04/03/2026
We have setups similar to this for every calving herd. We give our calves the same soy hull pellets that our cows get during morning feedings, just in much smaller amounts. They receive maybe a few ounces each day - just enough to get them trained and jump start their rumen development.
Rumen development is critical for calves, as this is the stomach chamber that they need to help with digesting grass as they grow. The sooner that development begins, the better they do transitioning from a milk only diet, to milk and forage, and then ultimately to forage only after weaning.
Speaking of weaning - did you notice how the calves are all in their own space? Training them like this makes it much less stressful when we need to work these herds, such as for vaccinations and other steps to condition them for weaning. They self sort, which saves a lot of time and is much less stressful.It also makes it easier to gather the herd (and count everyone!) before transitioning onto a fresh pasture.
