How to Raise a Holstein Bull Calf

Raising a Holstein bull calf requires following a regimen of tried-and true techniques. You can bring a calf to market weight by careful attention to the basics. It is your job to give the calf a good life while raising it. It must be kept fed and protected from exposure to the elements. The Holstein bull calf must be given immediate medical care when injured and kept free from fear and distress. It should have access to sunshine, fresh air and green pasture.

Things You'll Need

  • Shed or barn stall
  • Fresh bedding hay
  • Nursing bottle and replacement milk
  • Milk feeding bucket
  • Debudding equipment
  • Castrator
  • Vaccines
  • Pasture
  • Feed hay
  • Water supply
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Buy your bull calf from a local dairy rather than at auction. Make sure the calf is at least 3 days old. Learn something about the farmer, his livestock practices and the health of his stock. Ask to see the Holstein cow that gave birth to the bull calf.

    • 2

      Make a bed for the calf in a barn or shed that is ventilated but not cold. Add to the stall enough new and clean bedding hay to make a deep soft bed that is long enough for the bull calf to lie down and stretch out.

    • 3

      Feed the calf milk replacer from a nursing bottle. These can be purchased at a farm supply store. Bottle feeding will take more time but is better for a calf's digestive system. Feed from a bucket if you prefer. Dip your fingers in the milk and let the calf suck it off. When he starts to suck, lower you fingers into the bucket a bit so he learns to suck from the bucket. Clean the bucket or bottle after each feeding.

    • 4

      Offer calf starter feed to the Holstein bull calf while it is still taking milk replacer. Offer fresh feed at each feeding. When the calf is eating about 2 1/2 pounds daily, you can wean it from the milk. Feed it about 5 pounds of starter feed daily. Give the calf all the hay it wants or let it onto good pasture when it is weaned. Continue the starter feed for three months.

    • 5

      Debud (remove) the calf's horns with an electric dehorner when it is 2 to 8 weeks old. File the bud down to its base. Castrate him around the same time. It can be done with an elastrator. If you have not done these two tasks before, find someone with experience to do it. Vaccinate the bull calf at 3 to 4 weeks, at 6 to 8 weeks and at 6 months, in accordance with your veterinarian's recommendations.

    • 6

      Check the calf daily for signs of illness. His ears should be up, nose shiny and wet, tongue bright pink or black. The main danger is scours, a kind of diarrhea.Unless you are familiar with scours, call the veterinarian when you see symptoms. It can kill calves quickly. If the calf has a wet tail and tucks in his abdomen, it may be getting scours.

    • 7

      Pasture the bull calf on good grass and feed supplemental hay until it reaches the desired weight for butchering, usually 800 to 1,300 pounds.