A Teagasc webinar focused on sourcing and feeding dairy beef calves in 2024 dispelled the myth that one bag of milk replacer per calf is enough to bring a calf from three weeks of age to weaning.
During the calf rearing webinar, Teagasc’s Fergal Maguire asked Volac’s Liam Gannon how much milk powder should be fed to a calf from three-weeks-of-age to weaning.
Responding to the question, Liam Gannon said: “It’s not going to be a bag, that’s the one thing you often hear people being quoted.
“If you’re talking about three weeks to weaning, generally you’re trying to double the calf’s birth weight.
“We’re talking about a 38kg calf, double the birthweight at eight-weeks-of-age – so we’re trying to be up near 80kg and then we will be weaning from 80kg back to 100kg over two or three weeks.
“There is a tradition with some people of weaning their calves at 85kg, so it depends on what weight you want the calf at weaning.
“So, you’re generally going to be leaving that calf on 3L of milk morning and evening, until you get to week eight which will be five weeks, and then you’re going to wean that calf. It will be about 1.5 bags of powder.”
He advised that the ideal temperature to feed milk replacer at is 38°, and said “if you’re feeding it at 20° Celsius, the calf still has to warm that milk up to 38 degrees within its system”.
He also warned that calves should be comfortably eating over 1.5kg/head/day of concentrates before weaning.
The webinar took place on Tuesday, January 30, and heard from a number of other people including Tullow mart manager, Eric Driver, who gave an overview on a mart’s perspective of the Commercial Beef Value (CBV), as well as Teagasc advisor, Tommy Cox and calf to beef farmer from Co. Cavan, Charlie Smyth.