Fence-line weaning benefits calves

“Weaning now instead of waiting for the more traditional times of late October to early November will allow the young, thin cows to regain some body condition before winter adds to their nutrient requirements,” said Glenn Selk, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service cattle specialist.

Naturally, cattle producers should take all necessary steps to reduce stress on the calves as they are weaned. Calves that are stressed will go off feed, increasing the chance of them becoming sick.

“Producers might want to follow a management strategy that was evaluated in California, where researchers weaned calves with only a fence separating the youngsters from their mothers,” Selk said. “Results were compared to calves weaned totally separate from their mothers, out of range in terms of both eyesight and hearing.”

In the study, fence-line calves and cows spent approximately 60 percent and 40 percent of their time, respectively, within 10 feet of the fence during the first two days. Fence-line calves bawled and walked the fence during the first three days. They also ate and rested more. Activity differences between the two groups disappeared by the fourth day.

“All calves were managed together starting seven days after weaning.” Selk said. “After two weeks, fence-line calves had gained 23 pounds more than the calves that had been weaned totally separate from their mothers.”

And the difference persisted. After 10 weeks, fence-line calves had gained 110 pounds, a rate of 1.57 pounds per day, compared to 84 pounds, a rate of 1.20 pounds per day, for the calves that had been totally removed from their dams during weaning.

“There was no report of any differences relative to sickness,” Selk said, “but calves that eat more during the first days after weaning should stay healthier.”

A follow-up study demonstrated similar advantages of fence-line contact when calves were weaned under dry lot conditions and their dams had access to pasture.

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