# mixing dry milk replacer with calf starter?



## Donna from Mo (Jan 8, 2003)

I've heard of people doing this, but can't find anything mentioned online regarding this. I've sold my nurse cow and the two bobby calves I had running with her, but keeping her heifer calf, who is only two months old. I have weaned calves that young before, but they really don't do so well; they end up pot-bellied, etc. The little heifer is pretty wild, and I doubt if I could get her to take a bottle, although I'm going to try, with the help of my husband and grandson. If that fails, I thought I would try putting dry milk replacer with her calf starter. Anybody know if that would work?


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## Lady89 (Feb 22, 2014)

If she will not take a bottle she might drink from a niple bucket or from a shallow pan of milk


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## Donna from Mo (Jan 8, 2003)

Yes, I have a bucket feeder too, and intend to try both of those methods you mention. The fact that she's so wild will be the problem with any or those, but I will try it all.


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## M5farm (Jan 14, 2014)

If you get her caught she won't be wild long once she realizes where her food comes from. At 2 mths she needs to be on milk the rumen is not fully functional so she doesn't digest the feed correctly and will get hay belly.


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## nosqrls (Jun 9, 2012)

Some will drink from nipple bucket or bucket, some will not. If show her a bottle supplies milk that maybe enough. So try what you can.


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## Wild_Bill (Aug 4, 2014)

The only talk of mr on feed is just to get the calves interested in the feed. Not as a way to get mr in them. If she is only 2 months go rope her get her in a stall. She will settle and take a bottle or bucket.


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

If the rumen isn't developed enough to utilize grain it isn't developed enough to utilize the milk powder.
If you can get her to take the bottle or bucket it would be better. Get her started on a good starter grain as well so you can wean soon.
Dairy folks wean at 8 weeks or even sooner without getting a hay belly but it takes starter grain started as soon as possible.
And unless the hay is pretty high quality I wouldn't even worry about it till after 5 months all it will do is fill the rumen and keep her from eating enough grain to grow like she needs to.


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## FraserV (Dec 31, 2015)

sammyd said:


> Dairy folks wean at 8 weeks or even sooner without getting a hay belly but it takes starter grain started as soon as possible.
> And unless the hay is pretty high quality I wouldn't even worry about it till after 5 months all it will do is fill the rumen and keep her from eating enough grain to grow like she needs to.


 On our 400 cow dairy farm we are usually weaning around 6-8 weeks. This our usual timeline for our calves:

1. Milk
2. Pail training starts almost immediately and they are usually drinking from a pail in less than a week.
3.By the 3rd week we introduce them to another pail with a HANDFUL of high quality calf starter grain. Do not over feed them. If they do not eat it all then feed the extra to another animal or trash it. When starting the babies always need fresh grain.
4. Increasing grain intake as the animal ages
5. At 5 weeks we reduce milk and introduce them to high quality hay
6. By 6-7 weeks they are hopefully weaned and happy calves. Some may need a little more time but that is generally the process.

I hope this helps, the main thing you need to avoid is dramatic. quick changes to any animals diet. Easing cows from one food group to another gently is more important than getting the perfect timing. Every cow is different so giving exact age estimates as milestones can be tough, use your judgement and you will do fine.

Devon


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## Donna from Mo (Jan 8, 2003)

And she's doing great. She's going through two LARGE coffee-cans daily of sweet feed. I don't know the volume of the can, but it's what used to be a 3-lb can before they shrunk all of them. She's also eating large amounts of alfalfa hay. She doesn't look puny at all; I've had to adjust her halter twice, she's growing so fast. If you want more details and some pictures, check HERE.


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