I believe that a bottle raised calf is still the best way to raise a heifer. Due to the human interaction. Yes they may grow better and fill out faster on the Dam. Yes it is easier for working care givers and life schedules etc .. Either way will work. I just prefer to bottle feed. More work? Yes. Is it perfect? No. Are there draw backs? Yes. But you will have a bond with the calf and the calf with you that will pay off over and over again in years to come. I do not condemn those that calf share. I just view it differently and I would not buy a dam-raised calf if I had a chance to buy one that had been bottle raised.

I absolutely recommend getting a heifer that has been bottle raised, what I like to call a “show heifer”. These little heifer calves have been humanized (been around humans a lot). With a bottle-raised calf, you won’t run into issues of the animal being hard to train to you or your family.

You see, when I hand-raise a calf, that calf has bonded with me since it has been a baby. Then when it’s time for her to have her own calf, she’s been with me this whole time, she is completely comfortable having me around during calving. Sometimes they even come and lick me first before they lick the calf. That is a trust that is hard to come by from a dam-raised calf.

If you are there with the calf from the day it is born, it will know you and be comfortable with you. You see, it takes baby calves 2-3 days before their eyes clear up. They can see motion and can distinguish night & day, but they can’t see clearly, so they go by smell. You want them to know you by smell. That’s why cows leak milk, you can rub the milk & colostrum and rub it on the teat and the calf can find it better.

The wild ones are dam-raised out in pasture and have very little human interaction. I have seen baby calves at 2 weeks old, running out on pasture with their dams, and they will run from you and you won’t be able to catch them.

Of course, each individual cow/heifer is different. Some will tame down a lot faster, and some are strong willed. 

Milking a dam-raised cow can prove difficult. If she is used to being outside, they’re not going to want to come into the barn, and especially not stand with their heads in a small stanchion.

If you are considering buying a dam-raised calf, I would not recommend one that has been with their mother for over 6 months. They will be wild and difficult to raise.

I agree, a dam raised calf looks and fills out better than bottle raised calf. By the cow is 6-8 months old, it’s not going to make a difference. Dam raised tend to get over conditioned. Bottle raised don’t seem to be that way. Anytime you dam raise a calf, they are harder to wean away from sucking the cow. You probably have to separate them completely.

If you are planning to bottle raise, allow the calf to have around a week with mother until you take them away. But you have to be prepared to bottle raise, it takes time and commitment.