Preliminary study suggests that maternal heat stress (HS) during late gestation exerts carryover effects on calf’s insulin response after weaning, but comprehensive evaluation of how maternal HS affects calf feed intake and metabolic response from birth to weaning is still lacking. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of maternal HS during the dry period on calf feed intake, growth and metabolism from birth to weaning. After birth, 20 heifers born to either HS (n = 10) or cooled (CL, n = 10) dry cows were immediately separated from their dams and fed 3.8 L of pooled colostrum within 4 h. Then, all heifers were managed identically and weaned at 49 d of age (DOA). Calf starter intake was recorded daily, and body weight and withers height were assessed twice a week from birth to 56 DOA. Blood samples were collected at birth (before colostrum feeding), 24 h after birth, and then twice weekly until 56 DOA to assess hematocrit, plasma total protein, and concentrations of insulin and metabolites. To evaluate metabolic responses to maternal HS, a glucose tolerance test, insulin and epinephrine challenges were performed on 3 consecutive days for all heifers at 8, 29, and 57 DOA. Maternal HS during the dry period did not affect heifer birth weight. Compared with HS, CL calves consumed more starter (0.34 vs. 0.53 kg/d, P < 0.06) from birth to 56 DOA, were heavier (61.4 vs. 71.7 kg, P < 0.01) and tended to be taller (82.2 vs. 84.5 cm, P = 0.15) at 56 DOA. Although there was no treatment effect on hematocrit, a treatment by time (P < 0.05) interaction was observed, such that CL calves had higher hematocrit at birth (35.7 vs. 32.3%, P = 0.03) and 24 h after birth (31.9 vs. 28.4%, P < 0.05) compared with HS. Further, there were no differences between treatments on plasma total protein and concentrations of insulin and glucose. In conclusion, maternal HS during late gestation reduces calf starter intake and negatively affects calf growth. The lower hematocrit of HS calves relative to CL at birth may indicate fetal hypoxia due to maternal HS.