Agricultural News
Fence-Line Weaning Fall-Born Calves Pays Huge Dividends
Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:24:29 CDT
With weaning season for fall-born calfs upon us, Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University extension animal scientist emeritus, says fence-line weaning deserves serious consideration. He writes in this weeks Cow-Calf Newsletter:
Many cow/calf operations with fall-born calves will wean the calves in mid to late June. Weaning during very hot summer weather is stressful enough to the calves. Therefore, any management strategy that can reduce stress to the calves should be utilized. "Fence-line weaning" is such a strategy that should be applied.
California researchers weaned calves with only a fence (fence-line) separating them from their dams. These were compared to calves weaned totally separate (separate) from dams. Calf behaviors were monitored for five days following weaning.
Fence-line calves and cows spent approximately 60% and 40% of their time, respectively within 10 feet of the fence during the first two days. During the first three days, fence-line calves bawled and walked less, and ate and rested more, but these differences disappeared by the fourth day. All calves were managed together starting seven days after weaning.
After two weeks, fence-line calves had gained 23 pounds more than separate calves. This difference persisted since, after 10 weeks, fence-line calves had gained 110 pounds (1.57 lb/day), compared to 84 pounds(1.20 lb/day) for separate calves.
There was no report of any differences in sickness, 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.
To wean and background, even for short periods, fence-line weaning should be considered. (Source: Price and co-workers. Abstracts 2002 Western Section of American Society of Animal Science.)
During the hot summer days, having adequate water available for the cattle is a MUST. Experienced ranchers that utilize fence-line weaning have found that having plenty of water in the region where the cattle are congregated can be a challenge. Plan ahead before you begin the weaning process to be certain that sufficient water can be supplied to both sides of the fence.
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