are my holsteins going to die?

new to cattle farming here. picked up some holstein calves by accident recently, we are familiar with sheep. of course, our neighbors say we need to get them on calf grower, vaccines, etc, bless their heart. I'm thinking we want to just do grass fed, with minimal intrusion, like our sheep.  but i saw some article somewhere that their dairy cow almost died from not getting grain. I'm no pasture expert, so i don't know if my pasture has the right mix of legumes, etc to support these little heifers. would i just know, by them not gaining stature, manure problems, etc, of they need grain? I'm in ky, with acreage, so they can pretty much have access to pasture year round. does that seem like a bad idea to anyone who's maybe more familiar with cattle, specifically holsteins? is there something I'm missing? we have the 2 calves and 5 sheep.

To answer your question in the thread title, no, your holsteins are not going to die from feeding them grass and foregoing grain. Many people raise dairy cows on pasture alone, all over the country, even holsteins. While holstein is a breed that was bred for commercial dairy production, your cows will do just fine on forage.

 neighbors say we need to get them on calf grower, vaccines, etc, bless their heart.

Yes, bless their heart. They mean well, and that's probably how they do it, but all that is not necessary and there are other ways. The thought that comes to my mind is making sure the calves get adequate protein and mineral intake this winter before pastures green up in the spring. I give my cows sea-90 sea salt and kelp for mineral.

How old are these calves?

but i saw some article somewhere that their dairy cow almost died from not getting grain.

My thought is who wrote the article. Cows fed 100% pasture forage diet don't almost die from not getting grain. One instance where no-grain may challenge the health of an animal is if an animal is rescued from a feedlot and has lived a life of eating only grain and is turned out onto pasture, then I think it is best to transition the animal off of grain over time.

I'm no pasture expert, so i don't know if my pasture has the right mix of legumes,

I don't believe there is an exact science to it. Some out there will likely disagree with me, and may say things like "pasture must have 60% grass and 40% legumes." I say phooey, cows don't eat that way. They pick and choose what their bodies need and their intake of grasses, legumes, and other forbs will vary from day to day.

would i just know, by them not gaining stature, manure problems, etc, of they need grain?

May I suggest checking out the cattle BCS or body conditioning score, for dairy. There's a couple things going on here with evaluating body condition. Beef cattle and dairy are two entirely different looking animals. Beef cattle are blocky, dairy cattle look boney, even skinny depending on who is asked, though they can be in perfect health. Holsteins are one of the largest, if not the largest breed of bovine out there. They are towering animals as adults and their frame will appear kinda boney in prime health condition. Just keep an eye on them, and if they look like their losing weight, perhaps consider adding a protein tub for them to lick during the winter. I suggest carefully reading the ingredient label on a protein tub if you decide to look into these, they aren't created equal. Some contain animal by-products and feather meal - we know cows are herbivores not omnivores. Some have their minerals in sulfate form, I suggest finding ones that have minerals as proteates.

Here's an article I found about a guy doing pastured 100% grass holsteins: https://www.grazeonline.com/nograinholstns

Are these calves old enough that they're weaned already?

If not, then yeah, you might want some formula until they can eat solid food.

If they've been fed manufactured foods up until you bought them, it would probably be best to transition them slowly to grass.

Otherwise, they're probably fine. Keep an eye on them and watch for signs of trouble, but don't let your neighbor make you second-guess everything.

'Grass-fed' almost anything is high priced, and good stuff. As long as there is plenty of it, they should be fine. On the other people's advice, lol - I speak 'Kentuckinese', lol - and I agree with you! You absolutely can go 100% natural, and I highly recommend it. I'm going to guess you've already got a vet on board, since you're already going that route with the sheep. The only gain our cow ever got was sweet feed, to keep her occupied, for milking, and for a bit of a boost, during pregnancy. Same for our goats.

thank you all, yes they are only a couple weeks old, both recieved a round of antibiotics before i got them. i bottle feed them twice a day with formula, and they are out on pasture with the sheep the rest of the time. at night they come into their shelter that i keep dry and draft free. they seem really lively and happy, and I'm fairly confident they are not going to just drop dead one day because of the "things in the ground" :). and they might catch something, and they very well might die, but we're just going to take that risk. as long as they can be grass fed, genetically capable of being grass fed, we will do that. thanks again!!!

Carla Burke wrote: I'm going to guess you've already got a vet on board, since you're already going that route with the sheep.

hey, i don't have a regular vet because i feel like its harder to find one that won't just worry about what we're doing, and we can probably find one in an emergency. are you from ky? do you have any suggestions on how to find someone on board and knowledgeable about more natural farming?

James Freyr wrote:

May I suggest checking out the cattle BCS or body conditioning score, for dairy. There's a couple things going on here with evaluating body condition. Beef cattle and dairy are two entirely different looking animals. Beef cattle are blocky, dairy cattle look boney, even skinny depending on who is asked, though they can be in perfect health. Holsteins are one of the largest, if not the largest breed of bovine out there. They are towering animals as adults and their frame will appear kinda boney in prime health condition. Just keep an eye on them, and if they look like their losing weight, perhaps consider adding a protein tub for them to lick during the winter. I suggest carefully reading the ingredient label on a protein tub if you decide to look into these, they aren't created equal. Some contain animal by-products and feather meal - we know cows are herbivores not omnivores. Some have their minerals in sulfate form, I suggest finding ones that have minerals as proteates.

Here's an article I found about a guy doing pastured 100% grass holsteins: https://www.grazeonline.com/nograinholstns

thank you so much, very informative answer to all my questions!!

StephenAnnie Miller wrote: do you have any suggestions on how to find someone on board and knowledgeable about more natural farming?

While I don't know of any individual in your area, may I suggest a couple books by Dr. Paul Dettloff D.V.M. He was a large animal veterinarian for more than four decades, and during his career moved away from the standard protocols of high-tech care using pharmaceuticals and adopted holistic ways using nature as a guide to treat animals with remarkable success. I own his book Alternative Treatments for Ruminant Animals as a resource to refer to in the event my cows exhibit symptoms of something abnormal. I have yet to use it, but it's there when I need it. He has at least one more book about holistic animal care that I know of, but he may have more books. Hope this helps!

StephenAnnie Miller wrote:

Carla Burke wrote: I'm going to guess you've already got a vet on board, since you're already going that route with the sheep.

hey, i don't have a regular vet because i feel like its harder to find one that won't just worry about what we're doing, and we can probably find one in an emergency. are you from ky? do you have any suggestions on how to find someone on board and knowledgeable about more natural farming?

I only spent a decade there, in rural, south-central ky, in the turn of the century. But, you can go online to find one - that's what I did, when we moved here (Missouri Ozarks). What I did learn then, was that in area where I was, most folks were very conventional, in their farming practices, but not all. It's been so over a decade, since I left there, so I'd say there's a chance that it might be at least a little easier now. I do have an uncle in Waddy, who I'm pretty sure was at least organic, before he retired and sold all his sheep to my cousin,a few years ago.

To answer the OP's question directly, eventually. But, as mentioned, not of starvation unless they don't recognise pasture as food, and don't eat the tasty growing things.

Also, I think you might find that the necessity of prophylactic antibiotics goes away as soon as the animals aren't crammed nose-to-tail in a confinement feed lot. Compare stocking rates between CAFOs and the conditions your new calves will be encountering, and you will find many fewer sources of concentrated pathogen, along with far fewer disease transmission vectors.

People who have learned a specific way of doing things learn rote responses to set conditions. So they will assume that disease is still a factor on pasture as in CAFO, until presented with the obvious evidence that it is not.

-CK