Calf question?

My buddy since kindergarten of 1980, has Charolai beef cows,I went with him today to get hay, he got 8 rounds of good quality first cut, 5 small squares of first cut and 10 bales of good second cut. So I asked him why are you buying the second cut, he said for his three heifer calves that were just weaned Monday. I said just feed them first cut along with there grain. Next we go to a Feedmill, his friend works at, he tells his friend he's given the calves Second cut, His friend told him don't give that to them, between the grain and the second cut, and stress of weaning its to rich they will get diarrhea and you'll have problems? So what do you think? Would that happen? My friend is easily misled he's a great guy, built he has trouble making choices on his own, and is always in doubt or unsure of himself. As I told him, iv feed calvs second cutting hay, but I don't feed my cows any grain. So I can't really comment on what his friend told him. So my friend is already paranoid, as he text me tonight and says I dident give the calves any sweet feed because I gave them second cutting?
I just want to help him like I always do, but I'm not sure on this, He has no mechanical ability whatsoever so he's always asking me for help on his tractors or equipment which I always do for him. He was kind of annoyed today with his friend, so I just want to put his mind at ease about feeding his calves. Thanks

Don't know what kind of hay you're feeding.....but.....I roll all my first cutting for cows. Second cutting, part is rolled for weaned calves...the rest is square bales for creep feeding unweaned calves. Now, this is grass hay with a touch of red clover. If you are talking alfalfa....you'll have to ask someone else. The only time I feed a cow alfalfa, is if I'm needing her to milk better. I NEVER feed sweet feed to anything...calves get 12% grain mix, just like the cows eat. Just my 2 cents worth worth.

I think the main thing is to keep the ration the same as they were getting before weaning for several days. Any changes to the feed in cattle should be gradual. Were they eating creep feed before weaning? They should have been fed the good hay in a creep area along with their grain so that at weaning they wouldn't miss the milk so much. But yes, I would avoid changing from low quality hay to high quality hay suddenly right at weaning.

I only cut hay once a year and everyone eats it. Wean calves are better on that hay and will gain better than pasture. Weaned cattle don't seem to have the gut for green pasture yet - that's when you see greasy tails.

What does he mean by sweet feed? They don't need molasses or anything. Give them a little ground corn/wheat/milo mixture each evening and let them build to it. If he's worried about them have him get a bag of Purina concentrate 40 (hog feed base) and mix a little of that in the grain. It has minerals that will boost them.

The calves should have already been on the best hay and grain he can afford before they were weaned.

Normally he has ear corn ground up with minerals and soy, but in a pinch he buys sweet feed which here it feed with molasses, can't get a pic of it now, I'm not at the farm.

Just grass hay, we also have steer feed here, which is still sweet feed. Sweet feed here is pellets, corn, oats with molasses.

Jay the second cutting hay they are talking about being too rich is alfalfa or alfalfa mixed hay. The second cutting of grass hay, that would be finer hay, would be fine for the just weaned calves. I actually sort/store finer grass hay just for feeding younger calves. Your best grass hay is going to have 50-60% of the protein that good second cutting alfalfa hay would have. That higher protein/alfalfa hay on top of sweet feed would be too rich a ration for fresh weaned calves. This could cause scours. Now good grass hay and sweet feed is PERFECT for fresh weaned calves.

That is my opinion on feed claves. Tell your friend to keep feeding his calves good hay with some higher protein feed while they are younger and they will do fine. Also think about how many calves the feed mill friend has/feeds??? Over the years I have heard more "BAD" advice given from "Feed mill" employees. Most of them have little education in animal nutrition. They are hire labor/truck drivers, on average, but too many people think that just because they work for the mill they have the required knowledge about feeding livestock.

I only feed second and third cutting along with silage and grain to them from weaning until they're finished. The brood cows get the first cutting. I prefer something with some grass in it for weaned calves,it's finer and more palatable. The stuff that's more pure alfalfa goes to the bigger ones in the finishing pen when I can sort it off that way. The stuff for the calves has alfalfa in it too,but it's from the older seedings.

I don't feed any grain to heifers I'm going to keep when I wean them,as I want them to consume as much roughage as they can so their stomachs will expand as they grow,they will be much easier keepers when grown than those fed grain.The heifers that can't grow and do well on forage only are sent to market BTW.

His friend at the feed mill also has a herd of those kind of cows, he has raised cattle all his life, I guess everyone has there opinion. Lol

"Wean calves are better on that hay and will gain better than pasture. Weaned cattle don't seem to have the gut for green pasture yet"

Aren't yours on pasture with their mothers before you wean them?

Yes, but there's just something about a 600 pounder on lush pasture. They have a greasy tail deluxe. If you put a 750 pounder out they process it better. Or at least it seems to me. I've probably created some of my own wives tales but I've found them to work in my situation. I like to have those weaning kids in a lot real close anyway. I'm not hurting for hay. That stress seems to bring someone a malady each year I'm glad I caught early.