He will need one to two quarts, depending on his size. If a calf is rejected or having trouble nursing mama the first time, you need to milk some colostrum from the cow and feed it to the calf with a clean nipple bottle. Colostrum is also the perfect food because it has a much higher fat content than regular milk and gives the calf energy for strength and keeping warm if the weather is cold. This “first milk” from the cow contains important antibodies to protect her calf from various diseases in the first weeks of life. Raising a bottle calf is very easy with a newborn because he’s hungry and looking for milk, but the first feeding must be colostrum. The calf might be a twin and mama only has milk for one, or a heifer’s calf that isn’t accepted by its mother, or a calf whose mother died. Raising bottle calves is easy if you follow some basic guidelines. If you purchase a young dairy calf, you’ll need to bottle-feed until it is old enough to thrive on solid feeds. ![]() By Heather Smith Thomas – When raising cattle, you may encounter the challenge of a young calf orphaned or rejected by mama, needing a bottle from you.
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