How much milk does an orphan calf need?

[Carrog]

I can find loads of information on the internet about how much milk a normal size calf needs but nothing for Dexters. I have an orphan calf - lost mum when about 14 days old so plenty of colostrum and was feeding well - he's now 50 days old and having 8pints a day of full fat milk split over 4 feeds. I was wondering if anybody can tell me if this is enough? No nuts/ cake just grass, as I have him in with a 20 month old heifer so he hascompany/ learns cow social skills etc.! I feel he's not doing as well as the calves with their mothers and his coat seems rougher/less shinny. Would be grateful if anyone can tell me if I'm underfeeding him?

[Duncan MacIntyre]

I have bucket fed Dexter calves in the past, but always inside and provided plenty hay/straw and ad lib cake, treated them like commercial dairy calves. Much more difficult to get the extra feed in which happens as they increase concentrate/cake intake, I suspect that you have to increase the milk intake quite substantially to meet the growth potential. Obviously it will be taking in increasing amounts of grass but if it was suckling a cow the milk would be increasing and it would be able to feed very frequently. I think milk yield of suckler cows is very often underestimated.

Duncan

[Saffy]

We hand reared a calf a year or so ago. We increased the milk gradually to 10 pints, weaned at nearly 5 months when he was eating loads of coarse calf ration and hay and I was way fed up with feeding him.

[Louisa Gidney]

It may be not how much milk but the concentration of milk powder to water used. I'm bottle feeding a short leg heifer calf whose mother died when she was 10 days old, in February. She's on a flat rate of two feeds a day of 2 and a half pints milk mixed at 4 ounces milk powder to the pint of water, which used to be the standard ratio when I started out. The rate on the bag is for a lower concentration and I don't see the point of bottle feeding water. She doesn't like coarse mix at all but will nibble a few sugar beet pellets after her bottle. She's growing very well and looks no different to the other calves, two of whom were born on the same day. I'm intending to reduce her feeds to 2 pints in June and gradually wean her in July.

[RobBen]

Hi

I would use milk replacer for calves. Feed it twice per day gradually increasing the strength but not the liquid content, you can go stronger than the recommended mix but don't over do the liquid or you will end up with Mr pop belly. Make sure you have fresh clean water available and I would use milk pellets instead of course mix. Give the softest sweetest smelling meadow hay you can get. You mention that the calf is in with a 20 month old heifer I assume the calf is in it's own pen? if not I would put it into one asap. Hope this helps.

[Carrog]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't been using milk replacer I'd perhaps mistakenly assumed full fat bottled milk would be better. But yes I get the advantage of being able to increase the concentration of the milk if mixing powder. The calf isn't in his own pen. He's in a one acre paddock with the 20 month old heifer. Is that often a problem? They seem very well bonded. Again through inexperience I'd thought that as I have no other calves that aren't with their mothers it would be best for him to have company?

But in general would you say the equivalent in terms of protein of 8 pints a day (160gof protein) is not enough for a 50 day old calf?

[RobBen]

I believe that he would benefit from being in his own pen with vision of the other cattle if poss. Feed adlib milk pellets or some sort of calf cake with the hay as mentioned before. Feed him a milk replacer (warm) that's my preferred way, twice a day up to 1.5ltr each time. If you don't think he is doing as well as he could then maybe the full cream milk isn't hitting the spot. We all know that the cow is the best thing for a calf but this is little and often. Milk replacer has everything that your calf needs in these circumstances. One bag would make all the difference to his wellbeing. Mole Vally Farmers have a good range if you have one near you. I do hope you benefit from my remarks and please don't despair. I started rearing calves for my father at the age 12 I'm now a Grandad.

[Saffy]

RobBen is correct and I wouldn't mix it stronger than the upper limit suggested on the bag, feeds are scientifically tested, there is a good reason not to feed them too weak or much too strong, much too strong would I think from memory be hard on its kidneys...I'm sure Duncan can tell me if I am right or wrong there and probably difficult to digest, too weak and the calf stomach won't work properly. Like RobBen I farmed all my life and my Dad started me off rearing our...125 calves from our dairy unit...so my "one" Dexter was NOT my first!!!

Stephanie

[Duncan MacIntyre]

I would not mess with the concentration of made up milk, with hindsight it might have been an idea to let the calf run with the other cows and calves, and if he had been suckling his dam for a couple of weeks he might have been able to find another cow happy to let him get milk when her own calf was feeding. I had a Dexter orphan a couple of years ago and he ended up in a small paddock with his grandmother and greatgrandmother, and he poached milk from both of them. I hardly had to feed him at all. But you now have a 2 month old calf which as not been encouraged to eat concentrates which would have allowed you to early wean him, so I think you have to increase the quantity of milk, maybe best to do as others have suggested and get a bag of milk replacer, but use at correct concentration. If you can, encourage him to start on calf pellets or calf coarse mix, I am told sugar frosties on top is a good encouragement. Make sure he has plenty access to clean drinking water too.

Duncan

[Louisa Gidney]

To clarify, the product I'm using gives a range of mixing options from 12.5%-20% dry matter and advises the stronger mix during cold weather, when fewer feeds are given and when an enhanced growth rate is required. Since my calf was tiny during the bad weather in March, she certainly needed the energy then and I wanted her growth to mirror that of the suckled calves, and so far she's achieved that.