How to feed a calf

Feeding calves is a special process that has certain features. The further development of the animal depends on the feeding of calves at an early stage of formation. Unlike adults, calves feed on a schedule that is set in accordance with the need for nutrients.

What to feed calves

Among the variety of feed for cattle, the main types are distinguished, which are classified by structure. At each stage of development, the calf requires a different type of feed. For the first few days of life, calves have enough colostrum from a cow and whole milk replacement. As it grows, it is necessary to use other types of feed.

Roughage is a composition that contains up to 45% fiber. Fiber is necessary for animals to ensure the further digestion of food.

1. Hay. For young animals, hay from forbs is used. The most valuable parts are leaves, shoots, apical parts. Hay is made from cut grass.
2. Haystack. These are canned herbs, the drying of which is maintained at a level of 25 to 45%.
3. Branch feed. These are dry shoots of common trees. It is used as a partial replacement for hay. Branch varieties begin to feed young animals who are 12 months old.

Juicy feed is necessary for young animals. They are harvested from plants by special preparation.

• Silo and combined silo. Sown and wild herbs are harvested by ensiling. This is a process that includes biochemical reactions between components, provided for by special conservation methods;
• Root crops and tubers. Among the types of these feeds, carrots, beets, potatoes, pumpkins are considered especially valuable. Forage varieties of these vegetable crops are grown in special areas. Their taste qualities differ from table varieties.

Green fodder grows in improved meadows and pastures. Collection and feeding depends on maturation associated with the time of year.

Concentrated feeds include the presence of cereals and legumes:

1. Soy – this is a feed component that contains up to 33% vegetable protein; Soy is used for feed only after heat treatment.
2. Legumes and grains. Include the presence of oatmeal, complex cereals, peas.

Milk replacer is a substitute for whole milk. It begins to be introduced into the diet on the 5th or 20th day of life. Milk replacer is used for calves after feeding with colostrum and its transition into adult milk.

It is produced on the basis of pasteurized ingredients. As a rule, milk replacer contains:

• return;
• dry whey and buttermilk;
• vitamins of various types;
• vegetable or animal fats;
• lactoferrins.

The dry matter contains up to 75% lactose. Its use on farms or small farms reduces the use of cow’s milk and makes it possible to transfer a newborn calf to feeding without the participation of an adult cow.

Colostrum is a product of the endocrine glands of an adult cow. It appears immediately after calving and remains unchanged for several days. Colostrum differs from mature milk in several ways. Feeding week-old calves with colostrum saturates the body of the calf with nutrients and transfers the protective proteins necessary for immunity.

How to properly feed calves

Feeding calves in the milk period is significantly different from feeding a 6-month-old calf. For newborns, the suction method and the use of nipple nozzles are suitable. For older animals, hanging feeders are arranged.

The suckling method implies that a cow will feed the calf until it reaches the age of one month. This method has several advantages:

• it is available, does not limit the flow of food;
• food comes to the calf in small portions;
• the risk of developing diseases is reduced, the immune forces of the animal are increased;
• milk from a cow is always at the right temperature.

Feeding through drinkers with special nozzles is convenient to use on farms where young animals are kept in special pens equipped with feeders. It is important to carefully monitor the cleanliness of the feeders, their filling and the temperature of the milk.

Feeding schemes for calves up to 6 months

Calves develop according to a certain scenario associated with the characteristics of the animal species. At each stage of development, they need to receive certain substances. Timely food supplements, as well as compliance with feeding techniques, reduces the risk of disease and loss of individuals.

Feeding calves up to 1 month

Newborns should receive colostrum within the first 30 minutes. after birth. Colostrum contains the necessary substances and useful elements, these are protein compounds, fats and carbohydrates. Feeding colostrum has several characteristic advantages:

• provides protection against diseases, forms natural immunity;
• activates the release of the intestines of the calf from meconium (original feces);
• contributes to the saturation of the newborn organism due to the high energy value of the product.

If the calf is not provided with food in a timely manner, then he, obeying instinct, will begin to suck on the objects that surround him. Ingestion of microbes can lead to the development of various diseases.

Colostrum is given according to a certain scheme, using one of the feeding methods. The first feeding should be carried out under strict control. The volume of colostrum should be between 4 and 6% of the total body weight of the calf. In this case, the average portion per day should not exceed 8 liters. The best option is considered frequent feeding, small in volume.

There are times when a cow does not produce colostrum. This may be due to the characteristics of the body of an adult animal or the development of diseases. Colostrum is prepared independently: 4 raw eggs are mixed with fish oil and table salt (10 g each), then 1 liter of milk is added. The mixture should become completely homogeneous, the salt crystals must be dissolved. The liquid is poured into a drinking bowl with a nipple and the calves are fed. A single dose of self-prepared colostrum should not exceed 300 g.

Starting from the 7th day of life, animals are fed with hay. It contributes to the stable functioning of the digestive system. Fresh dried hay is hung in the feeders in small portions.

Young animals of one month of life are fed by sucking method or from teat drinkers. On day 10, colostrum passes into adult milk. On the 14th day of life, the calf is fed with prefabricated milk or milk replacer. By the end of the 1st month of life, boiled potatoes and crushed liquid cereals begin to be introduced.

Feeding calves up to 3 months

When the calf reaches the age of one month, the feeding ration is expanded. Juicy group feeds and complexes containing vitamins are added to milk or milk replacer.

Roughage is mixed with parts of succulent, while adding to the hay:

• peeling apples, potatoes;
• fodder beets, carrots.

From 1 to 3 months, animals are gradually accustomed to concentrated feed. One option is oatmeal. It is prepared according to the formula: for 100 g of oatmeal, 1,5 liters of boiling water. The cooled mixture is given to a calf from a soskopoilka.

After the young calves reach the age of one month, feeding includes vitamin supplements. For this, specially prepared mixtures are used.

10 g of meat and bone meal is diluted in 1 liter of milk, 10 g of salt and chalk are added. This mixture will make up for the lack of sodium, calcium and potassium. The remedy is given from the drinker, then they begin to be added to liquid-type succulent feeds.

Feeding 2-month-old calves is associated with the transfer of animals from milk or milk replacer to reverse. The volume of vegetables is gradually increased in accordance with the increase in the weight of the calf.

The mass of hay should be increased to 1,7 kg. From the 2nd to the 3rd month, green grass is introduced.

Feeding calves up to 6 months of age

After the 3rd month of life, calves receive all types of feed that are available to 1-2-month-old animals. In addition, the volume of prepared feed is increased: after three months it can be:

• fresh hay, combined silage, root crops – from 1 to 1,5 kg;
• compound feed or concentrates – up to 1 kg;
• return – about 5 l.

Changes may be related to the climate and the time of year. Instead of hay in the summer, they begin to accustom them to green grass. If the calf receives more than the daily volume on the pasture, then the volumes of rough and succulent feed are reduced.

Feeding calves up to a year

The period that occurs after the calf reaches the age of 6 months is called post-milk: this means that the milk component is removed from the feeding ration. The basis of the diet is now represented by compound feed. Further development depends on its quality:

• hay or fresh grass in the pasture can be supplied to calves in unlimited quantities;
• the volume of the combined feed is about 5 kg;
• chopped vegetables – about 8 kg.

At this stage of development, complex vitamin supplements are needed. For calves that belong to the spring-winter calving, vitamins are especially necessary. Additives must contain the required elements:

• vitamin A;
• fish fat;
• vitamin D 2;
• vitamin E.

Complex formulations that are suitable for feeding calves: Trivitamin, Kostovit Forte.

Feeding tables for calves from the first days of life

As a rule, on farms or small farms, the feeding scheme for young animals is drawn up in advance. This allows you to calculate the amount of feed needed and take into account the developmental features of the animal:

With the combined type, the feeding norms for calves that have reached six months of age will differ from the schemes adopted for calves up to 6 months old.

6 to 12 months:

How to care for calves

Feeding norms for young cattle are determined according to standard tables, taking into account the characteristics of age. In addition, there are rules for the care of animals that must be observed to prevent the loss of young calves or maturing individuals.

Calves are placed on the territory of the farm, based on the available opportunities:

1. Newborn. Care begins from the first minutes after calving. The umbilical wound is cauterized with iodine, the ears, eyes and nose are cleared of mucus. For the first few hours, the newborn stays with the cow. She does not allow him to cool and freeze, and she will also take care of the cleanliness of the skin. At this stage, the most important thing is getting the calf colostrum from the cow. It is a nutrient and a protective barrier against disease at the same time.
2. Weekly. The animal is arranged a place where he will sleep. The best option is a small mobile cage. It provides for a dense litter, an installed feeder. The floor is laid from not fully adjacent boards. In this way, free drainage of urine is provided. If there is no opportunity to build a cage, then the calf is placed next to the cow, in a small enclosed pen with warm bedding.
3. 2 – 3 months. Upon reaching this age, the young animals are transferred to separate pens – stalls, where they are equipped with a feeder and drinker in accordance with their growth.

The feeding utensils are washed and sterilized daily by boiling in boiling water. The drinkers are washed in the morning and in the evening, the nipples for the drinkers are changed once a week.

For calves, it is important to keep the air temperature at least 13 – 15 ° C. The food that young animals are supplemented with should be warm, not lower than 35 ° C. A prerequisite for care is control over the availability of clean drinking water.

For calves, daily routine is important. Feeding by the hour contributes to the development of a temporary type reflex. The production of gastric juice for the digestion of milk at set hours contributes to the rapid absorption of food. Violation of the feeding regimen makes the animal nervous, it can become greedy at the next feeding, which will lead to indigestion and the development of diseases.

Walking is an important part of care. For animals of 3 weeks of age, walks of 30-40 minutes are allowed. in special pens equipped with feeders and drinkers. The walls of the corrals are whitewashed with lime 1 time per week. This is due to the instinctive need of the young to lick the surrounding walls. In this way, they protect calves from the consumption of harmful substances and saturate the body with useful chalk.

Upon reaching 2-3 months of age, young animals begin to be released for 2 hours or more. At this stage, walks with the herd are not suitable, since there is a high probability of infection with worms from adults. Admission to the herd becomes possible upon reaching 7 – 8 months.

Violation of the rules of maintenance leads to the development of diseases. About 70% of young animals get gastrointestinal diseases. The main reasons for this are:

• feeding with cold or too hot milk;
• excess feed;
• low quality feed;
• a sharp transfer from colostrum to milk replacer or compound feed.

One of the most common problems when caring for young animals is the presence of constipation. When bloating is detected, calves are given castor or vegetable oil (about 100 g) and the volume of milk is reduced.

After the calf reaches 3 months of age, a veterinarian can diagnose dysplasia. This is an underdevelopment of the joints, which does not appear at an early age. Calves with dysplasia begin to move with difficulty, then fall to their feet. There is no cure for dysplasia in calves.

The state of health of young animals largely depends on the cow that produced the offspring. Caring for future calves begins at the gestation stage. The cow is carefully observed, provided with nutrients and follow the rules for caring for her.

In addition to the basic rules for care, there is a mandatory observance of the vaccination table:

• on the 10th day, vaccination against viral diarrhea is carried out;
• on the 12th day they are vaccinated against viral diseases;
• on the 30th day, animals are vaccinated against infections.

Conclusion

Feeding calves is one of the key points in caring for young cattle. The growth and development of animals depends on the choice of diet, timely feeding and the introduction of all necessary additives.