Milk Replacement Tips
- Some calf rearers have achieved success with a single 3–4 L whole milk feed from the first week, but there is a danger of overfeeding and scours in this approach.
- Tallow-based milk replacer should be fed only once a day, because it takes longer for the clot to be digested, and feeding twice a day can result in scours.
- Feed milk at the same time and temperature each time.
- Make sure there are no sudden changes in the ingredients and amounts being fed.
- Weigh milk powder ingredients before you mix them.
- To mix milk replacer, add the powder to half the desired volume of warm water (at 36°C). Stir vigorously with a wire whisk. Add the remaining volume of warm water.
- Antibiotic-contaminated milk is not suitable for young calves as there may be a problem with residues in meat. Also, problems can arise with antibiotic immunity and death of useful bacteria in the stomach and intestine.
- Calves can be raised successfully on both teat and bucket systems. Choose the one most appropriate to your situation.
- Provide clean water. On each day of the first week turn the water off for 12 hours before milk feeding to make sure the calves will drink their milk.
For once-daily feeding, if you are using milk replacer, see Table 2.3 for the proportions of milk replacer and water to mix up for different ages. If you are using both milk replacer and whole milk, see Table 2.4 for the correct proportions to use at different ages.
If you are using a high quality full- cream milk follow the instructions.
Early Weaning to Concentrates
Early weaning off milk at 6 weeks of age on to high quality pellets and straw offers many advantages.
These include fewer health problems, the lower cost of the concentrate compared with milk, lower labour costs and greater rumen development.
For more details of early weaning methods see Agnote 2/099 Early Weaning of Dairy Calves.
Later Weaning Direct to Pasture
To continue desired growth rates after weaning, calves need to be provided with some form of concentrate until high quality pastures are available.
