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Rearing calves on whole milk

  • 24-02-2015 8:22pm
    #1
    morebabies
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 539 ✭✭✭


    Normally I use maverick but this year I've access to whole milk and was wondering how many litres would a 3 week old calf have per day? The maverick is 5 litres a day in 2 feeds. Anyone any advice please?


Comments

  • #2
    Mad4simmental
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,580 ✭✭✭Mad4simmental


    Feeding 6/7 here in two sittings, will go oad soon at about 3 weeks old at around 5L


  • #3
    frazzledhome
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,278 ✭✭✭frazzledhome


    Feeding adlib here about 7 litres


  • #4
    KCTK
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 378 ✭✭KCTK


    Mad4simmental wrote: »
    Feeding 6/7 here in two sittings, will go oad soon at about 3 weeks old at around 5L

    How do you usually change them on to oad on milk? Have done it no problem with replacer in the past whereby I would up the powder in the mix but not sure what is best way to get on oad on whole milk, have a group 3 weeks old now I want to put on oad. Cheers


  • #5
    20silkcut
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,663 ✭✭✭20silkcut


    frazzledhome wrote: »
    Feeding adlib here about 7 litres


    Would that not scour them like hell


  • #6
    Mad4simmental
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,580 ✭✭✭Mad4simmental


    KCTK wrote: »
    How do you usually change them on to oad on milk? Have done it no problem with replacer in the past whereby I would up the powder in the mix but not sure what is best way to get on oad on whole milk, have a group 3 weeks old now I want to put on oad. Cheers

    They are eating plenty of straw and starting to eat a nice pick of meal. When they are eating annof I just change over to oad.


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  • #7
    KCTK
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 378 ✭✭KCTK


    Mad4simmental wrote: »
    They are eating plenty of straw and starting to eat a nice pick of meal. When they are eating annof I just change over to oad.

    Oldest group here are eating straw and picking meal, have them on 3 and a half litres twice a day at the moment, do you start increasing one feed and decreasing the other feed over a few day and give them 5 or 6 litres then in the one feed?


  • #8
    frazzledhome
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,278 ✭✭✭frazzledhome


    20silkcut wrote: »
    Would that not scour them like hell

    Not so far. Suckler calves don't scour as a rule. Ad lib means always available


  • #9
    Milked out
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,433 ✭✭✭Milked out


    frazzledhome wrote: »
    Not so far. Suckler calves don't scour as a rule. Ad lib means always available

    We used to feed calves here ad lib when I was younger before we bought extra qouta with a spring feeder, basically a large barrel which fed into a stainless steel container which was sitting in a warm water bath with a number of lines coming out of it. From what I remember there was very few problems with it they drank when they were hungry and did fine cold milk from tank with some acidifier added in the barrel. We had simmental and limo stock bulls then too had some job trying to dehorn them after a month of ad lib milk


  • #10
    Brown Podzol
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,847 ✭✭✭Brown Podzol


    Milked out wrote: »
    We used to feed calves here ad lib when I was younger before we bought extra qouta with a spring feeder, basically a large barrel which fed into a stainless steel container which was sitting in a warm water bath with a number of lines coming out of it. From what I remember there was very few problems with it they drank when they were hungry and did fine cold milk from tank with some acidifier added in the barrel. We had simmental and limo stock bulls then too had some job trying to dehorn them after a month of ad lib milk

    Did you dilute the milk with water? Used to feed ad lib with a Liscarroll feeder and if I didn't dilute with 15/20% water the calves would get bound.


  • #11
    Mad4simmental
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,580 ✭✭✭Mad4simmental


    KCTK wrote: »
    Oldest group here are eating straw and picking meal, have them on 3 and a half litres twice a day at the moment, do you start increasing one feed and decreasing the other feed over a few day and give them 5 or 6 litres then in the one feed?

    Normally just start to feed in the morning a bit later & in the evening a bit earlier they don't be long getting ust to it.


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  • #12
    Milked out
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,433 ✭✭✭Milked out


    Brown Podzol wrote: »
    Did you dilute the milk with water? Used to feed ad lib with a Liscarroll feeder and if I didn't dilute with 15/20% water the calves would get bound.

    The acidifier was a product called milkshake which you would add to water first to dissolve it and then to the milk, I think it was 0.5L acidifier to 4.5L of milk. I was in school when we were at that so didn't see much of the calves bar helping out in the evening but don't recall many issues. If over quota it would prob be not much more work than oad feeding as it's a case of fill up the milk tank then check the calves with the bit of washing in between. Do lads ever feed milk replacer ad lib?


  • #13
    tomieen jones
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 269 ✭✭tomieen jones


    source a few kefir grains and brew some of the milk into kefir ! Better than yougert ! You will have no scour issues adlib


  • #14
    morebabies
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 539 ✭✭✭morebabies


    Thanks lads, do you know if I have to be careful about what temperature the milk is when I feed it to them, see I collect it in the evening and can give it to them warm then but the next morning it'd be chilled from being in the shed overnight. Should I heat it or will it do them any harm?


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