# Calf feeding questions



## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

Hi all, This will get a few chuckles from the crowd here but I half to start somewhere right.....

My first calf arrived yesterday, I bought her from my next door farmer not the sale barn....

She weights around 5-600# now, born this spring, has had her first 6 way shot & worming... not sure the date right now....

She will be in with my horses after she gets use to the place but for now I have her in a acre paddock with free choice hay & grass.. I plan to start feeding her tor a couple reasons, weight gain and to tame her down to be able to handle her.

The plan is to breed her next year..

I will be buying my feed from this place http://cpccommodities.com/cpc/nutrition/cattle/beef-cattle-feeds/...

I want the best, I think I can afford to start her off the best I can so I want the experts advice here, not my cheap friends advice...

Will hand feed her twice daily, @ 600#, how much should I feed her, I read 1-2lbs of feed per day based on body weight, so that equates to 6-12 lbs of feed per day or less to start with correct ??

What about adding minerals ... what & how often ...

I already have several salt blocks out ....

Vacs --- what's net & when...

I was thinking the " cpc supreme 16% in the link... I don't know the cost yet per bulk sack for this..

Also, I want to start feeding a systemic ?? type fly stuff but have no idea in this area, I like the idea of feeding something that will help with fly control & other pests... help me in this area also please as I am a noob and want the good feeding habits for cattle....

Thanks, Chris


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

You don't want to feed so much as to make heifer obese or you will lower her fertility & possibly milk production rate but just enough feed to keep her in good condition. Feeding her enough to gentle her is a very good idea. Rattling a feed bucket/sack broke bovine will usually pen all but the very wild ones. Did shot contain blackleg serum which is very important.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

If your grass is good then you do not need a high priced feed. Your heifer looks good. Was she weaned before you got her? Just asking because weaning can cause some stress and they tend to fall off a little and she may need more feed to get her past that.

I feed my calves a 14% pelleted feed. They are also on pasture and momma.

Minerals:

I am a big believer in free choice loose minerals. I have not bought a block in years.

This year I tried the weatherized fly control loose mineral by Nutrina. I like it and have gone to that for summer mineral. It is pricy and the cows and calves love it. I call it cow candy. Flies went from infested to almost non existent this summer.

http://www.nutrenaworld.com/products/beef-cattle/summer-beef-mineral-with-fly-control/index.htm

I would not bother with it now unless your fly season lasts through the winter. It takes a while to thin out the fly numbers.

I will switch mine over to a High Magnesium mineral this fall because we drill a lot of winter grazing.

My side note will be that many horses will not pasture with cattle and will chase the cows. Horses are also food aggressive.

Cattle do not do well under stress. They will stop gaining even if they remain on feed.


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## olschoolsteel (Mar 6, 2016)

Yes, just to reaffirm what Tim/south said.

If you just pulled her off of her momma, she will lose a bit as she learns to feed herself and not depend on momma to feed her.

My advice to you is not to be so concerned on lbs per day weight gain. If you are a cattleman with thousands of head of cattle then this is a major concern. With her, her weight gain will be what her genetics dictate, if she has all the free feed she can take in.

Also, pasturing her with horses is OK in when the pastures are tall. But in early spring or late fall as the pasture dies, horses will nip grass down to the dirt. Cows wont do that and need a few inches to get anything at all.

All of my heifers have a death sentence and I have no intention of breeding them. I still wont give them all the free feed they can gorge themselves on. The extra grain I give them is just to give them a little extra marbling. Plus it helps to get them dependent on you for that daily grain feeding. Also gives you a chance to check their condition and socialize with them. I too also give them a mineral lick bought at the ranch stores. The cheapo 10 dollar one seems to be the running favorite. Never bought the straight salt block.

Also, to close, I dont buy bagged feed. I like to go to the local grain mills and buy bulk feed from them. I have them grind and mix the grain the way I want, and it doesnt cost a penny more for this. This supports the local grain growers, and the mill they sell to. Sometimes they will rebag my feed in old bags, sometimes I have them put it in my drums. (a grain mill in Ut wouldnt use old bags)


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

Thanks for the responses..

She has been weaned for a while now, she is fairly calm, it will take some time away from the herd for her to see this as home, she can hear her friends just over the hill but can't see them...

I have 2 older geldings that have been there done that with everything, I do plan to keep my stallion by his self for a while but I do this in the winter anyway... I think she will be fine with the older boys even around the hay ring, if not I'll set another out ...

I know the fly control takes a while to work, she is tame enough that I can spray her easy enough right now...

I don't plan to feed her a lot, enough to get her coming like the horses do and get her use to being touched... Their is always a roll of good quality Teff or Fescue in the ring under the shed for any of them anytime.. I have seen her eating some several times..

The shots, well the fella is going to write everything down so I'll know later, and I will ask about the black leg part...

Thanks, Chris


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## bja105 (Jun 20, 2016)

I pasture 3 pairs and a heifer with 3 horses. In the 3 years we have had cows, we have had no trouble mixing them. We rotate them on 12 paddocks, moving once or twice a week. In winter, they get one round bale at a time.
The horses dominate the cows. They eat first and get the best shade in summer. Nobody has been hurt or lost condition. The only time we separate is at calving. I don't trust the horses not to hurt the newborns. After a month of seeing each other over a fence, I combine the herds.

Yes, horses can graze much closer to the ground. I stay understocked, and rotate frequently. I have more trouble keeping the horses from getting fat, than keeping the cows condition good.

I might just have easy cows and horses. I have also never had a stallion. We did have a mean jersey bull last year. He wanted to kill me, but he yielded to the horses.


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

I have read this with interest as we have cattle as well. You said that you can spray her? As in with a bottle of fly spray? Like a horse? If you can do that she is tamer than anything we have ever had on the place. 
I don't grain anything that is not getting fattened for the last trip to the dinner table. I can see where it would be helpful.
We pasture ours with horses and mules except during calving season. Sometimes the horses take it upon themselves to get a little cutting practice in, and the mules can be pretty tough on the calves, but overall not many issues. That is to say that we have never lost one.


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

Thanks everyone... she is doing good, the horses don't bother her at all. I do have her alone right now and she is coming around to being feed twice a day.... funny thing, she is the only animal I've seen that won't eat a apple yet, just turns her nose up at it...

Yes, I spray her with horse fly spray, she doesn't mine that at all, can't touch her yet but she will eat from the bucket with me holding it now, a week ago she wouldn't do that....

Maybe soon she will feel safe enough to let me touch her...

So far so good...


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