best when chopped easier for calf to eat and digest. When feeding hay the calf tends to eat a lot of it and not as much meal as when on straw it only nibbles at it and eats more concentrate. I would say 70 percent of Diary farms I have milk in are oad feeding with no issues seems to work very wel.General rule of thumb is 1 and a half bag to 2 bags percalf. A bag of replacer does roughly 33 days

mahoney_j

Carrigogunnell wrote: »

I started selling milk replacer this spring. It's selling for €42 high protein.(no names not here to advertise but it's not volac) Maverick is €44 and heifer lac is €47. When feeding straw its best when chopped easier for calf to eat and digest. When feeding hay the calf tends to eat a lot of it and not as much meal as when on straw it only nibbles at it and eats more concentrate. I would say 70 percent of Diary farms I have milk in are oad feeding with no issues seems to work very wel.General rule of thumb is 1 and a half bag to 2 bags percalf. A bag of replacer does roughly 33 days

Disagree on chopping straw ,was always told quality of but must be very good for feeding but the rougher more coarse and longer the better.always feed oaten straw here and bed with barley .they go mad for oaten straw

_Brian

Carrigogunnell wrote: »

I started selling milk replacer this spring. It's selling for €42 high protein.(no names not here to advertise but it's not volac) Maverick is €44 and heifer lac is €47. When feeding straw its best when chopped easier for calf to eat and digest. When feeding hay the calf tends to eat a lot of it and not as much meal as when on straw it only nibbles at it and eats more concentrate. I would say 70 percent of Diary farms I have milk in are oad feeding with no issues seems to work very wel.General rule of thumb is 1 and a half bag to 2 bags percalf. A bag of replacer does roughly 33 days

I would say 2 bags is way excessive..
We would have used Super Cream in the past, 80 feeds per bag. After 40 days all healthy calves would be consuming min 1kg meal with clean straw and fresh water. Could never see the benefit of feeding milk beyond this unless to a sick calf. Personally when buying in calves we would find it more important to time the weaning date of calves for your farm so they can go out to a sheltered grass paddock. Definitely no second bag of milk needed for them then.. Saving €44 + cost of hot water + labor, if rearing calf to weanling or beef that's a big saving. Maybe rearing dairy heifer replacements its not such a big deal as their expected profit stream in subsequent years will negate the extra spend.

Deepsouthwest

_Brian wrote: »

I would say 2 bags is way excessive..
We would have used Super Cream in the past, 80 feeds per bag. After 40 days all healthy calves would be consuming min 1kg meal with clean straw and fresh water. Could never see the benefit of feeding milk beyond this unless to a sick calf. Personally when buying in calves we would find it more important to time the weaning date of calves for your farm so they can go out to a sheltered grass paddock. Definitely no second bag of milk needed for them then.. Saving €44 + cost of hot water + labor, if rearing calf to weanling or beef that's a big saving. Maybe rearing dairy heifer replacements its not such a big deal as their expected profit stream in subsequent years will negate the extra spend.

Would the calves ur buying not already be 3 or 4 wks old and have a nice bit of the first bag consumed already at that stage?

_Brian

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Would the calves ur buying not already be 3 or 4 wks old and have a nice bit of the first bag consumed already at that stage?

That's a fair point..
Ex farm most I notice are drinking excess or with held milk..

No calves here at the moment as I think prices have been too strong for a decent return.. Maybe next spring.

Deepsouthwest

_Brian wrote: »

That's a fair point..
Ex farm most I notice are drinking excess or with held milk..

No calves here at the moment as I think prices have been too strong for a decent return.. Maybe next spring.

Or maybe a months time when all those calves drinking the over quota milk will start coming out

frazzledhome

_Brian wrote: »

That's a fair point..
Ex farm most I notice are drinking excess or with held milk..

No calves here at the moment as I think prices have been too strong for a decent return.. Maybe next spring.

Last days of March calved reared on quota milk will be out and reared

Carrigogunnell

I still tink chopped straw is easier to consume. When I say 1 1/2 to 2 bags that's from 6 or 7 days + . Most buy calves around 3 weeks old so a bag and a bit would generally see them to weaning a dairy man feeding replacement heifers from 6 days could use up to 2 bags all depends on situation nd the person rearing the calves.

_Brian

I'd agree with previous poster and see no need to chop straw. It's purpose is to stretch the rumen and train it to fibre, chopping the fibres seems time/money wasted.
We found fresh golden barley straw best but whatever works, I'd have mixed a handful if hay through in the beginning to attract them to eating it.

Base price

I was talking to local agri store owner on Saturday pricing their milk replacer and he told me that it is due to come back in price by up to €2 per bag in the next week or so.
I always work out how much per litre it costs rather than price per bag. Like the others have said we try to get them on oad as soon as possible.
Last year milk replacer cost us 23.5c per litre. We have no cost for heating water as it is a by product off the range in the house. OH fitted an outside tap so it is easier to fill the barrell and my brother installed a larger cylinder so we have the volume of hot water needed.

JOAT

Has anyone worked out costings of milk replacer including electricity for heating the water when compared to whole milk? And what kind of price per tonne is it looking like this year? Never before fed replacer but considering it this year due to quotas gone and from a disease point of view

Sam Kade

JOAT wrote: »

Has anyone worked out costings of milk replacer including electricity for heating the water when compared to whole milk? And what kind of price per tonne is it looking like this year? Never before fed replacer but considering it this year due to quotas gone and from a disease point of view

There was a teagasc adviser on the radio last week he was saying cost would be similar with low milk price this year. He also said that the original 2 litres a feed was too little as it doesn't help the calf to grow he said they need 3 litres per feed built up over the first week. He also said that they did trials and found no difference in calves put onto milk replacer after the first 2 feeds of colostrum, wouldn't agree with him there.

mahoney_j

Sam Kade wrote: »

There was a teagasc adviser on the radio last week he was saying cost would be similar with low milk price this year. He also said that the original 2 litres a feed was too little as it doesn't help the calf to grow he said they need 3 litres per feed built up over the first week. He also said that they did trials and found no difference in calves put onto milk replacer after the first 2 feeds of colostrum, wouldn't agree with him there.

No issue whatsoever putting calves on replacer after a few days old.within 10 days onto oad ,3 ltrs water 750 gramms plus of powder and meal straw and water ad lib .keep dm intakes high no point going to much over 3 ltrs .

Greengrass1

mahoney_j wrote: »

No issue whatsoever putting calves on replacer after a few days old.within 10 days onto oad ,3 ltrs water 750 gramms plus of powder and meal straw and water ad lib .keep dm intakes high no point going to much over 3 ltrs .

10 days is far too young for OAD mj. They need to be over 35 days old

mahoney_j

Greengrass1 wrote: »

10 days is far too young for OAD mj. They need to be over 35 days old

Doing it last 3 years here no issues ,but if a sticky fooker from dept asked hell of course be getting your answer !!

mahoney_j

Greengrass1 wrote: »

10 days is far too young for OAD mj. They need to be over 35 days old

Doing it last 3 years here no issues ,but if a sticky fooker from dept asked hell of course be getting your answer !!

Reggie.

Greengrass1 wrote: »

10 days is far too young for OAD mj. They need to be over 35 days old

Doing it here from 1 to 2 weeks old last 3 years no snags yet

boggerman1

Have been oad here for last few yrs.from day 15 to 21 convert them to oad.best move ever here in relation to rearing calves.all milk replacer here.found out hard way with cows out on grass calves couldn't handle whole milk oad

nhg

Have start of calves arriving onto farm in next week or two (we are buying direct from same two farmers as last year), new calf pens going into 4 span hay barn at minute so will be well set up with 3 pens for different stages of feeding between TAD to OAD to weaned with access to a sheltered paddock when weather allows. Calf to 30 Mth finished beef system here.

Used Maverick, Bretts calf crunch & hay last year with no major problems, thinking about Shine this year after reading over old posts here - just wondering which milk replacer are ye using this year?