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Suckler calves born during early spring will most likely be weaned from late September onwards, just as housing and weanling sales get under way.
Weaning puts calves under severe stress, which increases the risk of respiratory disease. There is no substitute for well-planned management in any task when working with cattle.
Yes things can still go wrong. But even when problems do arise, they are easier to rectify and the impact is less severe under good management.
When it comes to weaning, starting preparations well in advance is recommended. Outlined are five tips to help prepare animals for weaning this autumn.
Make sure calves are wormed in advance of weaning. Ideally, calves should be wormed around three to four weeks before coming off the cow.
This allows time for the wormer to give an effective kill and calves time to shed dead parasites, leaving lungs clear and healthy.
Different wormers have different active ingredients, some of which have a fast kill that can put young calves under pressure to cough up dead worms.
Other products have a less rapid kill, so consult with your vet on which wormer to use depending on the history of herd health on your farm.
Vaccinating calves to reduce the risk of pneumonia is recommended, especially if your herd has a history of treating calves for such problems after weaning.
However, vaccines on their own are not 100% effective. But when combined with good management, they are extremely effective at reducing the risk of respiratory problems.
IBR is another vaccine to think about, especially in a herd where replacements and stores are purchased annually, as these animals may be carriers and will shed the virus at housing.
Having calves vaccinated will help to reduce the threat posed to young stock. Again, this should be coupled with good management and proper herd health planning.
Offering concentrate through creep feeders in the month before weaning will help transition the calf through the process.
Calf performance will temporarily suffer after weaning. Creep-feeding will help to shorten this period, getting calves back on track.
Offer calves 1kg to 2kg/day of a high protein ration to maintain growth rates. Ideally, bull calves should be grazing separately from heifer calves.
This means higher rates of concentrate feeding can targeted to bull calves, and heifers are less inclined to become over-fat.
Creep-feeding for four weeks prior to weaning and two weeks post-weaning is a requirement for farmers participating in BEEP.
Allowing calves to creep ahead of cows and graze fresh, lush grass will boost weight gains this autumn. More importantly, it will break the cow and calf bond. This will ease the weaning process.
Raising the electric wire where it joins the perimeter boundary and at various other points will allow calves to pass under the wire.
When starting off creep-grazing, do not give calves too big an area. Simply set the wire up to close off the headland, or a corner of a field.
This way, calves cannot get too far ahead of cows and can find their way back to their dam. As cows and calves are within sight of each other, they are less inclined to break fences. Creep gates can also be set up once calves are used to grazing ahead.
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