Tips for Bottle Calf Success

Calf Raising

Wether you’re starting you’re entire herd from bottle calves or just raising the occasional calf, there’s a few things we’ve learned that are tied to our success!

Colostrum, ideally thick, pasty golden colostrum, but definitely colostrum. If the calf won’t drink willingly, he’ll need to be tube fed. This needs to be done within a couple hours of birth.

Milk temperature. This should kinda be obvious, but seriously, it took me waay too long to pay attention! Milk should be between 98-102 degrees. Certain digestive bacteria die at higher temperatures, and cold milk is much harder to digest. So—use a thermometer!

Calf jacket. These ridiculous little buckled blankets have been a game changer! Think about yourself though when you feel under the weather, and how you need a jacket. Or how we wrap babies in blankets. They’re worth it! Newborn calf in the field, sick calf, frigid temps, expensive calf, they’re all good reasons to put a jacket on!

Timing. Calves are babies, little changes are a big deal. Especially where we live, the weather swings like a pendulum. If your calf seems “off” or like he’s not feeling well, pay attention, baby calves don’t have much reserve strength. Treat him promptly. An adult cow I’ll let skip a meal, but never a calf!

Introduce rumen activating food. Milk doesn’t have enough fiber to get that rumen working. Calves need grain and hay to get the rumen started. I’ve seen calves less than 24 hrs old start eating hay! The rumen is a huge part of a cows digestion, it also helps balance the body temperature. Chewing cud indicates a happy rumen!

Water. Calves need water. More than once I’ve seen a sick calf drag himself to the water bucket and drink deeply.

Learn to observe scours and pneumonia. We’ve lost more calves because of these two issues, than everything else combined! Scours is diarrhea, there’s a number of things that can cause it. Pneumonia is lung issues, often combined with a fever. Calves with pneumonia will often stand with their head and ears down, and neck extended. Besides the vet recommended drugs, we’ve found some success using charcoal and Arsenicum Album for scours, and a mixture of fresh garlic and cayenne pepper to support the immune system during pneumonia.

Transportation. Please. Please. Please. Don’t ever haul baby calves in open trailers on cold or wet days. I guarantee it’s the fastest ticket to calf sickness! If it’s simply unavoidable, at least be proactive and give them a shot of penicillin or garlic/cayenne and calf jacket when you get home!

That’s it! Enjoy your calf and keep those bottle clean!!