Brockett’s Ag Advice
IJ By John E. Brockett
Farm Management Agent
Lewistown Extension Office
Calf Management
Calf management is a much
neglected part of farm
management. Many dairymen get
too busy doing “More Important
Things” and thus relegate calf
care to whoever is available or
maybe to no one.
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Other dairymen feel a financial
bind and try to cut expenses by
“cheaping” their calf-raising
program.
Those who follow either one of
these destructive policies know
little about financial management,
because the end result is self
Distributed By
defeating.
Either the heifer becomes
stunted forever or*it winds up
costing the business even more
money to put that animal into the
milking string on a full-scale basis.
One reason why so many first-calf
heifers do so poorly in relation to
their genetic ability is because of a
poor start in life.
Which would you rather do -
spend 75 cents a day to feed a calf
properly or $1.35 a day to play
catch up when the calf reaches 12
months of age or lose part (5 to
20%) of your milk production after
she has freshened?
Calves need TLC. They also need
ample quantities of good quality,
- If you insist on feeding them a lot
of stemmy, coarse, low-quality
hay, the response will be slow
growth.
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clean feed, both grain and forage;
lots of clean, dry bedding; freedom
from dampness and drafts; and
isolation from wastes of older
animals. All of these items are
required. It is not a case of where
you can do a good job in one area
then neglect another area and have
everything turn out right.
Hay For Calves
Hay - good quality hay - is an
essential part of most good but
economical calf raising programs.
Warning; a calf has a somewhat
limited hay storage tank
(stomach, gut, rumen).
If you feed them too much real
high quality, pure alfalfa hay, the
response may be scours.
Best bet is a fine stemmed,
grassy alfalfa hay that is free from
mold and mustiness.
Start calves on this type of hay
as soon as possible. We always put
a little hay in front of them on day
1. Some calves get bored and start
nibbling on it within a few days,
while others may take as long as 2
weeks to start working on their
hay. Clean out the hay rack
periodically so they have fresh hay
in front of them most of the time.
Grain and Protein
Calves need sufficient protein so
they can maintain a fairly rapid
growth rate. At first they may be
somewhat finicky so you may need
to sweeten up the grain with
molasses. The important thing is to
get them to eating hay and grain as
soon as possible.
You will reduce the incidence of
scours considerably once they are
on full feed. Grain should never be
left in the box more than from one
feeding to the next. The grain box
should be cleaned out every day,
especially in warm weather.
Do not, under any cir
cumstances, put fresh feed on top
of waste material or old feed. If a
cat decides to use a feed box as a
nice resting place, either get rid of
the cat or cover the box so the cat
can not get into it (of course, you
will have to leave it open enough so
the calf can eat).
When
When does a calf become old
enough to graduate into the “well,
we can neglect them now” stage?
The answer is never, but you can
reduce vigilance somewhat once
they are 10 days past weaning.
That does not mean neglect.
She must be kept growing if you
are going to wind up with an
animal that will produce
economically to her genetic
potential. The time when most
farmers goof up in their calf
raising is between weaning and
age of 6 months. They are
generally very undemanding at
that age.
As long as you give them
something to chew on and feed
them when they see or hear you
feed the cows or other animals,
they are fairly quiet. They are not
big enough yet to fend for them
selves even if they had enough
room to do so. Many farms feed
them off the floor or with older
animals. Some farmers even turn
them out into a pasture of sorts.
The results: poor growth,
parasites, haybelly, rough coats,
etc.
Calves up to 6 months still need
good quality hay. At 3 months you
can substitute some good silage for
part of that hay, but remember
what happens with your little kids
if they drink too much water before
dinner. Those calves will still need
some grassy-alfalfa hay. They also
need good quality grain (14 to 18%
protein, depending on the protein
in your hay) in a quantity of 4 to 5
pounds per day. At 2 months of age
their appetites are such that you
can probably forget the molasses.
Measure Them
At least up to 6 months of age you
should measure them once a
month. I can hear some of you now
- Wow! - That takes time. O.K. I’ll
back off if you will do it just once
then see how they compare with
the norm. If your calves are even
85% of normal then perhaps you
can skip this chore.
I suspect that many of you will
have at least 10 excuses as to why
your calves are so far below
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