milk for calves

PMU · 11-03-2011 12:19am #1

I have been keeping our own milk for calves for the last few years.given the milk price,what are the economics of buying milk replacer instead?
pat

F.D · 11-03-2011 10:49am

we're feeding calves milk replacer at the moment (not in dairying just buying in calves)
working out to be around 20cent per litre so i'd say you would be better off sending what you have and using the replacer, however you will have the hassle of mixing it, which isnt really a problem for the amount of calves we are feeding but if you busy calving and milking etc its another few mins used out of your day

whelan1 · 11-03-2011 11:07am

i used the shine once a day milk before christmas , the calves loved it and did well, i have to give calves fresh milk for the first 10-14 days as the rotavec corona is in the fresh cows milk ... i will go back to shine when i dont have as much milk to keep from cows

bogman_bass · 11-03-2011 12:03pm

Milk replacer is the biggest scam going.
Co-ops are buying milk off you and then then selling it back to to you after they take the good stuff out of it.
They arent charities, if they sell it back at a lower prive it has to be a lower quality product thna the real thing.
Plus there is the hastle of mixing it when you could be taking it straight from the milk line

jeff greene · 11-03-2011 1:56pm

Has anyone currents prices for milk replacer, we’re considering it for next week. What brands do you find the best?

funny man · 11-03-2011 9:07pm

bogman_bass wrote: »

Milk replacer is the biggest scam going.
Co-ops are buying milk off you and then then selling it back to to you after they take the good stuff out of it.
They arent charities, if they sell it back at a lower prive it has to be a lower quality product thna the real thing.
Plus there is the hastle of mixing it when you could be taking it straight from the milk line

you must have a bad experience with milk powder.

funny man · 11-03-2011 9:13pm

jeff greene wrote: »

Has anyone currents prices for milk replacer, we’re considering it for next week. What brands do you find the best?

Volac powerstart €35/bag
Shine once a day €44/bag

find both excellent but i'm on the once a day now and find calves are doing well.

whelan1 · 11-03-2011 9:21pm

yup i second the once a day

funny man · 11-03-2011 9:32pm

whelan1 wrote: »

yup i second the once a day

are you feeding it long (years?), what rate are you working from, i'm giving them .6kg with 3ltrs/calf, they seem to be doing well on it. I think it's very important that they have access to clean water, straw and meal ad-lib, what sort of meal are you giving them.

whelan1 · 11-03-2011 9:35pm

they are on calf crunch and silage also i made it up as stated on the bag

sh1tstirrer · 11-03-2011 9:40pm

whelan1 wrote: »

i used the shine once a day milk before christmas , the calves loved it and did well, i have to give calves fresh milk for the first 10-14 days as the rotavec corona is in the fresh cows milk ... i will go back to shine when i dont have as much milk to keep from cows

Is that a milk based milk replacer as opposed to plant based milk replacer?

bbam · 11-03-2011 9:49pm

We're using "Super Cream" for the second year and have found it good, €35 a bag and can be used either once or twice a day... We do twice a day for 4 weeks and then move to once for another four/five depending on calf size and concentrate intake..

Mixing is all in the setup.. hot water on demand, all measures marked on buckets so no measuring required.. Mix with a drill and skim coat mixer.

Mix, feed and clean up for 15 calves in 15/20 minutes.

How about calf prices?? Was hoping to add another batch of calves but not sure which way prices are going to move.. Hereford or continentals

funny man · 12-03-2011 8:26pm

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

Is that a milk based milk replacer as opposed to plant based milk replacer?

What is a plant based milk replacer?

sh1tstirrer · 12-03-2011 8:57pm

funny man wrote: »

What is a plant based milk replacer?

A lot of milk replacers today are whey based and the others ingredients come from plants, protein etc. because they are cheaper. Back in the 80's when milk replacer had a lot of skim milk and were made mainly of milk by products, calves thrived on them. It's the reason calves nowadays lose condition and get miserable looking when switched to milk replacer.

funny man · 12-03-2011 9:06pm

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

A lot of milk replacers today are whey based and the others ingredients come from plants, protein etc. because they are cheaper. Back in the 80's when milk replacer had a lot of skim milk and were made mainly of milk by products, calves thrived on them. It's the reason calves nowadays lose condition and get miserable looking when switched to milk replacer.

I'm around along time and the only types of milk replacer i've heard of is either skim based or whey based and both derived from milk. i have used both replacer and whole milk and all i can say if the calves lose condition they are not fed right or are sick, Milk replacer is every bit as good as whole milk and that's backed up by farm trails.

Husbandry,Husbandry,Husbandry.

sh1tstirrer · 12-03-2011 9:44pm

funny man wrote: »

I'm around along time and the only types of milk replacer i've heard of is either skim based or whey based and both derived from milk. i have used both replacer and whole milk and all i can say if the calves lose condition they are not fed right or are sick, Milk replacer is every bit as good as whole milk and that's backed up by farm trails.

Husbandry,Husbandry,Husbandry.

Read the label next time you open a bag of milk replacer and see the ingredients, you learn something new every day

The amount of milk products in replacer now is minimal compared to the 80's.
Read the milk power section in this link. http://www.calflogic.com/calf-rearing.htm
Last time I reared calves I searched the country for a milk based replacer and the nearest I could find was outside of the country Scotland.

funny man · 12-03-2011 9:54pm

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

Read the label next time you open a bag of milk replacer and see the ingredients, you learn something new every day The amount of milk products in replacer now is minimal compared to the 80's.

Right lad name names as i have used Golden Maverick, Shine and several Volac product all which contain either Skim or Whey as the main ingrediant, the only plant extracts i can think of is the oils (palm oil, veg oils, etc,.), i've learned nothing yet cause i just deal in facts unless someone states that it's their opinion.

sh1tstirrer · 12-03-2011 10:01pm

funny man wrote: »

Right lad name names as i have used Golden Maverick, Shine and several Volac product all which contain either Skim or Whey as the main ingrediant, the only plant extracts i can think of is the oils (palm oil, veg oils, etc,.), i've learned nothing yet cause i just deal in facts unless someone states that it's their opinion.

I used maverick and volac they are whey based and use plant proteins and fats

funny man · 12-03-2011 10:18pm

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

I used maverick and volac they are whey based and use plant proteins and fats

So have i; main ingrediant on both is whey (milk).

stanflt · 12-03-2011 10:25pm

currently using POWERSTART from glanbia- 33a bag twice a day- says easy mix on the bag

my a**e

jeff greene · 12-03-2011 10:32pm

stanflt wrote: »

currently using POWERSTART from glanbia- 33a bag twice a day- says easy mix on the bag
my a**e

a big whisk makes it fast to mix, others use a drill with a plaster mixer but a whisk is as handy.

sh1tstirrer · 12-03-2011 10:33pm

funny man wrote: »

So have i; main ingrediant on both is whey (milk).

Which probably only makes up to 40% of the milk replacer. 60% are plant ingredients. For an excellent milk replacer you need greater than 70% total dairy products. Golden Maverick and Volac haven't used skimmed milk in their replacer for many years.

jeff greene · 12-03-2011 10:39pm

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

Which probably only makes up to 40% of the milk replacer. 60% are plant ingredients. For an excellent milk replacer you need greater than 70% total dairy products. Golden Maverick and Volac haven't used skimmed milk in their replacer for many years.

if we're only guessing I would say 76% whey and 24% plant. Provide proof and we might learn something.

sh1tstirrer · 12-03-2011 10:46pm

jeff greene wrote: »

if we're only guessing I would say 76% whey and 24% plant. Provide proof and we might learn something.

You would be very generous saying 76% whey I will check the bag tomorrow to provide the proof.

stanflt · 12-03-2011 10:46pm

jeff greene wrote: »

a big whisk makes it fast to mix, others use a drill with a plaster mixer but a whisk is as handy.

some lads must be making more money than others!!!!! i mix mine with a bit of 3/4inch hydrodare

jeff greene · 12-03-2011 10:48pm

stanflt wrote: »

some lads must be making more money than others!!!!! i mix mine with a bit of 3/4inch hydrodare

a whisk will change you life so

, volac sent me a kit a few years ago with it and some measuring jugs.

stanflt · 12-03-2011 11:14pm

jeff greene wrote: »

a whisk will change you life so , volac sent me a kit a few years ago with it and some measuring jugs.

you must be a big farmer:D not like us poor folk

jeff greene · 12-03-2011 11:20pm

stanflt wrote: »

you must be a big farmer:D not like us poor folk

says the lad with a new GPS system to drive straight:p

stanflt · 12-03-2011 11:36pm

jeff greene wrote: »

says the lad with a new GPS system to drive straight:p

now-now;)

whelan1 · 13-03-2011 7:47am

stanflt wrote: »

some lads must be making more money than others!!!!! i mix mine with a bit of 3/4inch hydrodare

same here, dont have a measuring jug either , had to use my own one

ootbitb · 13-03-2011 9:28am

stanflt wrote: »

some lads must be making more money than others!!!!! i mix mine with a bit of 3/4inch hydrodare

years ago I used a stick but there were always lumps left which can result in scour.

using a whisk for years.

funny man · 14-03-2011 12:31pm

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

You would be very generous saying 76% whey I will check the bag tomorrow to provide the proof.

Where are you going to get a bag if you don't feed it?
I checked my milk replacer and the ingrediants are; Skim milk powder, Whey powder, palm oil, Butter milk (from dairy cream), Coco oil, wheat gluten, Colza oil, Wheat flour, Soja oil, inactive yeast extract , vit, trace elements. it dosn't give percentages but ingrediants are usually in decending order. I have looked the web for Golden Maverick and the volac range but they don't give ingrediants. Whey was a problem in milk replacers in the past where it was damaged by heat i think in the extraction process but that has changed now and it's a good source of protein. If your looking for a good range of milk replacers SHINE uses Skim and Buttermilk in most of it's products.

F.D · 14-03-2011 12:41pm

ref the mixing/stirring we use a whisk, currently using volac blossom easy mix find it very easy to whisk you could throw it in in one big lump and it would still stirr without annd hassle,
we used a local coops version last year good results but was noticably harder to stirr in,
just ref the quality of the product, considering a lot of crap milk with mastitis and anti biotics and the first rinse of the machine is fed to calves just so the good milk can go in the tank says it all i think

funny man · 14-03-2011 1:04pm

F.D wrote: »

ref the mixing/stirring we use a whisk, currently using volac blossom easy mix find it very easy to whisk you could throw it in in one big lump and it would still stirr without annd hassle,
we used a local coops version last year good results but was noticably harder to stirr in,
just ref the quality of the product, considering a lot of crap milk with mastitis and anti biotics and the first rinse of the machine is fed to calves just so the good milk can go in the tank says it all i think

Yea i'd second that on the quality of milk, on the mixing i borrowed a cordless drill and hardwall mixer from my out of work plasterer, don't think he'll be needing it as he's off to Oz, it mixes it very fast with absolutly no lumps.

amacca · 26-04-2011 2:23pm

Its been a while since I've reared calves but we used to use a product called Bloom - haven't seen it mentioned yet...wonder if its still around and what people think of it?

we used to do allright with that and calf pencil nuts.....very work intensive though as we were not well set up at all.

sh1tstirrer · 26-04-2011 8:23pm

funny man wrote: »

Where are you going to get a bag if you don't feed it?
I checked my milk replacer and the ingrediants are; Skim milk powder, Whey powder, palm oil, Butter milk (from dairy cream), Coco oil, wheat gluten, Colza oil, Wheat flour, Soja oil, inactive yeast extract , vit, trace elements. it dosn't give percentages but ingrediants are usually in decending order. I have looked the web for Golden Maverick and the volac range but they don't give ingrediants. Whey was a problem in milk replacers in the past where it was damaged by heat i think in the extraction process but that has changed now and it's a good source of protein. If your looking for a good range of milk replacers SHINE uses Skim and Buttermilk in most of it's products.

I work with a dairy farmer who uses milk replacer. It's impossible to know the quantities of ingredients from the bag. When you switch calves from whole milk to replacer you will see the difference in the calves, I read somewhere that whey based milk replacers were not suitable for calves under 4 weeks of age. You are correct that shine milk replacer has skim milk in it.

milk for calves

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