How to Raise Calves

Calves are cute: there's no doubt about that, and because they are small, it would seem pretty easy to raise one, right? Not so fast! Calves take a lot of time, money and effort to raise, and if you are looking to raise a calf or two but don't know what goes in to looking after them, this article is just for you.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Preparations

Ask yourself are you wanting these calves as potential freezer beef, a start of a breeding herd, or merely as a "pet" and a lawn ornament?
Calves aren't cheap, either to purchase or to raise, so you will need to save at least $500 to $1,000 for the first little bit. A Holstein calf can cost around $500 to purchase--that is, if the calf's a heifer; bull calves tend to be much cheaper--and a beef calf may be a little less, depending on the age and weight.
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3
Stock up on feed. It's best to purchase your feed before you purchase the calf so that you have food ready for when you bring the calves home.
- Bottle-raised calves require milk-replacer specially formulated for calves. Do not purchase milk from the grocery store because it does not have the same nutritional content and good bacteria for the calf's digestive system as raw milk does. You can quickly kill a calf with pasteurized milk, even if it's homogenized.
  - A bottle calf will need to be started on grain and hay fairly quickly, usually within a week or two of its life. Once you get it on this feed, you can start, over the following weeks, progressively feeding less milk replacer (gradually increasing the water to powder ratio) less often.
  - Usually you do not need to buy colostrum because a calf needs colostrum in the first few hours of its life. If you buy a calf that is a day or two old, the colostrum will be ineffective. You are better off with milk replacer instead.
- Weaned calves or those that are pre-weaning can be fed small amounts of milk replacer that is watered down. Calves at this stage (they are often around 3 to 4 months of age) can be fed grain, hay and will even graze on pasture. Dairy calves typically need to be "grained" a lot since they do not have the same ability to convert grass to muscle and energy like beef calves do. If you have beef calves though, it's recommended to feed less grain and more hay/pasture. If the pasture and hay is in very good quality, you can limit the grain to only a few times a week.
  - Note: Too much grain for beef calves can put too much fat on them when they need more protein over energy to grow--not get fat.
- If you have to buy hay, the price varies as the amount does too. If you make your own hay then you will save a lot of money in the long run. Grain usually costs $350.00 per ton. Don't quite need that much? They sell small 50 lbs bags for $15. Prices very by location. Grass costs nothing if it grows wild. If not, you're going to have to buy some grass seed ($15.00 at your local store; prices vary). Milk replacer cost about $45 to $55 dollars per 50 lbs bag (prices may vary)
4
Get water, it's the most important nutrient. Calves, especially the older ones, need plenty of water. You will need to purchase a stock tank or an automatic waterer (expect to pay around $200 to $300 for a good waterer; a little less for a stock tank) for these calves. Also, remember to fill up the stock tank with water regularly if it looks full.
- Cleaning the tank out to keep the algae blooms down helps with the water quality. Clean water makes for healthy calves!
5
Prepare the space and shelter. Make sure that they have plenty of space to roam and frolic, but also make sure they have a shelter such as a lean or a barn, so that they are protected from storms.
- If you're getting bottle calves, you might want to build a little or calf hutch for it. If you're buying older calves (ones close to weaning or have already been weaned, either from the bottle/bucket or from their mothers), a corral that is around 200 square feet (per calf, that is) is sufficient for the first few weeks when you get them home.
6
Find a breed you like. There are many to choose from, so choose wisely. It is best to choose a breed that is local to your area and one that has young calves readily available.
- It is usually far more common to find young calves of dairy breeding than beef breeding. If you were to find young calves of a particular beef breed, it would be because they were weaned early (i.e., around 3 months of age), or they are orphans a producer or small-time farmer does not have a surrogate mother to take in.
7
Find a place that sells the breed that you want. You are more likely to find calves at a dairy farm than a cattle ranch. This is because baby calves are raised on their mothers until they get quite big (sometimes over half of their mother's size), they are never separated away from their dams permanently like with a typical dairy farm.
- You may come across an advertisement in a local newspaper or on a that is looking to sell a beef calf or two, but this is considered rare.
- Your best chance at finding a calf is by going to a local dairy farm and asking if they have any calves to sell, or by looking on Craigslist.com or Kijiji.com for anybody looking to sell young calves.
8
Pick out the ones you want and how many you want. Make sure you consider your abilities when picking out the number of calves you want to take in. One or two calves alone can be a handful, especially if they're no more than a day or two old, so choose according to the kind of commitment you want to make to raising calves.
- If you do not want to be feeding a young calf every two to three hours for the first week, then you are better off looking for older calves that are close to weaning or that have already been weaned.
  - Note that the older the calf, the easier it is to look after it. Younger calves tend to be more prone to sickness and diseases than older calves, and are much more sensitive to what and how you feed it than a weaned calf.
Larger calves (or more than two bottle calves) will need to be shipped in a small stock trailer, or in the back of a pickup truck with stock-racks attached. For younger bottle calves, many people like to use their van, jeep or even car to bring them home if they have no other alternative or find it's safer for the calf.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Taking Care of the New Additions

1
Introduce them to their new home. Older calves need to be kept in a secure pen for the first few weeks to allow them to settle into their new home. If you let them out into a pasture, the chances of them escaping are quite high.
- Make sure you have feed and water ready for them when they arrive.
2
Keep up with regular feedings. Bottle calves should be fed twice a day (or ever 12 hours) with two quarts of milk replacer formula per feeding. That means one four-pint bottle should be used per feeding. The milk replacer powder-to-water ratio should be higher for young calves (see the bag for directions), and much lower for calves close to weaning.
- It is recommended to feed calf-starter along with the milk replacer as it will limit bacterial growth that may feed off the milk replacer.^{[1]XResearch source} It will also help give the calf's rumen the kick-start it needs to start growing and reaching full maturity and functionality.
- For weaned calves, feed hay when the bale you have given them is low or has been cleaned up. Ideally, you should get them to clean up after themselves so you minimize the amount of waste they may have caused before you give them another bale to eat. Hay must be fed ad libitum or free-choice. Grain must be limited to only around three to five pounds per calf per feeding. Dairy calves tend to require more grain than beef calves, so feel free to increase their ration, but not so much that they will bloat on it.
  - Hay should not be "horse-quality" hay. Horse-quality hay is primarily 100% grass; it's recommended to feed calves hay that has a legume content equal to or higher than grass content so that the calves are getting the protein and calcium nutrients needed for their growth. Test the hay for quality and remember: the higher the fibre content, the lower the quality.
  - Alternative high-protein sources to grain (corn, oats, barley, wheat, etc.) include beet pulp, soybean meal, canola meal, cottonseed meal, protein blocks, etc. Avoid any high-protein feeds with animal by-product due to concerns for BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, better known as "Mad Cow Disease").
- Along with water, make sure you provide a mineral and salt source, ideally loose over block form. Feed alone will not give a calf all the nutrients it needs.
3
Monitor the calves' body condition. If a calf is getting thin, you may need to separate it and increase the energy/protein it is getting. If a calf is getting too fat, you may want to cut back on the grain you're feeding it.
- A bovine's body condition can be affected by illness. Usually thinness is merely a symptom of something more serious, and should be taken note of if other symptoms signalling that you may have a sick calf on your hands raise their ugly heads.
4
Keep the calves clean. Hygiene is just as important to calves as it is to humans. This means keeping their living area as clean as possible, involving such practices as putting out new bedding, or separating their eating space from their resting space. Though washing calves is not commonly practiced nor necessary, if they have excessive "tag" (poop on the hide) then it may be a good idea to do so.
- Remember, the tamer and calmer the calf, the less stress it is to wash them. Also remember, wash only if it's necessary, not when you want to. Rain for the older calves can give them a good bathing too.
- Clean the barn or bedding area is not fun, but somebody has to do it. All you have to have is a pitchfork ($12 to $20/ prices vary), shovel ($10 to $20/prices may vary), wheelbarrow ($60 to $230/prices may vary), old work clothes (coveralls, jeans, old T-shirt are ideal), and rubber boots ($30 to $40/prices may vary).
5
Watch out for sickness and diseases. It's not a matter of if your calves will get sick, but when. Unusual behavior is the best indicator for illness in a calf.
- Symptoms such as coughing, ragged breathing, scouring (diarrhea), constipated, foaming/frothing at the mouth (usually not an indicator of rabies), refusing to get up, runny or snotty nose, appearing lame, generally looks more interested in resting and sleeping (listless) than actively playing, among other possibilities, are all indicators that mean you should call your veterinarian right away.
- If your calves develop a scaly, hairless circular pattern on its skin, this is the start of what is called "ringworm." It is not a sickness by any means, but merely a fungal infection of the skin that does nothing for the calf except make him particularly itchy. Ringworm is contagious to humans, so be careful when handling the affected calf.
  - Ringworm only comes around in the cold, dry parts of the year, and soon disappears in a few months. Iodine solution, though, will help clear up the skin affliction.
6
Consider dehorning your calf if it is growing buds or has horns already. Your calf will grow into an adult animal eventually, and horns can be quite dangerous even if the animal doesn't mean to hurt you. One flick of the bovine's head and you could end up in hospital or worse. Please consider your own safety--and even the other animals on the farm--if you think that dehorning is "too cruel" to perform on a calf.
- You can usually tell if there are some buds growing on either side of the top of the calf's head or poll (near the ears) by the way the hair is growing. Catching the calf to have a feel can give you a good indication that the calf you have is horned. If there are no buds present, this means that you have a hornless or polled calf--this is nothing to be worried about, as it is completely natural for cattle to have no horns. There are several options to removing horns available:
  - Burning: You can use a branding iron or an electric dehorner to take off the small horns. All you have to do is hold the calf down and burn the horns down to a nub to where they can't grow anymore. (You may need someone to help you hold the calf down, because the burning can be painful for the calf and the calf will put up a huge struggle to get away.)
    - Note: burning is best for calves who have the start of hard horns, not soft buds. If the calf has soft buds, caustic paste is best.
  - Dehorning paste: Dehorning or caustic paste is a highly corrosive substance that essentially "burns" the buds off by a chemical reaction between the skin of the horn buds and the paste itself. Though effective, it can be irritating for the calf as it may get the calf to start itching at the buds at its head. Make sure you get the paste only on the horns buds and not anywhere else on the calf. The calf will need to be restrained during the process.
  - Cutting: A dehorning "scooper" is a tool that is used to cut the horns right out of the base of the calf's head. This method is a bit more gory and bloody than the other two above, so proper restraint and possibly local anaesthesia may need to be considered before using this dehorning method.
Branding really is not necessary if you do not have problems with cattle theft in your area, if you are not mixing your calves with other producers' cattle, and if you're just keeping your calves on your farm. Thus it's recommended to avoid branding especially if it's not necessary.
8
Castrate any bull calves you have. This is important because nothing is worse and more dangerous than a bull that has been bottle-raised and made into a pet. Calves that grow as steers tend to be safer to handle than testerone-hyped bulls.
- The best method for young calves is using a rubber band via elastrator. Make sure you have two testicles in the scrotum before you release the band. Cutting is not ideal if you do not know how to properly do it. See the How.com.vn article How to Castrate Bulls and Bull Calves for more information.
Talk to your veterinarian for the kind of vaccinations are necessary for your calves according to your area. You may need to vaccinate for such things as Blackleg, Bovine Viral Diarrhea, Viruses, Bovine Respiratory Disease, Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis, Parainfluenza-3, Anthrax, Listeriosis, Red Water Disease and many others.
Calves, although young, innocent and full of mischief, must know and learn that you are the dominant one at all times. Certain behaviors that seem cute now will not be cute when the calf is older. Make sure that calf knows you don't tolerate any bad behaviors that can potentially hurt you when it's older.
Raising calves can be a lot of hard work and fun as well. Make it less of a chore and more of something to enjoy and look forward to doing every day.
You will have to let these calves go at some point, either at the point of sale, at the time of slaughter, or when one or more dies unexpectedly on you. If the latter occurs, don't be too shocked and disheartened about it. It is sad, indeed, but it's something that you have to expect when you raise livestock. Not every animal can be saved when they get sick, but you should make sure you do everything you can to save the animal before you let it go to the other side.
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Question
I have a 7 week old bull calf he drank a little more water than usual today and his pee was red. He is still on milk replacer but I am trying to wean him. I was told was because he drank too much water.
Karin
Top Answerer
Red urine indicates blood in the urine, primarily from something like a kidney problem, or something more serious. Please see a vet about this ASAP.
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I really want a black Angus calf. I want it to be my pet. My mom and dad want to eat it! What do I do?
Karin
Top Answerer
Keep in mind that calves, from birth, are not ready for slaughter until they are almost 2 years old. That means, if you get a bottle baby to raise with your parents' help, you will see what it takes to raise that animal, and by the time the calf gets to be a big steer or heifer, you may not want it as a pet anymore because of just how big a black Angus bovine can grow to. They don't stay as cute 100-pound baby calves for very long! In a year they can grow up to weigh half a ton. So you may need to compromise or find out more to see whether you really want to keep that calf as a pet, or if it's better off, in the end, as meat for the freezer.
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I have 4 acres of wild grass. Can I raise Holstein bull calves on it that are about 200 pounds?
Community Answer
You can, but you will need to supplement with grain because wild grass is often not nutritionally complete for your calves. Also, if those calves are not at the age where they have been weaned from the bottle (which should be done when they're 3 or 4 months old, so verify that before purchasing), regular bottle feedings are also necessary. Water and a salt/mineral source needs to be kept accessible to your calves too.
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Tips

Always have hay available for even the youngest calves. Even though it's recommended to start feeding when they're a week old, many calves that are raised with their mothers will start sampling and tasting the foods that its mother eats when it's only a few days old.
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Never increase the amount of formula as the calf gets older. Instead, increase the amount of water in the formula versus the powder mixed in with it.
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Young calves are more predisposed to illness, injury and disease than older calves are.
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Warnings

Dairy calves will be more of a challenge--and more work--to raise and care for than beef calves. Jerseys can be a right pain in the neck at times!
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Always remember that cute baby calf is going to grow into a cattle beast that will be ten times larger and stronger than you.
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Never treat a baby calf like a pet dog or cat. Calves are babies, needing a lot more care than a typical dog or even adult cow does. Also, treating it like a pet means that it will develop behaviors that may be potentially harmful when it is older and much bigger and stronger than you.
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If you have livestock, then you will get the occasional death. If you don't want to raise young calves only to have them die on you, then don't raise them.
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