Nite Hawk
Well-known member
Howdy!
I am having weaning problems this year.. I have had this issue before, but not quite this bad.. I have "thinking" cattle.. You put a plastic weaner ring in the calfs nose, and in very short order they have figured out how to go in from the sides and flip it up and then they are sucking happily. The one figured out that if she can't get it to flip up, she can ""thread the teat" through the weaner and still suck…
I have tried the old huge butterfly weaner, tried the "white plastic, with "pokies" on it.
Tried the "quiet wean" and discovered that the part that goes into the nose is so big the calf is having problems breathing..
I haven't used the crown weaner, ( pierces the nose like a bull ring ) as that is the last resort..I am short on housing space this year, so am having problems doing the "musical" calves. Would rather just put a weaner in the nose and put them back in the main barn..
The one calf is a dexter, and I haven't been able to find any "weaner" that is small enough for her, the other 2 are piedmontese , but they have tiny noses too, so finding a "weaner" that will fit and keep the calf from sucking is a joke..
The cows have been re-bred and Dexter was getting too thin even with grain, so I had to pull the calf off of her. The piedmontese cows are getting tired of the calves, but the calves are so persistent that the cows give in and let them suck. The other night I had 2 calves sucking one cow one on each side --weaner rings and all.
Any good ideas??
thanks
I am having weaning problems this year.. I have had this issue before, but not quite this bad.. I have "thinking" cattle.. You put a plastic weaner ring in the calfs nose, and in very short order they have figured out how to go in from the sides and flip it up and then they are sucking happily. The one figured out that if she can't get it to flip up, she can ""thread the teat" through the weaner and still suck…
I have tried the old huge butterfly weaner, tried the "white plastic, with "pokies" on it.
Tried the "quiet wean" and discovered that the part that goes into the nose is so big the calf is having problems breathing..
I haven't used the crown weaner, ( pierces the nose like a bull ring ) as that is the last resort..I am short on housing space this year, so am having problems doing the "musical" calves. Would rather just put a weaner in the nose and put them back in the main barn..
The one calf is a dexter, and I haven't been able to find any "weaner" that is small enough for her, the other 2 are piedmontese , but they have tiny noses too, so finding a "weaner" that will fit and keep the calf from sucking is a joke..
The cows have been re-bred and Dexter was getting too thin even with grain, so I had to pull the calf off of her. The piedmontese cows are getting tired of the calves, but the calves are so persistent that the cows give in and let them suck. The other night I had 2 calves sucking one cow one on each side --weaner rings and all.
Any good ideas??
thanks