Feeding Orphan Calves

Now that calving season is in full swing let Heartland Feeds help you raise any orphaned calves you may end up with. The first 2 months of a calf’s life is critical to determining the calf’s future development potential. Whether it is a potential dairy heifer or beef steer a strong nutritional start will enable the calf to thrive and perform as well as it’s pen mates.

A newborn calf requires Colostrum in the first 4-6 hours ideally and no later than 24 hours after birth. The calf’s first feeding should be colostrum as the intestinal wall will rapidly close after the first feeding and reduce its ability to absorb the large immunoglobulins needed for passive immunity. Heartland Feeds stocks IMMU-START50 dried colostrum. IMMU-START50 is made from 100% bovine colostrum with added microbial cultures and essential vitamins to aid in the prevention of diseases such as K99 E. coli scours. It is recommended to feed the calf two quarts of colostrum in the first six hours of birth for maximum efficacy.

After the colostrum has been consumed, you can move to milk replacer. A growing calf should be fed 2-4 times a day for at least 8 weeks until full weaning can commence. At birth the first three stomachs (Rumen, Reticulum, and Omasum) are undeveloped and do not aid in digestion. Suckled milk funnels down the esophageal groove to the true stomach (Abomasum) where it forms a clot when mixed with digestive acids. This milk clot is then able to pass to the small intestine where the protein can be absorbed.  Heartland Feeds carries Grober Gro-Tech 1 milk replacer which has a fat content of 20% for calves in cold weather needing more energy.

Grober Gro-Tec 1 is a 22-22-20 milk replacer. High fat in milk replacers are recommended for calves when the temperature drops below freezing. The higher fat levels are needed for the increased energy requirements of the calf to keep itself warm.  A 100LB calf will require 225g of milk replacer in 1.5L of warm water three times a day. Grober Gro-Tec milk replacers feature organic chelated minerals, and All-Brew. All-Brew is a MOS yeast culture that ties up gram-negative bacteria in the gut and carries the infectious organisms out of the animal.

 Once the calf is 4 days old fresh water and calf starter should be provided to stimulate Rumen development. The Rumen will not develop until water and grain have been introduced to develop the rumen papillae. With proper nutrition the Rumen will grow rapidly the first 6 months and be fully developed by 6-9 months. Start by introducing 6OZ of a 20% Calf Starter grain.

Heartland Feeds carries Heartland Feeds 19% Calf Starter Pellets with Deccox. Our calf starter is a pelleted feed with 19% Protein. Deccox is a medication similar to Ionophores but from the Quinolone family. It does not improve feed efficiency like ionophores but disrupts the growth cycle of the coccidia by preventing and mitigating coccidiosis infections in calves. Our starter pellets feature high quality, palatable ingredients such as ground Barley, Linpro, Cane Molasses,  and anise flavour along with Select GH, a yeast product for gut health and chelated trace minerals. Although we know that the rumen is inefficient at digesting forages in the first 8 weeks it is recommended to feed about 5% low quality forage with the calf starter to prevent acidosis. Most calf starters are pelleted or partially pelleted making the starches highly digestible in the rumen; therefore, the ration needs to be balanced to provide adequate starch for optimal rumen development with out causing acidosis. A calf can be weaned off milk replacer as early as 8 weeks, but ideally should be fed milk replacer for at least 4-6 months for optimal development. When weaning your calf gradually reduce the volume of milk fed but increase the concentration of the milk to avoid a slump in growth.

Proper calf nutrition will result in a fully developed and functioning rumen allowing your calf to thrive in the future with less sickness, less antibiotic use, and allowing it to meet its genetic performance potential.