# bottle feed calf



## timmie (Jan 14, 2012)

we just had a bull calf given to us , because his mother died. my question is we may experience this again and we are learning on this one ; to stock up on milk and bottles , how do you put it up for later use? any help in this area would be very much appreciated.


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## moondancer (Dec 21, 2013)

We used powdered milk and it seemed to be fine we had no problems if I understood your question


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## timmie (Jan 14, 2012)

moondancer said:


> We used powdered milk and it seemed to be fine we had no problems if I understood your question


in case tshtf do you store it the same way as people powdered milk? we are new to having cattle and want to prep for them as well. we have someone else giving us a heifer to bottle feed. we have no problems doing this and actually enjoy it. these friends don't want to bottle feed.so we have the beginnings of a herd.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

We used goat milk when we had it or calf starter from to the feed store. The big thing to remember is not to "over feed" the calf.

Best of luck.


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

Saving nipples just seem to be the "luck of the draw". I clean them well, let them dry completely and store them in individual ziplock baggies. I don't put them together so that they don't touch each other. (I've had some get soft and stick together)

So, some nipples stay soft and usable. Some nipples get crispy and need to be thrown away after storing them for a year. But they could be old. I don't keep track of the age of them.

I've never had a problem saving and re-using the bottles. I have some that are probably 20 years old and are still in great shape. I've had some fail when they are 6 months old.

Someone else will have to talk about how to store the powdered milk replacer. I've never tried to keep any for the next year.


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## txcatlady (Sep 26, 2013)

We buy the milk replacer from the feed store. It is a powder that we mix in the bottle. The powder will need to be kept dry and over a long period of time will clump and get weevils. I hope the baby got colostrum for the first few feedings. We keep a few bags of that in the freezer for emergencies. I am not sure about long term storage. We use it up pretty quickly. Nipples stored upside down in bottles when not being used and stored in cabinet. In our experience, bottle babies are not as productive as momma raised calves. We get them up to feeding themselves and they got to market. Can buy bottle babies at auction for 10.00. Or raise it up for butchering.


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## jeff47041 (Jan 5, 2013)

txcatlady said:


> We buy the milk replacer from the feed store. It is a powder that we mix in the bottle. The powder will need to be kept dry and over a long period of time will clump and get weevils. I hope the baby got colostrum for the first few feedings. We keep a few bags of that in the freezer for emergencies. I am not sure about long term storage. We use it up pretty quickly. Nipples stored upside down in bottles when not being used and stored in cabinet. In our experience, bottle babies are not as productive as momma raised calves. We get them up to feeding themselves and they got to market. Can buy bottle babies at auction for 10.00. Or raise it up for butchering.


Wow, $10? That's a deal. Around here, they are $80 at the low end and $120 at the highest.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

My father got a few day old calves & bottle feed them.
I think the powdered milk he use was safe for human to drink, we did not drink it because we had more fresh milk then we could use. You could raise all beef cattle, which give every little milk.
If this is what you want to do, then you should have one milk cow for humans to drink & to make cream,butter & cheese. When you have a calf with no mother, then you could use some of the milk from the milk cow.
If you want to do this then you will need a cow that give a large amount of milk, 2.5 or even 5.00 gallons per day.
This cow will have to be broken to milking & will have to be milked twice a day everyday, when she is not with calf.
The calf can be made into a back up milk cow or if the calf is a bull, he can be meat or sold to another farmer.
In the mean time you can use powdered milk.
TSHTF then you will need a milk cow to replace the A&P store, for milk,cream,butter & cheese.
Chickens,pigs,Honeybee, garden as well as beef cows can all feed you & give you things to sale.
No money, how about labor here on the farm?
My grandfather was a preacher & bought a farm in the depression, because he would trade fruits of the farm & his labor for anything his family of 7 needed in the Ky mountains.
The farm had over 30 apple tree on it, he had pigs, chicken, bees & a milk cow.
You could look into goats & sheep also, some like goats milk & meat better then cattle.
Your biggest limit will be land & time to work the land.
Once you know that limit you can plan around it to remove it.
We have sister site that can help with the chicken,pig & goats, as well as many good people here on this site.


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## NavaBoer (Dec 5, 2013)

*Andi said:


> We used goat milk when we had it or calf starter from to the feed store. The big thing to remember is not to "over feed" the calf.
> 
> Best of luck.


I've used goat milk also 

Yes over feeding can be done easily and can be fatal.


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## timmie (Jan 14, 2012)

crabapple said:


> My father got a few day old calves & bottle feed them.
> I think the powdered milk he use was safe for human to drink, we did not drink it because we had more fresh milk then we could use. You could raise all beef cattle, which give every little milk.
> If this is what you want to do, then you should have one milk cow for humans to drink & to make cream,butter & cheese. When you have a calf with no mother, then you could use some of the milk from the milk cow.
> If you want to do this then you will need a cow that give a large amount of milk, 2.5 or even 5.00 gallons per day.
> ...


already have chickens and goats.we are in the process of setting up beehives and plan on getting some hogs this spring. we have 40 acres and are moving to the farm in may of 2014. we just don't have very much experience with bottle fed cattle. and I plan on teaching myself to make cheese;i already know how to make butter.we learn something new everyday.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Everything said so far sounds right, if you can possibly have a "nurse cow" that is the way to go or what we usually do is give that calf to a mom that lost hers if one is available.

Other than that the key imo is to get them eating real food as soon as possible, it is surprising how soon baby calves will start nibbling on grass with their mothers. They need food that is really palatable though, when starting.


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

In my eariler years, I used to ranch-sit alot, making some gas n lunch money going through collage. 3 days before my client left for vacation their fav cow died birthing a little male calf. So guess what I got to do on for the next few weeks.

It was alotta work but fun tho..too bad he was a male. Had it been a female they woulda just replaced the cow that died. They only kept 5 beef cows and they were all hand raised so they could handle them, their babies they didnt keep after they reached butcher wieght. One cow they had 25 years before she died. You could throw a saddle on her if you wanted..sweet ol'rosey cow. Anyways, The little guy was butchered eventually but remained real friendly so he had a short but peaceful life.

Anyways, It was a real joy to help hand raise him..and he never chased me up a tree like his daddy did. His daddy was a rented bull there to service the cows and although he was hand raised too..he was way playful one day and my friend had a epic kodak moment...No harm done tho and we all had a good laugh. 

Hope you have fun...I cant wait to get n raise my own cows too  any pics??


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

2 important things.1. make sure the calf has had colostrum, either the mothers first milk or powdered or frozen replacement the enzymes and antibodies are transferred in this.
2.when you bottle feed him make sure his neck is bent up like it would be if he was nursing from a cow, this position bypasses the rumen and puts the milk in the stage of stomach where it belongs, not through the rumen. This is why pail fed calves don't do well. Do not feed the calf grain or especially chopped grain. cattle are grass eaters they NEED the whole plant for their specialized stomach to function properly. keep this in mind when local "experts" tell you to feed the calf straight grain. you can feed the whole plant if you don't have young grass or young hay to feed it. over mature hay with bigger strong stalks can also damage a young animals stomach lining. young broadleaf grass seems to be young cattle's feed of choice when on pasture. If you are planning on keeping this bull intact to start a herd get him some other cattle, donkey or even goats to live with, a hand raised bull can become a very dangerous they think they are a people and sometime play rough when they are older and will challenge for dominance when they are an adult bull. I would strongly suggest that you neuter this bull and raise him to either butcher or market weight and then use the proceeds and experience to get a 2 year old proven producing bred cow to start your herd. using AI (artificial insemination) or rent a bull when she comes into cycle after her first calf, making sure to give her 2 cycles to clean out before breeding.


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