nose flap weaning?

[Post Oak]

Has anyone ever tried this? http://www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra/ ... wpu5H-9KSM

 

[piedmontese]

They work but don't leave them in more than a week.

 

[Post Oak]

They work but don't leave them in more than a week.

That was a big question of mine is if you could leave them in there more than a week.

 

[3waycross]

They work but don't leave them in more than a week.

That was a big question of mine is if you could leave them in there more than a week.

They get real nasty.

 

[snake67]

One week and many, if not all will be right back sucking on Moms tits

Do it right and separate them until that cow has another calf at side

There is a reason that most people separate their animals - if you do not have the space then pen the calves and feed them for at least 6 months

Best to all

Bez

 

[3waycross]

One week and many, if not all will be right back sucking on Moms tits

Do it right and separate them until that cow has another calf at side

There is a reason that most people separate their animals - if you do not have the space then pen the calves and feed them for at least 6 months

Best to all

Bez

We don't put them on for a week and then take them off and expect the calf to be weaned. we put them on for a week and then wean the calves off the cows when we remove the can't suck flaps. After that they each go a different direction.

 

[Lucky_P]

what 3-way said. Gotta separate 'em after flap removal.

 

[plumber_greg]

Do you think they did so much better that it was worth catching them twice in a week? Maybe not hard for everyone, but for us that can't just go catch calves anytime we want or need to, it a major problem. I used them, they worked, some fell out, still had to wean calves sooner or later, saw nothing that made me want to do it again. Got 100 in the barn in a box I'll sell cheap. jmo gs

 

[Hook]

For retained calves it makes life quieter. For slaughter calves they just get shipped out

 

[Lucky_P]

pgreg,
I'm with you - it's more trouble than I care to go through - but my farm manager(wife) says we're doing it, so we do...
That said, I'm convinced that it's better for the calves - and the next person down the line, who purchases them - for them to have been properly vaccinated, weaned, and accustomed to eating feed out of a bunk.

It's not such a big deal with our spring-born calves, 'cause at weaning time, they're up in paddocks by the house, being fed daily anyway, but weaning the fall calves requires a little more planning in order to have them rotating through paddocks that lend themselves to pulling the herd back in 4-6 days after nose blab insertion.

 

[dun]

I can;t for the life of me figure out why people go through so much truble weaning. Fenceline weaning works, is quiet after the first night and it works.

 

[Lucky_P]

lol. Not everyone has fences that'll keep 'em separated.
I have separated 'em - with two HOT fences and a 16 ft lane between; kept 'em apart, but the bawling didn't stop after the first night... farm manager said, "Never again..."

 

[Limomike]

My vet mentioned to me about the nose flap thing ..mainly to reduce stress on the calf he said. but I would not try them because you have to get em up to put the darn things in , so why not just keep them separated at that time?

 

[dun]

lol. Not everyone has fences that'll keep 'em separated.
I have separated 'em - with two HOT fences and a 16 ft lane between; kept 'em apart, but the bawling didn't stop after the first night... farm manager said, "Never again..."

We seperate them with a single strand of HOT polywire. Ours are all trained to it from birth. They are also nose to nose so maybe that helps.

 

[plumber_greg]

Lucky_P, why is it better for the next person down the line? I believe in the pre conditioning thing. Weaned, bunk broke, vaccinated. What does the nose flaps, or any other supposedly no stress weaning, do anything for the next guy?
Won't any stress of weaning be over in the 45 to 60 day wean period? And be born by the weaning guy and not the backgrounder"?
What am I missing? Thanks gs

 

[Lucky_P]

That's pretty much it, greg.
I was an old 'wean 'em on the trailer' guy - that's the way dad & granddad did it.
It's not good for the calf, the next feller, the cattle industry as a whole - or the end consumer.
If I'm gonna be pre-conditioning/weaning here, it'll be with the noseblabs, regardless of how much (not really a lot, anymore) more trouble it is for me - 'cause my boss says that's the way it's gonna be...

 

[creativecattle]

Do you think they did so much better that it was worth catching them twice in a week? Maybe not hard for everyone, but for us that can't just go catch calves anytime we want or need to, it a major problem. I used them, they worked, some fell out, still had to wean calves sooner or later, saw nothing that made me want to do it again. Got 100 in the barn in a box I'll sell cheap. jmo gs

Our family did it and tested two groups. Our bull calves weighed 100 more lbs. late fall compared to the other group that we did not use them on. We really like them. You will have a few those that get them off. Way lower stress even with getting them in twice.

 

[kworth1980]

We just tried this on our heifer. She is very attached to her mom so we thought she would be good test as she would be one that would get worked up and chances of getting sick. We put in on Wednesday night and took it off on Sunday afternoon and put her mom in the other pen. Worked great no crying or anything (both pens are close so they can still see each other). Mom was a bit worked up but the heifer was fine. Couple things though she is tiny (Galloway) she is thick and maybe was a bit too big to have it - it was a little harder to put in and she did have a bit of a sore when we took it out (nothing too serious). Definitely will do it again!

 

[Lucky_P]

Put quiet-wean nose blabs in 21 Fall calves on Saturday morning; pulled them this morning(Wed), sent the mamas back to join the rest of the herd, 7 paddocks ahead - over the hill out of sight, almost a mile away. I just walked through the calves, after getting home from work. All are grazing or licking the feedbunks, no fence-walking, absolutely no bawling. The cows, on the other hand, are still raising cain - I can hear 'em, but thankfully, they're far enough away that it's not gonna keep the farm manager up tonight.
Most of the calves' noses were a little snotty, but only a few - mostly the very biggest steers - had any significant ulceration or bleeding.

 

[skeeter swatter]

Do you think they did so much better that it was worth catching them twice in a week? Maybe not hard for everyone, but for us that can't just go catch calves anytime we want or need to, it a major problem. I used them, they worked, some fell out, still had to wean calves sooner or later, saw nothing that made me want to do it again. Got 100 in the barn in a box I'll sell cheap. jmo gs

Our family did it and tested two groups. Our bull calves weighed 100 more lbs. late fall compared to the other group that we did not use them on. We really like them. You will have a few those that get them off. Way lower stress even with getting them in twice.

100 lbs heavier due to "nose flap" weaning? okaaay......