LOVELOCK - Weaning time for many spring-born calves is just around the corner. Weaning can be a very stressful time for both the calf and the cow. When cows and their calves are separated, they both experience drastic changes in their environment and diets.
There are many potential sources of stress during weaning that may include any of the following: loading and unloading from trailers, transport, crowding, restraint, commingling with unfamiliar animals, withholding of feed and water.
These stresses can makes calves more susceptible to respiratory infections such as bovine respiratory disease, causing a high level of mortality and morbidity in feeder calves. It has been estimated that the beef industry may lose over one billion dollars every year from this disease.
Preparing calves well in advance to actual weaning time has benefits well worth the effort.
Because immune function and response is lower in times of stress, and weaning can be stressful, many veterinarians suggest that vaccinations be given 3-4 weeks prior to weaning and that deworming be done after weaning.
This not only lessens the stress at weaning, but also improves immune response to the vaccines and anthelmintics. Other management procedures, such as branding, castrating, and dehorning should be done well in advance of weaning.
Also, it is a good idea to make sure that before weaning calves are used to eating the intended post-weaning diet. You can feed that diet to both cows and calves for a short period of time, about two-weeks, or provide it in a creep feeder - narrow passages into a feeding area are set up so the calves creep in, but larger cows cannot.
Although creep feeding can be used to acclimate calves to a post-weaning diet, it's primarily use is to provide supplemental feed to nursing calves in order to increase weaning weight.
It is of benefit to calves, but not a direct benefit to cows. Economically, a good rule of thumb is that calf prices at sale time ($/lb) should be 10 times the cost of the creep feed ($/lb).
There are more gradual ways of weaning that can potentially reduce the stress experienced by the calf. "Low-stress" weaning methods work by breaking down the weaning process into two steps. The first step is preventing the calf from suckling while still allowing it some contact with the cow and then after a period of time (usually anywhere from 4 to 10 days) the calf and cow are separately completely.
Fenceline weaning involves the separation of cows from calves by a fence. Separation by a fenceline allows calves and cows to still have visual, physical (although limited), vocal, and olfactory contact with each other, but prevents calves from suckling.
The fence needs to be of a quality to withstand pressure from both sides. Cows will want to get with their calves and calves will want to get with their mothers. South Dakota Cooperative Extension (Wright and Pruitt, 2005) provides the following considerations for fenceline-weaning.
1. Fencing should be substantial enough to prevent the calves from nursing and keep the cows and calves separated. Producers have used various combinations of electric and non-electric, and high-tensile, barbed, and woven wire fencing.
Gerrish (1998) suggests that, for cattle that have not been exposed to electric fencing, either woven wire or at least five strands of electric fencing will likely be necessary. If the cattle are familiar with electric fencing, three strands will likely be sufficient. Yet another option is to utilize four to five strands of barbed wire combined with a single strand of electric fence offset from the main fence.
2. Pasture the cows and calves together in the pasture where the calves will be placed following weaning. One week in the pasture allows time for the calves to become familiar with the fences and water source. At weaning time, return the calves to the same pasture and move the cows to the adjoining pasture.
3. Some producers have found it useful to use a yearling or a cow without a calf in the weaning pasture to lead the calves to the water source.
4. The need for supplementation of calves weaned on pasture depends on forage quality and quantity and the desired average daily gain.
"Do fenceline-weaned calves gain more weight?" Some recent research clearly demonstrates a reduction in stress behavior when low-stress weaning methods are used in contrast to the traditional method of removing the calves in one day.
Researchers in Michigan (Siegford et al., 2007) found that abruptly weaned calves were more active and vocalized more during the first 24 hours post-weaning than calves weaned using the fenceline weaning process.
Buskirk et al. (2007) reported that fenceline-weaned calves gained more weight and had lower stress factors in their blood (i.e., serum haptoglobin) during the first 14 days after weaning than abruptly weaned calves.
However, these differences did not continue throughout the study and they reported that there was no sustained performance difference attributed to weaning method as the calves grew older.
The same results during the first two weeks were shown in the work of Price et al. (2003) that reported fenceline weaned calves spent more time eating (grazing or eating hay), laying down, and less time vocalizing than abruptly weaned calves. These behaviors led to 95 percent more weight gain during the first two weeks post-weaning for the fenceline calves versus those abruptly weaned.
However, this study differed from Buskirk et al. (2007) in that the abruptly weaned calves never caught their counterparts in performance, even after 10 weeks.
So remember, "Good for the Calves... Good for the Cows...Good for You."
Source: Utah State Fact Sheet AG/AH/2011-07, Low Stress Weaning Alternatives for Cow-Calf.
Producers: Fenceline-Weaning, Kerry A. Rood, MS, DVM, Extension Veterinarian.[[In-content Ad]]
