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What’s the best way to wean?!
- Thread starter ksmit454
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I remember when weaning meant you would haul butt for the gate with a load of calves. One drove, one used a bull whip, and one got the gate. Those were some good mommas. Good times.
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
ksmit454 said:
I've never used em. But I'd be inclined to think until the cows are gone...
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ksmit454
Well-known member
I just took the cows to the sale this morning and took the weaning flaps off. I see pros and cons. Pros are that the calves have not made a peep at all! Super happy with that. But the cons were that it did cause irritation. I had them in for 5 days and this morning their noses had blood, so I'm not sure if I'll try these again, they seems like a huge nuisance for the calves. The flaps definitely made weaning non-stressful.
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
Keep an eye on em. They are bound to start hollering for mama soon.
Noses will heal up pretty fast from what I've heard. Dang sure wouldn't want one a those in my nose!
Noses will heal up pretty fast from what I've heard. Dang sure wouldn't want one a those in my nose!
DCA farm
Well-known member
I'm gonna catch crap I'm
Sure But for the amount I raise Best thing for me to do is trailer wean them suckers. It ain't a perfect situation but I make the best if it.
Sure But for the amount I raise Best thing for me to do is trailer wean them suckers. It ain't a perfect situation but I make the best if it.
Redgully
Well-known member
DCA farm said:
If you ask me the best way. That's how we did it for thirty years and never had an issue. Now i only have a few cows and like to wean and grow the calves on i use the flaps, put in for four or five days then seperate, any longer and they figure out how to drink around them especially when they have super patient mothers. I have the swing arm type so you can adjust to the animal and the calves don't get any nose irritation.
Silver
Well-known member
DCA farm said:
Trailer weaning is what we do. Take them off the cow and straight to market. The replacement heifers stay in the corral and the cows have access to the outside of it. They lose interest in a couple of days. Weaning calves is like taking off a band-aid, just rip it off and get it over with.
There is no dollar incentive here to take the bawl out of the calves prior to sale either. Seems to me if you are going to do that you better be prepared to sit on them for over a month, and after that time you have dollars into them that you won't get back, at least not in our market.
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ksmit454
Well-known member
MurraysMutts said:
Surprisingly still not a peep out of them! They are with another couple head so they have company but they act like they aren't missing their mamas at all. Yeah me either lol!
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ksmit454
Well-known member
Redgully said:
What are the swing arm types? Is that the flap you're talking about?
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ksmit454
Well-known member
DCA farm said:
I think this will be my try for next time of weaning.
Redgully
Well-known member
Not sure if this link will work but you can adjust the width for nose.
https://www.ebay.com.au/i/382890602682?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-139619-5960-0&mkcid=2&itemid=382890602682&targetid=920064925573&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9070619&poi=&campaignid=10101785267&mkgroupid=102311925300&rlsatarget=pla-920064925573&abcId=9300368&merchantid=7364522&gclid=CjwKCAjw74b7BRA_EiwAF8yHFM7sMMpjBnvIYYhSh3MtZmTtuEWflYF1sWeSuIvzP90nE0EeemajHBoCOuIQAvD_BwE
https://www.ebay.com.au/i/382890602682?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-139619-5960-0&mkcid=2&itemid=382890602682&targetid=920064925573&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9070619&poi=&campaignid=10101785267&mkgroupid=102311925300&rlsatarget=pla-920064925573&abcId=9300368&merchantid=7364522&gclid=CjwKCAjw74b7BRA_EiwAF8yHFM7sMMpjBnvIYYhSh3MtZmTtuEWflYF1sWeSuIvzP90nE0EeemajHBoCOuIQAvD_BwE
If you plan on working the calves twice, put the flap in at first working and then take it out when you work them to give them their boosters. Then fenceline wean. This will help cut down on the stress to both the cow and calf. At least that is how I do it.
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
ksmit454 said:
That's kool. How long you plan on holding them?
ksmit454 said:
That makes all the difference right there. The place I wean at usually has calves rolling in at different times and I will purposely hold some over for that reason. A lot of times what will be my replacement heifers are there and I use them to calm in the incoming calves down. I've even gone so far as to load an old cow with the calves and keep them there. I had a cow I called mother goose that I use to drag around for that reason. They take to the system so much faster. Monkey see... monkey do. :nod:
Sadly, I'm loosing mother goose this year. She goes to the auction in a couple weeks. She has her last calf on her now and is mixed in with some replacement heifers. For an 03' model she still raised a good one this year, even with no teeth. She's one of those I might have to pay some one to haul.
... and to get way off topic. I think it helps to raise replacement heifers around a couple cows with baby calves. They will mother up and get use to those babies before they even have their own. ;-)
Dave
Well-known member
Here it pays to wean. They dock you for a bawling calf. My preferred method is a good stout pen miles away from the cows. Or in the case of one and done, I run them all into a corral, load the cows out, and leave the calves there for about 5 days. There is a Purina grain they use to call Pre-con 5 (they renamed it and I don't remember what it is called now). The calves go right after it. I figure about one bag per calf. Around 5 pounds per day for 10 days. It replaces the nutrition they were getting from the milk. Doing that I simply don't have the weight lose that people talk about from weaning.
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ksmit454
Well-known member
Brute 23 said:ksmit454 said:
That makes all the difference right there. The place I wean at usually has calves rolling in at different times and I will purposely hold some over for that reason. A lot of times what will be my replacement heifers are there and I use them to calm in the incoming calves down. I've even gone so far as to load an old cow with the calves and keep them there. I had a cow I called mother goose that I use to drag around for that reason. They take to the system so much faster. Monkey see... monkey do. :nod:
Sadly, I'm loosing mother goose this year. She goes to the auction in a couple weeks. She has her last calf on her now and is mixed in with some replacement heifers. For an 03' model she still raised a good one this year, even with no teeth. She's one of those I might have to pay some one to haul.
... and to get way off topic. I think it helps to raise replacement heifers around a couple cows with baby calves. They will mother up and get use to those babies before they even have their own. ;-)
I'm glad I'm not the only one that has a mama cow that will be difficult when that day comes... UGH. Thank you for all the input!! It did seem to help to put the calves with my other cows, they were happy as could be!
Double R Ranch
Well-known member
I started using quiet wean flaps. Much better and easier on the calves noses than others we tried in the past. That flap included. Reuse them over and over again. We used to pasture line wean but had issues at some point every year and calf weigh loss was noticeable. Quiet wean flaps are the only way I'll wean anymore. 3-5 days max in the nose. Silence when I take them out and the calves go straight to feed. Once every few years we have one or two who cry but not very often. Usually ones that lost their flaps or found a way to sneak milk around the flaps. An occasional call from moms but generally all quiet just like any other day. Weight loss is almost none if any at all according to the scale. That in itself in my opinion is worth the added work.
If it were me here I would wean 3-5 days with the flaps then ship the cows. Cows will be calmer not looking for their calves and the calves won't care moms gone. If selling the cows for butcher I don't worry about the full udder either.
hurleyjd
Well-known member
You sell and take what ever they bring. Good, Bad or Ugly. Just the nature of the game. Hamburger joints have been closed as a lot of restaurants that focus on beef recipes.
MurraysMutts
Well-known member
Yep.
Weaned prices and unweaned prices are real close lately. That may change when/if we get a drop or two of rain and the wheat comes on tho.
