Brie, our half-Montbéliarde, half-Holstein bottle calf has started to drink less milk replacer from the bottle. It’s hard to say if this is simply part of the normal progression (as she eats more and more grass and grain) or if something else is going on.
Brie is only about two and a half months old. I started her off on 2 quarts of milk replacer, twice a day (about 12 hours apart.) She always wanted more, which I had been advised was normally the case. But, as I read more and more from different authors on the subject (dairy cows, bottle calves and just about anything else about farming), I came across references to folks feeding the larger breeds a bit more than 2 quarts (per feeding.) Plus, one lady noted that her Cow-Calf pairs never seemed to have a calf asking for more and not getting it.
So, at about 6 weeks of age, I transitioned Brie to a 5 pint feeding (2 and a half quarts.) This worked great – she appeared satiated and remained healthy. She has been taking the full feeding (at both morning and evening) for around 5 weeks. Now, a couple of days ago, she just started taking less (about a pint less). She would just turn and walk off.
I am not entirely sure what is going on, but yesterday I went back to the normal 2 quart bottle and she appears to be taking it all and is not acting like she is still famished at the end. I will watch and see how things go!