Weaning
- Thread starter Bluestem
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bigbull338
Well-known member
weve weaned calves at that age for years.an havent caused the cows any stress by weaning like that.the cows arnt stressed an neither are the calves.most of the time at 9 to 10 months old.the cow has done kicked the calf off her teat anyway.if you notice weaning at 6 months,the cows hang where the calves are penned for a few days.an cows an calves both bawl their heads off.the other way the cows stay close but dont bawl theirselves to death.an the calves dont bawl that bad either.mitch2":7diqka6j said:
No stress on the cows. Worked good in the dry conditions we had the past few years as well. I've noticed the same thing bigbull has. I was wondering how it was working for others.bigbull338":3ek8yim6 said:
novatech
Well-known member
What are the long term effects on the cow? Couldn,t it cause the cow to loose teeth eailer, weaken bones, etc. ? When we bred dogs we had this problem so it would seem to me that the same should be true with cattle.
bigbull338
Well-known member
in all the years weve weaned like that ive never noticed any ill affacts from it.the cows calve back as well as breed back.an i dont think they loose their teeth from doing weaning like that.novatech":3zluyxbu said:
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
We started doing it with our broodmares first and then tried it with our cows. They pretty much have the calves weaned anyway by the time we sort calves off.
Gosh it just seems like them butterballs start to take their toll on the mommas by 6 - 7 months. I try to get the mommas back in better shape before the hardest part of winter hits, and I don't think I could do it without graining the cows for another 3 to 4 months to leave them suckers on.
I do see NRancher does it, and first I was thinking maybe this was a regional thing, but he blew that out of the water.
Michele
I do see NRancher does it, and first I was thinking maybe this was a regional thing, but he blew that out of the water.
Michele
weaning is a part of the business, not the best part but.....
i like to wean spring calves at 6-7 months so the cow can get in shape for winter. also here it is usually dry this time of the year so it helps all the way around. fall calves i let go longer because in the spring the grass is growing. i pull all of them by june 1st at the latest.
i do mine in small groups, when i can. so they get a little more attention and less crowded, i weaned january calves 8/10, feb. calves next week, and mar. calves right after the 1st of sept. they are at my sons so i don't have to listen to them.
i like to wean spring calves at 6-7 months so the cow can get in shape for winter. also here it is usually dry this time of the year so it helps all the way around. fall calves i let go longer because in the spring the grass is growing. i pull all of them by june 1st at the latest.
i do mine in small groups, when i can. so they get a little more attention and less crowded, i weaned january calves 8/10, feb. calves next week, and mar. calves right after the 1st of sept. they are at my sons so i don't have to listen to them.
I luv herfrds
Well-known member
We wean at 6-7 months of age. Month before we wean we start them them on hay. Less bawling and the cows seem to be drying up at that time too.
Cousin weans later and his cows always look in poor body condition for winter.
Cousin weans later and his cows always look in poor body condition for winter.
J&T Farm
Well-known member
We have always weaned at 6 months, the last 2 years it has been so dry we had no choice, this year we were going to keep them until 7 months, the year started out good but it has dried up no rain in over a month. Over a week of temps from 100-108. We turned them out in only green pasture we had left when they graze it down we will get them up and wean all that are 6 month + we do have some that will be 7 months.
fourstates
Well-known member
I wean at 7-9 months depending on the pair. But I do it the easy, quiet, least stressful way. I use a plastic weaning ring. I vaccinate, dehorn (if needed) put on the weaning ring, and send them back to their mothers. No bawling, no stress, the mom takes care of their boo boos. I don't creep or feed my calves, they get grass or hay, and stay with the herd.
It's kinda funny to watch them go cross eyed trying see what that big green thing is their nose. I take it out when they leave. If I am keeping the heifer, I just take it out a few months later. They cause no harm, but will start growing into the nose eventually. Those I cut, and work the ring out. If it's a bull calf, he will get a nose ring anyway. It works real well. They don't get sick ot lose weight from stress.
The few dollars for the rings is really worth it...they can be reused after cleaning.
I don't know why the rings are not used more often.
It's kinda funny to watch them go cross eyed trying see what that big green thing is their nose. I take it out when they leave. If I am keeping the heifer, I just take it out a few months later. They cause no harm, but will start growing into the nose eventually. Those I cut, and work the ring out. If it's a bull calf, he will get a nose ring anyway. It works real well. They don't get sick ot lose weight from stress.
The few dollars for the rings is really worth it...they can be reused after cleaning.
I don't know why the rings are not used more often.
Hunny Do Ranch
Well-known member
fourstates":g6wtjbix said:
I am fairly new to the cattle business and we tried the ring on one of our calves and it worked great. he did look pretty funny though. :lol:
Northern Rancher
Well-known member
I used them once on about 150 calves-about 5 lost them and another 5 or so could suck with them on. We weaned while cattle were out grazing and got a bit of snow-they really balled up with ice then also. If we ever get away from late weaning which I doubt we will we'd probably just pasture wean with the calves in a small paddock with a six wire electric fence-3 hot-3 ground-cows on the other side with a bit of a walk to water that seemed to work best for us. Last winter was a pretty tough one but we ran the calves with the cows till March then sorted them off-we never had a sick calf out of a couple hundred-we don't calve till midMay so cows had enough time to pick up any condition they'd lost-by March most were only providing shade and companionship to their calves anyway. Just because an outfit always weaned on Thanksgiving weekend for four generations doesn't mean some brave soul can't change that lol.
I luv herfrds
Well-known member
Pulled the bulls this week. I went to feed them and a couple of cows were standing there watching, so I threw a forkful of oat hay to them. They dug through looking for the oats and a few of the calves came up and ate a bit. They are back out to pasture. Noticed alot of them are eating grass more then nursing.
The prefeeding we do has helped us wean for the last 6 years. They are just more likely to start eating the hay when weaned. Less sick ones too.
The prefeeding we do has helped us wean for the last 6 years. They are just more likely to start eating the hay when weaned. Less sick ones too.
