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The growth and development of the Animal Husbandry Soem animal husbandry tips from an experienced bull raiser From category News Below : Product Details : Soem animal husbandry tips from an experienced bull raiserWhen a calf is born it weighs an average of 99 pounds. The calves we purchase weigh anywhere from 70 to 100 pounds, and range from less than a day to 2 weeks old.
A calf's diet is mostly milk. Written literature claims that calves only drink about 2 ounces of water each day, but my calves drink an average of 1 to 2 gallons of water a day. They also claim calves only eat about a pound of feed a day. Once my calves begin to eat feed with their milk replacement, they eat 2 to 3 pounds of feed each day plus hay for ruffage. Keep in mind that baby calves need fresh water in front of them at all times. Sometimes cowbirds (in my case, chickens and blue jays) live where calves live, because they eat the insects the calves stir up.
Holsteins are black and white and Jerseys are brown. Milk calves usually do not grow as fast as beef calves, but they eat as much! They eat about 70 bales of hay each year. Calves have to get shots, so they won't get sick. Once calves are about 3 weeks old they need exercise.
The Most Expensive Milk Replacer A Farmer Can Buy Is A Poor Quality One.
This is especially true for the first three weeks of the life of the calf. In selecting a milk replacer, both quality and quantity of nutrients must be evaluated. Keep the following in mind when buying a milk replacer.
ENERGY - is indicated by the level of fat. Fat provides more energy per gram than any other nutrient. The fat content of dry whole milk is 30%. The fat content of dry milk replacers should be between 10-25%. Calves of less than two weeks do not digest non-milk fats nearly as well as milk source fats. Generally speaking, milk replacers high in milk fat lower the risk of diarrhea. A fat content of 30% or greater is unacceptable.
FRUCTOSE (citrus sugar), sucrose (table sugar), maltose (corn syrup, molasses), and starch (cereal grain, molasses) should be avoided since they cannot be digested and will cause diarrhea. One cupful of table sugar fed twice a day will cause severe fatal diarrhea within a few days.
PROTEIN - milk replacers should contain 20-22% protein. Milk replacers for calves less than 3 weeks of age should be based on milk proteins. Non-milk sources can result in a decrease in available protein to the calf, and can potentially result in diarrhea. Calves over 3 weeks are better able to use non-milk proteins.
FIBER - crude fibre is used as a rough index of the amount of milk replacer of plant origin, because more fibre would be added as the percent of plant protein increases. Milk replacer for calves under 3 weeks should contain less than 0.5% crude fibre.
If young calves (less than 3 weeks) are to be fed milk substitutes, the products should be of high quality. Our primary goal in feeding baby calves should be health oriented - to not cause diarrhea through diet. This means using milk source ingredients in milk substitutes fed to young calves. Milk replacers containing non-milk sources of major nutrients are never used on my farm. They may be less expensive, but they are less beneficial for the animals.
Once a calves are eating grain based feed, we feed them a feed of 16% made of soybean meal, barley and medicated minerals. The medicated minerals come from a product called Bovitech. Once the calves reach approximately 150 and 175 pounds we feed a base of fine ground corn is mixed with the 16% protein feed. This diet aids in putting weight on the animals faster once the bones are adequately developed.
Sometimes it is evident that a calf may be ripping at or chewing on the wood of their housing or a fence post. This is an indication of a sodium deficiency in their diet. This can be corrected by provided either a mineral salt block or a plain salt block with their diet. One thing that is unique about bovines, is that they know when their body has had enough salt, and they will stop using the salt block on their own.
We also mix in oxy-tetracycline (we use what is called CTC4 made by Purina) in the feed batches every other day or so to lessen the frequency of coughing. For bouts of diarrhea, we treat this with good old pepto bismal.......
Another concern we have with our young calves is referred to as scouring. The most critical time for this to occur is during the first few weeks of life. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, scouring is caused by the contracting of an infectious disease such as a rotavirus, coronavirus or a host of others. Sometimes salmonella is involved, but if the situation is managed effectively this can be prevented for the most part. The main symptom I have seen with my calves if scouring is present is diarrhea. Although this is not what the normal treatment entails, we have excellent results with treating the matter with pepto bismal.
Continued scouring leads to dehydration and dull sunken eyes; their skin will tighten and their coat will become rough and they will tend to feel cold to the touch. Calves with scours should be kept separate from healthy. If a calf is correctly fed with the right amount of colostrum or milk replacer, they will resist disease more readily.
Because I do not have adequate shelter, I only raise beef calves from spring till late autumn. At market time, my calves weigh 300 to 500 pounds. Eveyone remarks how "tame" my animals are when people see them and buy them.
The key ingredient that makes your animals tamer and easy to work with is how you treat them. Both my wife and I and people visiting spend time fussing with them. They are petted hugged and talked to. My wife even has a couple of calves this year that "give hugs and kisses" as she calls it. And we both sit on hay wagon in the field with them as often as possible and talk to them. They all have names and personalities just like kids.
And although the calves are purchased as bull calves, I castrate by a process referred to as banding when the calves' testicles have dropped into the scrotal sac. I also use de-horning paste to prevent horns from growing. This process of pasting the horn nubs before they grow is more humane than the yanking of them once they are fully grown.
In closing, I offer these tips:
Only buy and sell you calves from private parties that are reputable. Dealing with auctions is a rip off the majority of the time, and can result in mishandling or inhumane treatment, feeding and sheltering of animals. Not dealing with auctions will also better insure that diseases will not be passed around between the animals.
And ALWAYS treat your calves with kindness and respect and they will be friendlier and easier to work with.
A calf's diet is mostly milk. Written literature claims that calves only drink about 2 ounces of water each day, but my calves drink an average of 1 to 2 gallons of water a day. They also claim calves only eat about a pound of feed a day. Once my calves begin to eat feed with their milk replacement, they eat 2 to 3 pounds of feed each day plus hay for ruffage. Keep in mind that baby calves need fresh water in front of them at all times. Sometimes cowbirds (in my case, chickens and blue jays) live where calves live, because they eat the insects the calves stir up.
Holsteins are black and white and Jerseys are brown. Milk calves usually do not grow as fast as beef calves, but they eat as much! They eat about 70 bales of hay each year. Calves have to get shots, so they won't get sick. Once calves are about 3 weeks old they need exercise.
The Most Expensive Milk Replacer A Farmer Can Buy Is A Poor Quality One.
This is especially true for the first three weeks of the life of the calf. In selecting a milk replacer, both quality and quantity of nutrients must be evaluated. Keep the following in mind when buying a milk replacer.
ENERGY - is indicated by the level of fat. Fat provides more energy per gram than any other nutrient. The fat content of dry whole milk is 30%. The fat content of dry milk replacers should be between 10-25%. Calves of less than two weeks do not digest non-milk fats nearly as well as milk source fats. Generally speaking, milk replacers high in milk fat lower the risk of diarrhea. A fat content of 30% or greater is unacceptable.
FRUCTOSE (citrus sugar), sucrose (table sugar), maltose (corn syrup, molasses), and starch (cereal grain, molasses) should be avoided since they cannot be digested and will cause diarrhea. One cupful of table sugar fed twice a day will cause severe fatal diarrhea within a few days.
PROTEIN - milk replacers should contain 20-22% protein. Milk replacers for calves less than 3 weeks of age should be based on milk proteins. Non-milk sources can result in a decrease in available protein to the calf, and can potentially result in diarrhea. Calves over 3 weeks are better able to use non-milk proteins.
FIBER - crude fibre is used as a rough index of the amount of milk replacer of plant origin, because more fibre would be added as the percent of plant protein increases. Milk replacer for calves under 3 weeks should contain less than 0.5% crude fibre.
If young calves (less than 3 weeks) are to be fed milk substitutes, the products should be of high quality. Our primary goal in feeding baby calves should be health oriented - to not cause diarrhea through diet. This means using milk source ingredients in milk substitutes fed to young calves. Milk replacers containing non-milk sources of major nutrients are never used on my farm. They may be less expensive, but they are less beneficial for the animals.
Once a calves are eating grain based feed, we feed them a feed of 16% made of soybean meal, barley and medicated minerals. The medicated minerals come from a product called Bovitech. Once the calves reach approximately 150 and 175 pounds we feed a base of fine ground corn is mixed with the 16% protein feed. This diet aids in putting weight on the animals faster once the bones are adequately developed.
Sometimes it is evident that a calf may be ripping at or chewing on the wood of their housing or a fence post. This is an indication of a sodium deficiency in their diet. This can be corrected by provided either a mineral salt block or a plain salt block with their diet. One thing that is unique about bovines, is that they know when their body has had enough salt, and they will stop using the salt block on their own.
We also mix in oxy-tetracycline (we use what is called CTC4 made by Purina) in the feed batches every other day or so to lessen the frequency of coughing. For bouts of diarrhea, we treat this with good old pepto bismal.......
Another concern we have with our young calves is referred to as scouring. The most critical time for this to occur is during the first few weeks of life. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, scouring is caused by the contracting of an infectious disease such as a rotavirus, coronavirus or a host of others. Sometimes salmonella is involved, but if the situation is managed effectively this can be prevented for the most part. The main symptom I have seen with my calves if scouring is present is diarrhea. Although this is not what the normal treatment entails, we have excellent results with treating the matter with pepto bismal.
Continued scouring leads to dehydration and dull sunken eyes; their skin will tighten and their coat will become rough and they will tend to feel cold to the touch. Calves with scours should be kept separate from healthy. If a calf is correctly fed with the right amount of colostrum or milk replacer, they will resist disease more readily.
Because I do not have adequate shelter, I only raise beef calves from spring till late autumn. At market time, my calves weigh 300 to 500 pounds. Eveyone remarks how "tame" my animals are when people see them and buy them.
The key ingredient that makes your animals tamer and easy to work with is how you treat them. Both my wife and I and people visiting spend time fussing with them. They are petted hugged and talked to. My wife even has a couple of calves this year that "give hugs and kisses" as she calls it. And we both sit on hay wagon in the field with them as often as possible and talk to them. They all have names and personalities just like kids.
And although the calves are purchased as bull calves, I castrate by a process referred to as banding when the calves' testicles have dropped into the scrotal sac. I also use de-horning paste to prevent horns from growing. This process of pasting the horn nubs before they grow is more humane than the yanking of them once they are fully grown.
In closing, I offer these tips:
Only buy and sell you calves from private parties that are reputable. Dealing with auctions is a rip off the majority of the time, and can result in mishandling or inhumane treatment, feeding and sheltering of animals. Not dealing with auctions will also better insure that diseases will not be passed around between the animals.
And ALWAYS treat your calves with kindness and respect and they will be friendlier and easier to work with.
