How to Feed Oatmeal to a Calf

Feeding grown farm animals is often a relatively simple case of choosing the right sustenance and putting it in an accessible place for the animals to eat at their leisure. Horses will eat hay right off the ground, pigs will chow down on their swill from a long trough -- simple as that. But for younger animals, such as calves, it is important to have a more considered approach to ensure their food is not stolen by bigger animals and to make sure they are getting the appropriate nutrients. Even something as simple as introducing oats -- a staple for many animals -- to their diets has to be well thought out.

Instructions

    • 1

      Allow calves to be nourished by their mothers for around six months. This -- if they are given good quality grazing pastures -- should bring them to around 450 to 600 pounds when they can be weaned off their mother's sustenance.

    • 2

      Provide a creep feeder for the calves on the farm. This is a feeding area that allows the calves but not the cows to enter, and is vital to ensure the calves retain all of their food and none of the larger animals can pillage it.

    • 3

      Fill the creep feeder with a mixture of 65 percent corn and 35 percent oats. This is how oats are introduced to their diet and how oats should be fed to your calf.

    • 4

      Remove oats from the diet as the calf becomes a cow. They will generally be replaced by hay, barley and supplements containing protein, vitamins and minerals.