How many days will a dairy calf stay with its mother?

Answer 1

A dairy calf needs colostrum in its first few hours of life, so the calf is allowed to stay with its mother for a day or two. It is then, in commercial dairy operations, taken away to be placed in a calf hut or pen or in a calf barn and is bottle-fed with milk-replacer for a few months before being weaned.

However, on farms where dairy cows are kept as either nurse cows or as a hobby-farm milk cow, a calf will stay with its momma for at least 4 to 6 months, sharing the udder with one or two other orphaned beef calves.

Answer 2

For dairy calves, they are only 24 to 72 hours old when they are taken away from their mothers. Dairy cows then can be put into milk production, which is collected, pasteurized and taken to a factory to be made into various dairy products besides milk. Heifers are kept in a calf barn where they are raised on milk replacer formula for several months, then treated to a special calf diet that helps them grow and gain weight to become replacement heifers in the dairy operation. The bull calves, on the other hand, are either sold or put in a different calf barn where they are fattened up for several months before being sent to the slaughter house to be turned into veal.

For beef calves, they are between 6 and 8 months of age (some as old as 10 months) when they are taken away from their mothers. At this age, this is referred to as weaning because, at this age, a calf is no longer primarily dependent on its mother's milk as it was when it was much younger. Steer calves are sold as stockers, which are raised on a high-forage-based ration for several months (up to a year) before being put on a high-energy diet prior to slaughter. Heifers raised as replacements. Some beef producers choose to sell all calves and rely on another farm for their replacements.