milk replacer

weatherbyfoxer

whats people experience of volac golden maverick for rearing beef calves?..have used vitalac blue the past 2 years and worked well but have been offered maverick alot cheaper..both seem to have similar figures in protein,fats,..etc

nhg

We used Maverick when we first started rearing bull calves, read about Bonanza Shine Once A Day (skim milk as opposed to whey based) here on boards and changed to that the following year, never changed/looked back, calves much more content on Shine Once A Day.

Our calves are always at least 4 weeks old when we get them & we feed them for a week or two twice a day before moving across to once a day feeding, never any problem when changing from twice a day to once a day as milk replacer is mixed to a different ratio.

Our shed configuration wouldn't suit an automatic feeder system. We used to use a feeder without compartments in the beginning but it's amazing when you start feeding with a compartment calf feeder the different speed at which some calves drink, at least now we are sure that they all get the correct quantity of milk replacer.

weatherbyfoxer

nhg wrote: »

We used Maverick when we first started rearing bull calves, read about Bonanza Shine Once A Day (skim milk as opposed to whey based) here on boards and changed to that the following year, never changed/looked back, calves much more content on Shine Once A Day.

Our calves are always at least 4 weeks old when we get them & we feed them for a week or two twice a day before moving across to once a day feeding, never any problem when changing from twice a day to once a day as milk replacer is mixed to a different ratio.

Our shed configuration wouldn't suit an automatic feeder system. We used to use a feeder without compartments in the beginning but it's amazing when you start feeding with a compartment calf feeder the different speed at which some calves drink, at least now we are sure that they all get the correct quantity of milk replacer.

cheers for the reply ngh,alot of people seem to be fond of feeding a cmr with a high skim percentage,i read an article recently where harper adam did a comparive trial on both skim base and whey based and found no difference in calf health or preformance,currently the product i have been using here is whey based with 15% skim it does the job well but at near €60 per 25kg bag it is getting expensive

farisfat

Ive used kiernan for the last 4 years and the heifers are always ahead of target and very little digestive problems.
37 euro for a 20kg bag
Their fed oad from 2 weeks of age.

_Brian

farisfat wrote: »

Ive used kiernan for the last 4 years and the heifers are always ahead of target and very little digestive problems.
37 euro for a 20kg bag
Their fed oad from 2 weeks of age.

Find Kieran’s good as well

_Brian

Few years ago I read as much as I could find on various replacers and systems.

Seemed to me that if you do all the other stuff really well that animals at 12-14 months will weigh similarly anyway.

We feed one bag per calf, recent years used maverick, fresh acres and Kieran’s. No substantial difference other than maybe €5/bag

Reduce burdens like space stress, respiratory issues, gastro issues.

Get calves out of the shed as quickly as possible and onto sheltered grass paddock.

We split one bunch of four hex bulls, two for one bag and two for two bags. At a year old you wouldn’t know the difference.

Something like OAD we found as good, but you need to be with them minimum twice a day anyway, halved the electric water heating Bill.