Weaning by the signs

[torogmc81]

Need help with selecting a weaning time, and want to go by the correct sign. I know some don't believe in this, but some do and say it works. I figure that it can't help to try it, right?
So if anyone has experience in this, help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[torogmc81]

sorry .... can't ****hurt to try it,

 

[TexasBred]

WEan when the calves are ready. Forget the signs. They won't stand there and bawl til they starve to death.

 

[Bigfoot]

From now till the 19th. I don't always follow the signs, if I can then I do. Weaning and castrating both.

 

[fitz]

Need help with selecting a weaning time, and want to go by the correct sign. I know some don't believe in this, but some do and say it works. I figure that it can't help to try it, right?
So if anyone has experience in this, help would be greatly appreciated.

Hopes this works.

http://www.farmersalmanac.com/calendar/best-days/

fitz

 

[skyhightree1]

Need help with selecting a weaning time, and want to go by the correct sign. I know some don't believe in this, but some do and say it works. I figure that it can't help to try it, right?
So if anyone has experience in this, help would be greatly appreciated.

Hopes this works.

http://www.farmersalmanac.com/calendar/best-days/

fitz

Thanks for that link fitz

 

[Limomike]

I agree with the others.. dont worry about the signs.. do it when the calves & you are ready.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I believe in following the signs.

Thanks for the link fitz.

 

[3waycross]

I also believe in the signs whenever possible. However sometimes the realities of life preclude their use.

As with all things like this using the signs is not an absolute but dehorning or castrating when the almanac reccomends is a good idea and I have seen the proof when i was a kid.

We once worked calves against my Grandfathers advice on a day when he said you need to wait till Sat to do this because the blood will be in the legs then. Well we did it 3 days early and they bled for days afterward.

I still remember the vet coming out and looking at those calves with blood running down their heads and saying to my Grandpa, "Well Joe it looks like they didn't listen to you very well again"

My grandfathers answer involved the vet using the Burdizzo on all of us!

 

[fitz]

Agree, it doesn't always workout to go by the sign schedule wise. Over the years, when weaning during the proper sign I've noticed little difference in the behavior of the calves. I have noticed that the cow seems to dry quicker and get back to pasture sooner.

fitz

 

[Jessica06]

WEan when the calves are ready. Forget the signs. They won't stand there and bawl til they starve to death.

Yep.

 

[Nesikep]

I go by the sale barn prices lol

 

[greybeard]

I go by the sale barn prices lol

Well, that's a 'sign' ain't it???

 

[Nesikep]

sure is... I get the weekly sale barn flyer and when I like what I see, it's weaning time

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

sure is... I get the weekly sale barn flyer and when I like what I see, it's weaning time

So you don't background them Nes?

 

[Chuckie]

October 10th is the first day to begin weaning. I have some calves that I was going to wean on October 1st, but I do believe I will pull the off on the 10th just for the heck of it. Then I will see if there is a difference. This will be the first time I have ever done anything by the signs.

 

[Tim/South]

We always had the Vet castrate our colts by the sign. They tend to be bleeders anyway. Learned that lesson the hard way.

We fence wean now days and look at the sign but do not always follow it.

 

[dun]

We fenceline wean but the sign we go by is when we can get the vet to come out and do the serious work since I can hardly operate the chute more then about twice in a day withou having to sit and rest for an hour or 2. Wife can;t work it at all since she doesn;t have enough heft. She works them throw the alleys, I do the paper work and the vet does the shots and tattooing. Have I mentioned lately how much we value our vet? He's now the state vet for this district and was told he couldn;t do regular vet work anymore. The deal he made with them since they came to him and asked him to take the job was 4 of his existing customers he would still do vet work for, we're just dumb lucky that we're one of the 4.

 

[Chuckie]

I fence line wean as well, but I looked to see exactly what was supposed to be the difference in weaning by the signs. This is what I found, so I am going to do the experiment.
The following article states:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/06/0614_wireplanting_2.html

"Charlie Ward of Philpot, Kentucky, doesn't garden by the signs, but he does consult the moon's status when it comes to weaning calves. "If you wean them in the right moon, they'll never bawl," Ward said. At the wrong time of the cycle, however, "they'll stand in the light and bawl and bawl and bawl."

I've noticed that dogs want to bark at night when the moon is full because they see everything moving; therefore every dog within hearing distance barks too. Coon hunters take their dogs hunting in the moon light , and when their dogs see the deer, they start chasing the deer as they shoot across in front of them instead of staying on track of the raccoons.
Maybe instead of resting, the calves are up and about because of the amount of light stressing over the separation. Although I do fenceline wean, I have noticed that I still have some that get upset because the mamma cow wanders off.
There were several other points made in the article that made sense that I had not given much thought to either that made sense.

Wean at new moon.

 

[3waycross]

As much as i would like to wean by the signs this time i have no choice. Gotta wean em and tattoo them today as they need to be weaned 2 weeks to get into the bull sale i use.