From dosing to creep-grazing and vaccinating, follow our guide to taking your calves through a stress- and disease-free weaning process.

Keeping calves healthy in the run-up to and during weaning is essential to maintaining high levels of liveweight gain and ensuring that calves are in peak condition for sale. Calf health can be affected by numerous management and environmental factors.

1 Dose calves regularly

The stress of weaning can often leave the calf open to respiratory illness.

To avoid this and reduce the risk of poor liveweight growth, it is essential that calves are dosed when required in summer. Calves should not be weaned and dosed at the same time.

The best practice is to dose two to three weeks prior to weaning. If there are lung worms present, this will provide an adequate length of time for them to be killed and coughed up prior to weaning, thus reducing stress at and directly after weaning.

It is good practice to take faecal samples and have them analysed to show the extent of the worm burden and if there is need for further dosing against fluke.

2 Forward creep-grazing

Forward creep-grazing should be carried out from now on in spring-calving herds and, particularly, where milk supply is low. Forward creep-grazing is easily carried out by raising the electric fence and enticing the calves to creep forward under the fence, using concentrates.

Creep gates can also be used. By forward creep-grazing calves, you will ensure that calves have access to the best quality grass on the farm at all times, while the cows who are naturally decreasing in milk yield can be used to graze out fields.

It also acts as a natural method of breaking the cow-calf bond prior to full weaning. Both the cow and the calf will get used to spending less time near each other, which will help to reduce the stress often caused by abrupt weaning.

3 Supplement the calves

The energy content of grass naturally declines from 11.5/12ME in spring to approximately 10.5ME in autumn. This, and the possibility of lower dry matter content, can reduce the overall energy intake of cattle in the autumn.

To maximise liveweight gains, it is essential that calves are supplemented during wet weather, or where grass supply or quality is poor. In addition, it is best practice to supplement calves with 1kg to 2kg of concentrates for a month before and after weaning. This level of supplementation will help to keep calves settled, reducing stress and respiratory illness.

4 Wean on a warm, dry day

Both the calf and the cow will experience most stress on the day, and the days subsequent to weaning. Stressed animals are more susceptible to illness, so weaning should be carried out in good weather to avoid additional stress to the cow or calf.

5 Minimise stress

Stress needs to be kept to a minimum in the week prior to and after weaning. Doses and vaccinations should be administered well in advance and penning and handling of livestock should be avoided, where possible, during this time. Castration should not coincide with weaning. Abrupt weaning should also be avoided to minimise stress.

6 Vaccinate

The stress caused around weaning time can often weaken the animal’s defences and result in viruses and disease being able to thrive quickly. Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) is a virus that can often set in.

Calves that are bought and mixed, or mixed at sales, are at the most risk of developing respiratory disease as a result of an IBR infection.

There are a variety of different vaccines available to protect against IBR and the onset of immunity will vary depending on the product used.

7 Feed cows correctly

The diet of suckler cows should be managed correctly at weaning, especially where the cow is milky in nature or is still producing a good volume of milk per day. Drying off the cow correctly is essential in avoiding mastitis.

Where forward creep-grazing of calves is being carried out in the weeks prior to weaning, this will allow farmers to restrict grass intake to cows and reduce milk yield gradually, which is more desirable than abrupt weaning and housing of cows on hay or dry silage.

Where farmers opt to restrict cows on to hay or poor-quality dry silage to aid the drying process for a few days, mineral supplementation will be required to avoid cases of tetany or milk fever.

8 Avoid mastitis

The risk of mastitis in cows peaks at weaning.

Along with reducing feed intake to decrease milk yield, care should be taken to reduce the risk of mastitis.

Some farmers use dry cow tubes on certain milky cows but this is not common.

Fly activity can spread mastitis quickly through a herd, so it is essential that fly activity be deterred. Applying Stockholm Tar to the udders of dry cows will ward off flies, which will help to reduce the risk and spread of mastitis.

9 Wean gradually

Studies have shown that least stress occurs with gradual weaning. Calves should be maintained in current groups and forward creep-grazed, where possible. Weaning should take place gradually and cows removed in at least two separate groups. This will reduce the stress on calves considerably.

10 Graze calves on quality grass

Post-weaning, calves should continue to be grazed on the best quality grass available on the farm to maintain high liveweight gains.

Planning is essential. You should ensure that you have three to four weeks of good quality grass ahead of stock after weaning, and they should be grazed in a rotation, where possible.