Stress in cattle can be displayed by increased vocalization, reduced feed intake, and calves walking the fence line. The issue with stress is that in can lower the immune system’s ability to fight off disease. With this it can cause reduced daily gains, increased health problems, and even death.
No matter what type of weaning strategy you use there are ways to maintain performance and reduce the chance of illness during this stressful time. Preparing calves in advance of taking them away from their mommas has benefits that are well worth the effort. Here are three steps that you can follow to help your calf crop succeed.
Develop a vaccination program
Working alongside your veterinarian you can determine what will be the best health program for your ranch. The immune system can be hindered during this time. Many veterinarians suggest that you should doctor as well as castrate, dehorn, and brand some time before weaning.
Doing so will reduce the amount of stress that your calves will be going through. When you reduce their stress it will give their immune system a better response to the vaccines you will be giving them.
It is also important to remember to keep the proper handling of your vaccines in mind. The best vaccines and antibiotics will not do you any good if they are not handled and administered correctly. If you are looking for ways to keep your vaccines effective I talk about that here.
Introduce the proper diet early
You should introduce to your calves their post-weaning diet before you actually wean them. This will give them a chance to “get use to it” while they are still in a familiar surrounding.
When you start providing their future diet make sure that it is appropriate for their age. You do not want to be providing a diet that is heavy in grains and concentrates if they are only use to forages.
If you will be providing forages, I mean why wouldn’t you, make sure it is the right quantity as well as quality. One trick that you can do is to place the bale along the fence. This will allow the calf to take a bit every once in a while when they are pacing around the fence looking for their mom.
Goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyways, your calves should also have access to clean fresh water. Like the bale it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to have the trough along the outside of the pen.
A good idea here is the water trough should look similar to the one that was in the pasture. This will give the calves something that is familiar to them and they already know to drink out of it. If you are not able to have the same trough then you can set it to where it will overflow a little in order to have a trickling sound.
Weaning before you move them
Since most of the stress that occurs during this time is their separation from their momma you if possible you should wean them before you move them. Then you could move the cows to a different location if possible.
Moving the calves in order to wean has the possibility of causing problems. Not only will they have to deal with the stress of being separated from mom but they also have to find a new source of food. This is where the reduced daily gains can occur.
Now the key to remember is that our strategy with weaning is to break the dam-young bond. Normally this would be done by completely separate the cows and calves as far away as possible, but what if there was a different way?
A study back in 2003 by Penn State showed that the period of adaption can be influenced by leaving cows within hearing of their calves. They found that calves left within hearing distance developed bonds with fewer signs of distress by 3 days after weaning. The ones that were kept completely out of hearing distance took an average of 6 days to show any signs of distress.
You can help your calves start off strong after weaning by being aware of the stresses that they will be facing when weaning occurs. By knowing this you can make plans in advance to have a better handle on it. You can develop methods and precautions on your place to reduce the stresses that normally occur.
The quicker that your calves can adjust to their new normal is the faster they will grow and the healthier they will be as well.
Review
Weaning can be a very stressful time for calves but there are some steps that you can take to help them start off stronger than usual
- Develop a good vaccination program and if possible doctor a couple of weeks before you wean
- Introduce them to their new diet before you separate them from their security blanket, aka their momma
- Try to use strategies to wean them before you move them. this will help because they will be in familiar surroundings