Instructions
Begin with milk. Like all mammals, cattle spend the first months of their lives living off of milk. When raising beef calves, it is best to feed them milk for the first two to three weeks of their lives. Alternatively, a high-quality milk replacer can be used if mother's milk is not available. Calves at this age are dependent on a liquid diet to provide the necessary nutrients for development and growth. This phase can also last longer if no dry food is offered.
Feed your calf dry feed beginning with the second or third week of life. This is when rumen fermentation begins in the calf's stomachs. This involves carbohydrates fermenting in the stomachs to produce the volatile fatty acids that are necessary for the calf's energy. The calf should be eating dry feed along with milk or milk replacer as well as plenty of clean water. The calf should be fed this combination of dry feed and milk until it begins weaning.
Begin weaning the calf at 6 to 7 months of age. You may begin weaning earlier than this if you wish, but 6 to 7 months is the traditional age to begin weaning. Some of the advantages of early weaning include better calf performance, better health as the calf grows, and increased foraging opportunities should you raise the calf until it is fully grown. This could become a necessity if there is a drought or a long winter, so keep it in mind.
Let your calf forage when it can, and feed it a diet of hay when it cannot. Cattle are grazing animals that live mostly off of hay and grass. Once a calf gets old enough to begin grazing, this is when it should get most of its food. Legume hay is best when feeding cows for beef. Alfalfa is generally considered the highest-quality legume hay for raising beef cattle, but it is also the most expensive. Other good legume hays include red clover, sweet clover, and soybeans.
How to Feed a Calf for Butchering
Raising beef calves to be butchered isn't that much different from raising full-grown cattle, but it is often said to be less financially risky and offer higher returns per animal. They do require more year-round care than adult cattle and, if you are considering raising calves for butchering, the first thing to consider is how to best feed them.