Fixed formulation, highly digestible ingredients. Easy to mix and excellent flowability. Highly palatable. Fully traceable consistent raw materials. Suitable for dairy and beef enterprises. Can be used for bucket and machine feeding regimes. All contain natural gut conditioners. All powders are amino acid balanced.
FeedCo calf concentrate feeds are formulated to complement FeedCo calf milk replacers and provide excellent digestibility and calf growth. The range contains both pelleted and coarse mixed calf feeds to suit different production systems. In trials coarse mix and pellets tend to perform the same in calf growth – each has its place on farms where they fit and the benefits of one makes it the correct choice over the other. Good concentrate intake is important in ensuring good growth around weaning and in that crucial post-weaning period, so FeedCo calf starter is formulated using only highly palatable ingredients, combined with added flavouring. This encapsulated flavour technology releases a fresh burst of flavour when the animal chews the feed ensuring the intake stimulation is maintained. This blend of traditional ingredients combined with recent flavour developments reach for that extra level of intake and ensure early and continued growth through the post weaning period.
Rumen development is key to successful weaning. It is known that it is the fermentation of carbohydrates which stimulates rumen development. FeedCo calf feeds use maize and barley grains in combination with sugarbeet pulp which provide the best balance of starch, sugar and soluble fibre. The result is early and healthy rumen development.
Studies show young calves have a considerable demand for quality protein, so we formulate for this using high quality protein sources. This formulation is providing for frame growth. Calf feeds based on lower digestibility proteins are unlikely to be providing enough metabolisable protein for calves to reach their full growth potential.
Continued growth in the post weaning into rearing period is key to achieving our goal of early calving dairy heifers, or early finishing beef animals. As the milk intake is reduced we must ensure the calf is eating the nutrients required for growth from elsewhere. The only source of these nutrients concentrated enough for this young ruminant is concentrate feed, and so the calf concentrate must be of an excellent quality, and consumed at high enough levels to sustain high levels of growth without milk. There is a danger of stalling around weaning if this intake, or feed quality is not there, which we need to avoid with the correct choice of concentrate feeds and forage. Getting it right in this period brings benefits later when we have developed good rumen capacity and function to enable the animal to grow well, especially from forage.
FeedCo have formulated compounds to fit the needs of these animals growing through these stages.
Monitoring growth provides assurance targets are being met and there are not health issues beneath the surface. Remember calves can be growing less than required yet ‘look ok’ until they are weighed. Looking ok may not be hitting your targets – how are your calves performing? Please get in touch for a calf performance assessment.
