Weaning Calves

[I Luv Herfrds]

Now everybody does it differently.
I'm curious on how you do it.

We start by going out with a round bale of hay around the middle of August. We get the pairs to come up and the cows teach the calves to eat the hay. We don't feed them every day, just every few days. We also take out a few buckets of ground barley.
There is no creep out there.
Now when we wean the calves don't stand at the gate and bawl for 7-10 days. They do still bawl, but only for about 4-5 days. We have noticed less shrinkage.
We have been told this won't work.
You be the judge. This pic was taken on Monday. The calves were just taken off of their moms.

[mytfarms]

Look happy as can be from what I seen there! Always did like a nice set of uniform calves eating at the bunk nice and quiet. We usually do our weaning in a pretty reinforced corral. I mean, like pipe fence, and such. We leave the cows close enough by the calves that the calves can see them and can't suck, or out to pasture where the cows can barely make contact with the calves. We start the calves on the best hay we can feeding good grass and sometimes mixing alfalfa in if the weather turns cold or the calves need a little extra. Last year we started them on a little grain in the fall because they were born pretty late. Man did they bloom! The ones we weaned last year that were born in July now weigh about 950 lbs. I think we might wean this years calves the same way!

[Kato]

Looks like your doing things right.

We do it sort of the same, but different. When ours come home from pasture they all go out to graze corn together for a few days. The corn is near the yard, so we make them come and drink from the water bowl in the corral. When we want to wean them put hay in the corral. They will usually be all in there first thing in the morning, so it's easy to shut them in. We then stand at the gate and let the cows out and hopefully, keep the calves in.

They have hay bales at each end of the pen, and a lick tub as well. We find that if they are pacing, if there is a bale in the way they will stop and eat. The cows on the other hand are more than happy to go back to the corn. They come back and visit through the fence, but that doesn't last long. Way more fun in the corn.

After about five days they get moved to a pen with proper bunk feeders, and get their vaccinations. They were done at pasture turnout already, so sickess is not really an issue.

We've got a big bunch coming home on Thursday, so I guess it'll be our turn to hear the music soon enough!

[I Luv Herfrds]

We bring them in the corral 3 days before we wean. They learn where the waterer is and the feed bunks.
Something else I was thinking about this morning after I first posted this was pre-conditioning shots.
Husband is not too crazy about going into that system, but I did get a thought concerning it.
When we pull our bulls we put the entire herd into some stubble strips near the corrals. Normally around the middle of August. It wouldn't be too hard to get the pairs in and give the calves some shots.
We normally wean the first of October.
Thoughts, comments?

On a good note the heifers we kept back for ourselves averaged 564 pounds. Had a couple that were over 600.
On average for the entire crop of heifers we averaged 438lbs. Steers were 511lbs. No hormones.

[Oldtimer]

Calves look good--I Luv Herfrds... Since I started putting some SmartLic "stress" tubs in the lots- and preconditioning at least a couple weeks before weaning, I've almost done away with any sick calves...

A couple of the local feedlots now swear by the tubs too and have them in the lots with calves just after they are brought in....

With my replacement heifers I keep them lotted for 3 weeks or a month- until they are weaned- and then they go out on pasture- and are wintered right with the cows...Make them grow up fast....

[Kato]

Vaccinating in August would work very well.

[mrj]

Interesting. Good looking calves.

We weaned our first bunch last week-end. We have been fenceline weaning for a few years. We re-inforced a stretch of fence between two pastures with a water tank in the fenceline. It isn't the entire fence around the pasture. The rest is a pretty good 4 wire fence. The re-inforced area is near a corner where there will be no cattle on one side, just the cows across the fence from the calves for maybe a half mile stretch. Both pastures are 'fresh' grass, but pretty dry after a couple of months with no rain.

Soon, the cows and calves both will graze further and further from the fence line because the grass will be getting pretty used up along the fence. Doesn't take them long, maybe a day or three before there is almost no bawling. No creep or grain right now. Maybe some hay to the calves before long to get the used to eating it, tho curiousity seems to make that no real problem.

This year we did things a bit differently by putting in about 60 calves whose mama's are some 50 miles away. Not sure, but think I heard there are about 100 cows and their calves across from them, along with the 60 'orphan' calves. One calf went into the vacant pasture and was easily returned the day after they were weaned. No report of any other problem by the guy checking on them since then. Doubt we will be watching them very closely. Will bring them home after the calves here are weaned before long.

Two ranch sites, several miles apart is the reason for two weanings. Same situation here, with re-inforced section of fence and water close by. Not sure how long we will leave them all on pasture. Both pastures for the calves are along creeks with quite a bit of brush and protection from wind in case winter sets in early. They will be fed hay put through the bale processor, and maybe some distillers grain mixed with it.

Then they will be put in our feedlot separated according to what we want them to gain. Different rations will be figured for hiefers we want to grow out to breed next summer, different sizes of steers will be fed to gain differently.....heavier ones pushed a little to sell after the first of the year, maybe some just growing to go onto grass next summer, and some to gain a bit slower to sell later in spring. Kinda depends on prospects for grass next summer, and what the markets look like.

We test our hay and feed distillers, corn, or other grain and minerals in rations to make them gain the way we want. Use a feed mixer/grinder and add some water to the ration to keep the 'fines' from being lost and it seems to make it more palatable. Kind of a learning process for this cowboy outfit that never imagined we would be feeding our calves like this! We have had better health among the calves since we started this, and a better, more regulated vaccination program.

mrj

[Denny]

I wean mine at 8 am and truck them to the scales some go to the feedlot directly the others go in our pens at home 15 miles from the cows.They bawl for about 3 days the cows quit after two days with no calves to bawl back at them.Weaning is harder on the owners than the cow's it seems to me.

[mrj]

Denny, you are right about who weaning is hardest for! No matter how you do it, it's hard on owners, at least those of us who do the work that goes along with owning cattle.

Do you realize how lucky you are to live so close to a good 'home' for your calves?

However, the more stressful it is for the calves, the less quality the beef will have, IMO. When they go off feed and water for a time, and bawl for days, it's logical that there will be a quality price to pay. Research indicates that any time off their feed adds to toughness of meat.

Stress to the cows? I doubt that has much consequence....except to the owner again when he/she has to fix the fence the old fools go through!

mrj

[RobertMac]

I cross fence pasture wean with an offset hot wire toward the calves. A trick I picked up from Gordon Hazard of SGF fame...I have a 19 year old cow that I want to pamper, so I put her in with the calves because they are getting cool season pasture to graze. The calves follow her to graze and forget about mama in a few days. Tight udders keep the cows bawling for some relief. Just the presence of a mature cow has a tremendous calming effect on the calves...almost no stress.

If you change the calves primary feed source(cows milk should be secondary by weaning time), you will absolutely stress the calves and hurt meat quality.

[I Luv Herfrds]

Found out what our sale calves brought.
Steers were avg. 447# brought 93.94
Heifers were 421# brought 82.61

Just heard that the highs were 100-105
at the same sale yard.
We took a hit.

[mrj]

Could it be becuase they were not black? Popularity sometimes does trump all else in cattle sales, some places, some times, it seems.

mrj