Bottle Calf

Angus2131 · Jan 16, 2012

Cut the BS said:
right, give t hem time, they'll eventually catch up...

to be honest, some of my very best brood ewes- are actually bottle babies... some chosen to be that way, so naturally bottle lambs..

the mother of mom and dad's new herd bull-- was also a bottle calf-- momma was an old 10ish cow, calved the second week of july.. kicked the bucket in the heat...

Exactly. I hope she does well. She is looking pretty good now we still have her on feed. I held her back for breeding. She will be about 2 1/2 when we breed her. I wanted to make sure her weight was there and get a little size on her. She was a twin but luckily her sib was a heifer! Well I know you know all about the issue of twins of bull and heifer together.

kfacres · Jan 16, 2012

unless she's a dink.. I wouldn't wait that long, ours get mixed into the batch and you can't tell a difference by 8 or 10 months or so.. they all are geared to calve b/w 23 and 25 months of age...

if she is a dink.. you might rethink keeping her- seriously some just aren't worth it...

Angus2131 · Jan 16, 2012

Cut the BS said:
unless she's a dink.. I wouldn't wait that long, ours get mixed into the batch and you can't tell a difference by 8 or 10 months or so.. they all are geared to calve b/w 23 and 25 months of age...

if she is a dink.. you might rethink keeping her- seriously some just aren't worth it...

I wouldn't say she is dink now. I have thought about that too if she is worth it or not. The 23 and 25 months of age is what we go by for regular heifers. I could have bred her this fall but I want a March or April calf so that's why She'll be about 2 1/2. She will be bred with the rest in about June. We try to calve out in March and April. I should have been more specific about that.

kfacres · Jan 17, 2012

I understood your comment to be 2.5 at breeding- -not 2.5 at calving... much different-- and still very much acceptable... <cowboy> <rock>

mainecattlemother · Jan 18, 2012

Angus 214 I think you are doing just fine. We have a Angus-Simmi calf that the mother refused to take so we have been raising her in an old milkhouse that we conferverted to a cooler room in the spring and summer. We are in Minnesota so it gets really cold. We actually run a electric heater much like a space heater which I dont exactly like but my husband says its fine. (I think it is a fire hazard). Up to about three weeks old we fed a bottle morning and evening. I am not sure of the size but I am thinking a typical bottle is about 1 1/2 to 2 quarts. At about 3 weeks we started with som e hay and a calf starter from our local nutritionist. The things I would look for are to make sure the calf does not look sluggish or have droopy ears. If we think they may be sick we make sure the ears are warm and the nose is moist but not to cold. In most cases you will know what is not right. I hope this helps out a little. Our calf is doing really well.

kfacres · Jan 18, 2012

mainecattlemother said:
Angus 214 I think you are doing just fine. We have a Angus-Simmi calf that the mother refused to take so we have been raising her in an old milkhouse that we conferverted to a cooler room in the spring and summer. We are in Minnesota so it gets really cold. We actually run a electric heater much like a space heater which I dont exactly like but my husband says its fine. (I think it is a fire hazard). Up to about three weeks old we fed a bottle morning and evening. I am not sure of the size but I am thinking a typical bottle is about 1 1/2 to 2 quarts. At about 3 weeks we started with som e hay and a calf starter from our local nutritionist. The things I would look for are to make sure the calf does not look sluggish or have droopy ears. If we think they may be sick we make sure the ears are warm and the nose is moist but not to cold. In most cases you will know what is not right. I hope this helps out a little. Our calf is doing really well.

Almost every calf bottle I have seen is 4 pints.

Bottle Calf

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