Content

• Steps
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

Auctioned calves are usually taken from their mothers before they receive colostrum. This leads to high mortality rates. Bucket-feeding calves is easier than meets the eye; To keep a higher percentage of your budget, read this guide, it will provide a way to hand feed calves that should help them survive and thrive. This method is especially good for auction house calves.

Steps

1. 1 Take a bottle and a calf teat. You will need approximately one kit for each calf. Everyone should have their own set; if not, you will have to deal with the problem of sterilizing the equipment between uses.
2. 2 Feed colostrum for the first few days. If you have a calf, it probably missed its natural colostrum. Colostrum is essential for the transmission of antibodies that will make your calf strong and able to survive disease. Buy a colostrum substitute and feed for about four days. Colostrum can be obtained frozen from a dairy farm or from one of your cows that has just calved. If you thaw frozen colostrum, be very careful not to overheat it, otherwise you will destroy all the antibodies in it. Oregon State University suggests defrosting colostrum very slowly using warm water or a microwave oven at 60% of its normal power, stirring frequently in both, and it will take about 40 minutes to reach the correct feeding temperature of 104 ºF.
3. 3 Treat possible symptoms of stress. Being at a great distance from your mother always has a bad effect on mammals. Watch for signs of stress and beware of “dysentery,” a condition that can lead to pneumonia and death of your calf. There are pills available to treat diarrhea, and if they do not work, you will need to call your veterinarian. Diarrhea is reduced by feeding less meals more often for one larger daily meal.
4. 4 Switch to milk. Calves need milk for their first month or so. They can begin to digest starch and grains from one month old if necessary. Take cow's milk, milk replacer, or goat's milk. Prepare milk and bottle feed.
5. 5 Have a feeding schedule and follow it. Ideally, hand-fed calves should be fed twice daily with a bottle milk replacer. The calf may not drink a lot in the beginning (due to age, stress, etc.), but the amount of food will increase as the healthy appetite increases. Weaker calves may need to be fed more frequently; act according to the circumstances and health needs of the calf.
6. 6 Keep the calf warm and in the company of other animals such as other calves, goats, sheep, etc.etc.
7. 7 Feed with eggs. They can be mixed into milk. This step is optional. A bottle milk replacer is also essential for a healthy calf.
   • If the calf has diarrhea (liquid frothy diarrhea), electrolyte products such as Vytrate should be given twice a day. The animal will receive much needed minerals.
8. 8 Wean him off. At about three months of age, start reducing the amount of milk and replace the milk with dry milk replacer with water. Do this if the calf is eating large amounts of solid food such as manna or another brand of quality, specially formulated calf pellets. At first, and until the calf has absorbed other feeds, you can sprinkle milk replacer on the feed to get it to eat. Feed grain and hay. There are commercially available calf starter foods that can be purchased to help with the transition from milk to solid foods.
9. 9 Teach the calf to enjoy human company. Take care of your calf and train it with a halter, rope / leash so you can lead it as needed, for transfer between pens, etc. The age of two months is ideal for starting his studies. To make restraining workouts easier, the calf can be put on a leash and kept on a leash for a few days to get used to it.

Tips

• Vaccinate the calf with antibiotics (available at the feed store).
• If you have goat milk, you can keep the goat by feeding the calf. We milk our goats and then we mix one egg, just like you do with cow's milk. We only lost a few calves, while our neighbors lost 50% of their calves trying to replace milk.

• This story is interesting if you want to weigh the benefits between bucket feeding or nipple feeding; she notes the height required for ideal feeding, the type of nipple, and gives the basic physiology of small calves as they grow; explains how their stomachs change, how it grows, and how feeding should be appropriate.
• Calves may be sick or weak, so they must be vaccinated as they did not receive colostrum from their mothers. Direct replacement of milk or cow's milk does not always work when they are too small or too weak. We start feeding our calves at a ratio of 1 pint (0.5 L) cow's milk / 1 egg. Calves should eat on a regulated schedule of 3-5 small meals a day.

Warnings

• Sterilize equipment and clean thoroughly after each use. The bacteria can be in the leftover colostrum and milk, in bottles, and because of this, the calf can become sick.
• Do not allow the calf to suckle milk for the first two days once it is back on its feet. If he starts butting the goat, he can damage her udder, and then you will lose the goat.

What do you need

• Colostrum
• Bottle and nipples
• Cow's milk or milk replacer or goat's milk
• Calf starter feed
• Hay, grain
• Warm barn
• Care equipment
• Halter and leash
• Planned feeding time (keep it regularly)