Weaning preferences

[ksmit454]

Began weaning my only cow/calf pair. Not hardly any bawling. Using the fence line method. Everywhere I've read says approx 45 days until putting them back together. What's your personal experience with weaning and putting together later?

 

[wbvs58]

I wean the heifers around March each year and they might go back with the cows around the end of December after being inseminated in September and then a stint with a bull. Even then I am on the look out for any that might start pinching some milk from their mothers. Doesn't usually happen but is possible.
In your situation I would think the chances would be about 50/50 especially as it sounds like you only have a few cows so it will be close to its mother.

Ken

 

[Hpacres440p]

I had a single cow calf pair that I weaned last year, put them back together after 5 months because the heifer's buddy steers has both gone to freezer camp. All was going well until mama calves again-heifer wouldn't let new calf near "her" mom. Separated again with new steers until about 3 weeks after calving so new guy could get his fight in him.

 

[TCRanch]

Personally, I don't put any calves back. The exception are the retained heifers, and they don't rejoin the herd/their mamas until after they have their first calf.

If it's a steer, maybe not such a big deal unless it starts to suck again. If it's a heifer and you have a bull in the same pasture, you're asking for problems.

 

[ksmit454]

No bull to worry about thankfully. I am stuck in a dilemma however, I'm going to have to figure it out. I'm trying to rotate pastures (that are full of green grass right now) so I don't have to feed hay anymore. But that's proving to be difficult when I need the cow/calf separate, the bottle calf close to home so I don't have to go find her, and the 3 steers separate from them even because they are being grained.

 

[shaz]

I wean in a dry lot for at least 2 weeks before the calves go out to a pasture dedicated to weaning and raising heifers. This pasture is about 9 acres surrounded by a single hot wire and is not adjacent to any pasture with a bull. The calves will stay in that pasture fed at 1% body weight and hay or grass until I sell or turn back in to breed.

 

[Ky hills]

The only time I put them back together is after the heifer calves are bred or are of breeding age. Most of the time I run them in separate fields even through their first calving. It just gives the young heifers a better growing chance than if they had to compete with the mature cows. Years ago when I first started, I weaned my first calf and put her back with the rest of the cows within a couple months. She took back to nursing and the cow calved back early with the big calf still nursing. Had to make sure the new calf got colostrum and had to separate the older calf again, lesson learned.

 

[GoWyo]

My weaned heifers don't go back with the cows until a couple of month after their yearling breeding season (about a year after weaning). Anything that shows a propensity to try and nurse cows at that time hits the road.

 

[bigbluegrass]

At a minimum they need to be separated for 8-12 weeks.

It really depends on the calf and cow.

I believe the age and health of the calf play into it. What you feed the calf and how much matters. Good healthy calves on good thick grass tend to wean pretty easy. Small sickly calves on dirt will remember how to nurse. Some calves never seem to wean.

Some cows dry off quickly. Some cows take longer. Once the cow is dried off completely, the calf isn't going to get much even if it does try to nurse again. The cow is probably more likely to kick at the calf if she is dried off. I try to rejoin mine a month or two before the next calf is expected so the cow is still dry and not about to start milking again.

When you put them back together, watch them really closely for an hour or two. They are going to sniff at each other, that is fine. If the first hour goes good, keep an eye on them for a week or so. You have to be ready to separate them again before the calf gets the cow back into milk.

I just weaned mine last week. I plan to try them back together around the middle of June. This is my 3rd or 4th year doing it this way and it has been working well.

 

[Banjo]

I do spring calving so i wean in the fall....if you can have you a couple of paddocks with stockpiled fescue waiting for your weaned calves, that works well for me. They are already eating good forage, so it doesn't make sense to me to put calves in a dry lot with hay and a new food source like ground feed. If they are of the size where they can utilize grass/clover....you can just about wean them without them skipping a beat. I weaned some bulls that i am going to keep like that.....i don't think they slowed down growing.

 

[ksmit454]

At a minimum they need to be separated for 8-12 weeks.

It really depends on the calf and cow.

I believe the age and health of the calf play into it. What you feed the calf and how much matters. Good healthy calves on good thick grass tend to wean pretty easy. Small sickly calves on dirt will remember how to nurse. Some calves never seem to wean.

Some cows dry off quickly. Some cows take longer. Once the cow is dried off completely, the calf isn't going to get much even if it does try to nurse again. The cow is probably more likely to kick at the calf if she is dried off. I try to rejoin mine a month or two before the next calf is expected so the cow is still dry and not about to start milking again.

When you put them back together, watch them really closely for an hour or two. They are going to sniff at each other, that is fine. If the first hour goes good, keep an eye on them for a week or so. You have to be ready to separate them again before the calf gets the cow back into milk.

I just weaned mine last week. I plan to try them back together around the middle of June. This is my 3rd or 4th year doing it this way and it has been working well.

Thanks! They are being fence line weaned, it has been 1 week and they don't seem to want to have anything to do with each other. The cow and calf both have access to grass and get fed morning and night with alf. Mama is drying up for sure, her bag isn't as full as the first few days.

 

[ksmit454]

I do spring calving so i wean in the fall....if you can have you a couple of paddocks with stockpiled fescue waiting for your weaned calves, that works well for me. They are already eating good forage, so it doesn't make sense to me to put calves in a dry lot with hay and a new food source like ground feed. If they are of the size where they can utilize grass/clover....you can just about wean them without them skipping a beat. I weaned some bulls that i am going to keep like that.....i don't think they slowed down growing.

Thanks for the good tips. They are occupied with green grass right now.