Instructions
Watch cows closely when they are close to calving. Provide pregnant cows with a clean, well-bedded pen. The pen should be 150 to 200 square feet, well-lit, draft-free with proper ventilation. Beef cows can calve outside if they have a windbreak.
Remove mucus around the nostrils of the newborn calf by wiping with a soft cloth. Dip the navel cord with a 7 percent tincture of iodine solution.
Allow the cow to lick the calf. In cold weather, dry the calf with clean cloths.
Hand-feed the calf 5 or 6 pints of good quality colostrum in one bottle feeding within an hour of birth. Feed another 6 pints of colostrum 12 hours later.
House calves in individual, draft-free hutches with good ventilation. Provide straw bedding. In the winter face the hutch opening south to allow sunlight to get in. In the summer, keep the hutch shaded to prevent heat stress. Clean hutches daily.
Feed calves whole milk, waste milk, reconstituted milk replacer or fermented or fresh colostrum. After the first two feedings that must be colostrum, transition to feeding milk twice daily from a nipple bottle or bucket. Feed calves 10 percent of their birth body weight at each feeding, keeping in mind that 1 quart of milk weighs 2 pounds.
Watch for calf scours, or diarrhea. Overfeeding or viral or bacterial infections can cause scours. If the calf has diarrhea, consult your veterinarian. Scours can cause rapid loss of body weight and can be deadly if not corrected immediately.
Supplement milk with calf starter, a grain and mineral mixture, from day four on. Calf starter is available commercially. Calves will only nibble on calf starter for the first two weeks. Give no more than 6 ounces of calf starter daily and remove any uneaten calf starter daily. During the third and forth week, increase calf starter.
Provide free-choice clean water from day four on. Calves eat better and gain more weight when provided with clean, fresh drinking water. During cold weather, warm water should be offered three times daily.
Wean the calf. Slowly replace milk feedings with calf starter until the calf is able to eat 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of calf starter a day. Calves should not be weaned based on age. Some can be weaned at four weeks while others need to be 10 weeks before they can eat entirely on their own. Base weaning on how much calf starter the calf is consuming. Once the calf is eating grain and off bottle feedings, have clean water available at all times.
Move the calf into group housing. Calves that are weaned can be moved into groups of four to six calves. Calves need to be kept in small groups for the first two months after weaning to adjust to group eating and minimize competition for food.
Once the calf is eating 5 to 6 pounds of grain daily, supplement with as much high-quality grass hay as the calf will eat. For calves two to three months of age, grain mixes should contain 18 percent crude protein from early cut alfalfa/grass hay and 35% acid detergent fiber. Once calves have been eating well in small groups for 4 to 6 weeks, they can be introduced to graze with the herd.
How to Rear Calves
The first three months of life are critical to ensuring calves grow at an optimal rate and remain healthy throughout their lifetime. Dairy calf farmers often hand-raise their heifer calves to ensure proper growth and good health. Hand-raised calves are easier and safer to work with when they are grown. Hand-rearing techniques are also necessary to raise orphaned beef calves. Calves are also hand-raised as 4-H projects. There are critical steps to take immediately after birth and for the next 12 weeks to properly hand-rear a calf.