Weaning weight loss

[Mountaintown Creek Ranch]

I seen Brute mentioned weaning weight loss in another thread.

Just wonder what y'all's experiences have been weaning.
Our calves do not lose any weight at weaning they actually increase their weight. Our best ever was 112 lb gain our worst was 40 lb gain.
We nose flap them for 4 days then fence line wean them for a minimum of 30 days. All calves have access to calf creep feeder from the time they're born.
Every time cattle go through the chute they are weighed and it is logged so we have very good ADG records.

My friend down south, his calves do not gain much during weaning.
And I'm not talking trailer weaning, he has a similar approach to ours. Developer mix, tubs, mineral basically the same.

We were talking about it and I was trying to figure out why his calves are always 50 to 100 lb less than ours. We're both growing Jap Blk Wagyu.

 

[redcowsrule33]

Do his calves get creep from birth as well?
I’ve heard Japanese Black have a reputation for poor milk production. Maybe by weaning the calves haven’t been getting much from the dam anyway.

 

[Dave]

I don't notice the weight lose that many mention here. I don't have a scale so I can't say what the lose might be if any at all. Calves are hauled miles from the cows. They go into a corral with lots of water troughs. Good hay available. They have previously had no grain but at weaning they get a grain called Pre-con 5. By day 3 they are licking up 5 pounds of that per head each day. On day 5 or 6 I open the gate to irrigated hay field regrowth. They have better grass than what they had to graze then they did while with the cows.

 

[M.Magis]

Not sure but I think you’re comparing apples and cucumbers. You’re talking about weight gained over 30+ days on feed. I believe the weight loss mentioned is just from the initial few days after weaning. I can’t imagine many or any are experiencing weight loss after 30+ days on feed.

 

[Brute 23]

You are probably on one end of the spectrum vs the other with greater losses. Creep feeding from birth and your weaning system probably account for a lot or that. Feeding from birth and catching calves 2 times in 4 days is not an option for a lot of people.

I don't see noticeable losses either and I prefer to wean cold turkey and haul them away but I don't have a scale. We are also weaning larger calves which plays some role.

The guys with scales have posted some pretty interesting stats about loss and time to recover that, in some cases.

 

[CowboyRam]

I can't say I have seen much loss in weight at weaning; I don't have a scale. I fence line wean, but don't use nose flaps. I work them up to about 5 pounds of barley per day and on grass/alfalfa that usually last about a month; after a month if the grass is gone or not it is usually covered by snow. I then feed some good grass/alfalfa mix hay. I wean for at least 60 days before they go to the sale barn.

 

[bird dog]

It varies animal to animal. I have scales. For me, my calves are fence line weaned with hay and have never seen grain but I put some out to get them started. If you weigh them at separation and then again 5 days later, they will all have lost weight. Usually 3 to 5%. After that some animals regain their weight immediately and others will just weigh the original amount after 30 days.
After weaning mine only get grain one day a week to get them used to eating. Other than that they are just on my best grazing pasture.
Graining them always seems to me that they get too full and they then get discounted to where the added cost is not recovered. They also shrink a lot more when full.
Buyers prefer long, lean hardened calves

Weight gain will be about 30 to 50 lbs after 30 days depending on grass condition. 30 to 45 days, daily weight gains will go up some. After 45 days they will do much better.

At 45 days, some of mine have gained as little as 30 lbs and as much as 150. Some calves just seem to thrive after weaning.

Your shrink at sale time goes down considerably for calves weaned over 45 days. A lot of shrink is determined on where you sell them. A good set of scales are a worthy investment and will change your thinking on weaning time and how you market your calves. It will also open your eyes on how much trailer weaned calves cost you unless you get paid on what they weigh before they leave the farm.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I've experimented and I definately have weight loss at weaning. When I say "at weaning" I'm talking within the first couple of days of separation. Only way to track it is to weigh daily.

Typically after 7-10 days they are back to starting weight and then they go on to gain from there.

 

[Mountaintown Creek Ranch]

Do his calves get creep from birth as well?
I've heard Japanese Black have a reputation for poor milk production. Maybe by weaning the calves haven't been getting much from the dam anyway.

That is correct most Japanese black are not good milkers.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I was going to respond, but decided to pull records. We worked the calves on 6/26 and 8/12 - no creep at all. Never fed any grain from birth to weaning. We fence line weaned on 9/4. Started them on WSC (1% BW and increased as they cleaned up). Separated heifers from bulls/steers after about 1 week. Sold 5 bulls on 9/22 (17 days weaned - 41 days since last weighed) and weighed them. The 4 gained 638# / 4 bulls = 160# gain / 41 days = 3.89# ADG . I don't think they had much if any shrink. I never see them look gant.
They know where the water is. They know how to eat the mineral out of feeder. They know how to eat hay and they are on a small pasture of good grass. There was 0 bawling after day 3 from cows and calves. They were 6-8 months old (Jan 1st to 1st week of March) at weaning.
I'm not saying that in most circumstances, when you pull the calves off the cows and the calves are in an environment they don't know, that they don't lose weight. But, even with weight loss, they should regain that very quickly and bounce back with a good ADG. Those 4 bulls had been weighed at 1st workup on 6/26. So from 6/26 to 8/12 (on dam and pasture) they gained 2.91, 3.18, 3.19, and 3.07 ADG.
I think a big factor is these calves have been on a high rate of gain from birth to weaning, and they just kept growing with their nutritional needs met. That is one of the advantages of rotational grazing. You keep quality feed in front of them all the time - except of course in a drought. Then, this scenario could be a lot different.
Even "I" was impressed with these numbers!!! LOL I had already calculated ADG and knew all the calves were "mashing" the scales.