How Do You Get Your Bottle Calf to Eat Grain
When will my bottle calf start eating starter feed? I get this question all the time, as well as I should it’s one of the largest concerns most bottle calf owners have.
Once you got the little ones nursing a bottle, don’t have a case of scours, and it’s running and playing; but what's next but starter feed.
I have had calves at a week old finish the milk bottle and then go straight over to the starter feed and grab a mouth full chew chew chew. On the other hand, there has been those that wouldn’t even go smell the starter feed until 50 days old. So they can start the grain at anytime between then or even go a little longer, but by 60 days they should have a solid health appetite for grain feed.
Many of these calves that are not showing interest in starter feed may need some encouraging.
The one trick that I find to be the most successful is when the calf has just finished it’s bottle and is punching searching for more is to place a little feed in it’s mouth and let it chew and shallow. Now this will have to be repeated after each bottle, it don’t work like magic after the first try.
Always keep starter feed out and available for the calf to eat. I start right in the beginning from day one the calf is in the pen. Starter feed, hay, and water is always out for them to eat free choice any time they want. Many times the calves own curiosity will do the job, they will walk around the pen licking and chewing on most of everything and come across the starter and find out how good it taste.
Mineral or salt blocks should be kept out at all times as well, this will help groom the taste buds for solid feeds as well. The act of staying in one spot licking mineral at ground level mimics the same position of eating feed and the attraction to mineral is strong. It may take some time for them to find it, but they will.
Once the calf is 45 days olds then you can skip a bottle feeding of milk replacer. The calf is use to feeding in the evening and with a empty stomach the calf will be looking to fill it with something. You can do this for a few days in a roll, then go back to the normal milk bottles. Just cut back on the milk as your comfortable with, try a few days wait a few then try a few more. Once they are eating starter you can always go back to the same amount of milk bottles, their still hungry for the feed.
Sprinkling milk replacer (wet or dry) on feed will allow the calf to make the connection to consuming feed. They will learn the smell and taste of their milk replacer fast and keeping it same with the grain will help them go to it faster.
The last little trick I know is to try a meal feed instead of pellet. A finer ground creep meal has tenancy to add a different texture, easier chewing, and swallowing to calves. Add milk replacer wet to meal will cause it to swell up some making it softer to swallow, for some reason calves will eat this faster than the dry maybe it’s the smell.
Your little tail wager will be chomping on the grain in no time. Just kept it available and they’ll eat it when their ready.