The Poultry Keeper

traditionalbritishfowlco · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 243 Location: lancashire

Tell me everything you know about hand rearing calves!

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2070 Location: North Cornwall

Why have you got one or thinking of getting one? Laughing

traditionalbritishfowlco · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 243 Location: lancashire

i will be getting one - to train as an ox!

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2070 Location: North Cornwall

OH says and I quote, 'How interesting, Ive seen that done. Do they have someone that will shoe it for them? '

I didn't know you had to do that Embarassed

traditionalbritishfowlco · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 243 Location: lancashire

you dont have to, if theyre not doing a lot of roadwork - same with horses! It is more diffcult to shoe an ox though, they really dont like picing their feet up! something to do with their strength coming from the forequarters rather than the hind like with horses - horses rear and prance, cows like all their feet on the floor!

milkmaid · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 6968 Location: isle of lewis

i was going to buy a calf (as a house cow)but a freind has started a herd and tb tests put me off the chap who does them finds anything and everything he possibly can to pull everyone up on,if i had proper housing and disposal facilities for poo then i would go ahead ,i don't live in a nitrate sensitive area ,but i can be a nightmare if you do ,i didn't think it was worth the agro for 1 cow and calf

traditionalbritishfowlco · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 243 Location: lancashire

hmm, i'm willing to have a go - waste disposal will be carting it to lancashire to spread on my mums allotment, if anyone asks, my cow barely poos! Laughing

i've filled in so much paperwork i cant turn back now! and besides, we cant let 'them' put us off keeping cows by giving us too much paperwork!

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2070 Location: North Cornwall

What breed and age will the calf be.

All our calves are suckled my their mothers until at least 9 months, so we are not the best ones to give you advice I suppose. If we have one that wont suck after a difficult birth we sometimes have to tube feed and then bottle feed until it gets going but then mum takes over. We're feeding twins at the moment as mum doesn't have enough milk for the two but only as a top up. I know a dairy farmer friend feeds his calves 2pints morning and evening from the bucket but thats only when they are tiny and first taken from their mums Crying or Very sad

You can buy calf milk powder and nuts and feed according to weight and age. You wouldn't have to feed from a teated bucket like ours do as your calf will not have a cow to suckle from. The farmer that you are getting him from should be able to show you how to get him to drink from a bucket and they soon get the hang of it. Not a lot of help I know but I have lots of people to ask if you are really stuck, just PM me when ever you feel the need Laughing

Whens he coming?

traditionalbritishfowlco · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 243 Location: lancashire

he's coming once I get a job and can afford everything, the business is going well but not well enough to give me a wage yet - I'm sponging off OH ian but thats not ideal and he wont fund an ox!!!

It would be an unwanted dairy by-product and take from its mum at a couple of days Sad

so I'd have to be his mum! Some people recommend getting a goat to provide milk for the calf but i dont really want to do that - goats are trouble, I've had them before and finding one in milk for sale/to borrow would be difficult, more paperwork etc etc so replacement milk powder it is!

eventually I;d like to get a dexter as company for him but at first as this is something of an experiment it'll be just him and me until I knwo it;s not a disaster!

I was going to get a holsteing because they are supposed to be second only to the brown swiss as oxen, but they grow to 17hh and thats a lot of feed and poop...so I was thinking an ayrshire/dairy shorthorn.

debcat · Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:33 pm Post subject:

I've never bottle fed calves, but do lambs every year
the most effective way is small feeds often. ie every 3 hours day and night for the first week, like you'd feed babies really
It's really time consuming and can (and does) end in heartbreak, there's always some that don't make it
Bottlefed animals tend to be potbellied as well as smaller than naturally fed animals, and have less disease resistance
I spent about £150 on milk replacer last year and lost nearly half of them after a few weeks
HTH

traditionalbritishfowlco · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 243 Location: lancashire

doesnt sound so good debcat! I'll just have to try - they recommend getting 4 calves and pick the best with the best qualities for oxen, but i cant squeeze 4 in I dont think? I've got a 12ftX16ft stable, and neighbours who already put up with the crowing Rolling Eyes

found this on ayrshires:

"The Ayrshire is a medium-sized breed frequently seen in New England and easily recognized by its long horns. This breed tends to be a little more active than many of the other breeds. Ayrshires carry a little more flesh and muscle than other dairy breeds, and their size makes them a good choice as an all-around farm or woods team."

the fact they are active is good - you have to beg oxen to do more than 8 miles a day if that! NOT as sporty as horses!

traditionalbritishfowlco · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 243 Location: lancashire

just so happens dairy shorthorns are one of THE best oxen you can get...and theres a herd just near me!

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2070 Location: North Cornwall

What sort of work have you in mind for him?

traditionalbritishfowlco · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 243 Location: lancashire

hmm, bit of everything really - riding/driving/ploughing/logging

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2070 Location: North Cornwall

Would be lovely if you can get it going. Good luck.

Just been out and fed our twins Very Happy