Area cattle producers have pursued a number of options recently when weaning their calves.
Dr. Shane Gadberry, professor of beef cattle nutrition for University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension, said the performance of calves post-weaning is based on an average of 205 days of age. “Under the correct plane of nutrition, you should be able to get the weaning weight that you would typically achieve with the calf that’s allowed to nurse and have access to pasture, up to a typical seven months of age weaning period,” he said.
Dona Goede, southwest region livestock specialist at the University of Missouri Extension Service office in Cedar County said some producers weaned early last summer to lower the nutritional needs of their cows.
“I always tell people to watch their calves for gain of weight,” Goede said; even if you don’t have a scale, there are clues to watch for. “If the calves are walking the fenceline, that kind of thing, that means they’re hungry and there may not be enough pasture out there,” she said. “If you’re using a rotational grazing system, then if the calves are running to the next pasture it could be a sign that there’s not enough grass out there.” If the calves are getting sick, that could be another indication they’re not getting enough nutrition.
“Under a really high plane of nutrition your weight could be even greater, but then when cattle producers choose a plane of nutrition that really emphasizes a high level of growth, it may also result in extra condition on those calves at that point of typical weaning,” explained Gadberry. That could produce a discount at the sale barn but, on the other hand, inadequate protein and energy may lead to stunted growth in an early-weaned calf. The cow’s lactation starts to diminish after three months, so the calf becomes increasingly reliant upon pasture. “However,” Gadberry said, “with the actual physical separation from the cow, we do see sometimes that cattle producers may tend to allow the calves to run a month longer in the cow herd, especially if the cows are in good body condition and there’s ample forage available, trying to increase weight for markets.”
The practice of fenceline weaning has been adopted by more and more producers. Instead of relocating calves to a site where there’s no contact with the cows, a good, sturdy fence between them permits nose-to-nose contact while preventing suckling. “We’ve seen some instances where the fenceline weaning can actually result in extra weight gain during the period of weaning, a two-week period for the physical weaning, just due to the lower stress levels,” said Gadberry.
Goede said many producers are selecting fenceline weaning because their calves were getting sick and had to be treated in an enclosed lot. As a result of the practice, she said, “we’re seeing a lot less illness in the calves; they’re not as stressed. They keep gaining the way they should, whereas if you put them in a lot you’ll often see them lose weight for the first couple of weeks. With fenceline weaning, we’re seeing that they don’t ever get to a point of weight loss. They may hold weight for a couple of weeks, but they never do lose weight out in the pastures.”
