{"id":383,"date":"2019-07-16T15:34:22","date_gmt":"2019-07-16T19:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/?p=383"},"modified":"2019-07-16T15:35:01","modified_gmt":"2019-07-16T19:35:01","slug":"weaning-methods-in-calves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/2019\/07\/weaning-methods-in-calves\/","title":{"rendered":"Weaning Methods in Calves"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Two Weaning Methods<\/h2>\n
\n

Jul 16, 2019<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • <\/li>\n
  • <\/li>\n
  • <\/li>\n
  • <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    Jason Duggin, PC Southeast Update, July 2019<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    One of my dad\u2019s favorite sayings was, \u201cThere\u2019s more than one way to skin a cat.\u201d When it comes to types of calf weaning methods, this phrase could easily be used.\u00a0 However, my dad tended to tell me this when I was using the wrong method.\u00a0 In the South, operations are often times limited in terms of space, pens, and sufficient fencing to hold curious calves.\u00a0 Thus, weaning in the Southeast can be a challenge.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    For demonstration purposes, let\u2019s look at 2 weaning types.\u00a0 Option 1: Gather the calves, load them on the trailer and ship them to the closest market or buyer.\u00a0 If your jaw just dropped out of your mouth, I don\u2019t blame you.\u00a0 I\u2019m not suggesting this is a good strategy, but it is a method that is commonly used.\u00a0 This is the old standard from days gone by, but some cattle are still managed this way.\u00a0What\u2019s the cost of using this method?\u00a0Well, the biggest cost is not being able to capitalize on selling a \u201cweaned\u201d product.\u00a0 Weaned calves are worth $20 to $40 more per head.\u00a0 You might ask, \u201cWhy are Option 1 calves cheaper?\u201d This is an important question to consider.\u00a0 To ask it another way, who wants to buy bawling calves?\u00a0 It\u2019s certainly not the feedlots. Those are train wreck scenarios riddled with respiratory breakouts and increased death loss.\u00a0 The answer: Those looking to cash in on the cheapest calves on the market.\u00a0 These buyers are willing to take on the risk of a highly stressed calf at a cheap price in hopes of \u201cstraightening\u201d them out health wise, and then over the course of a couple of months, selling them at heavier weights.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    So, what method is better than option 1?\u00a0 Just about anything!\u00a0 Now let\u2019s consider another option which can consist of weaning with nose to nose contact between calf and dam.\u00a0 This is ideal for reducing calf stress, bawling, and sickness.\u00a0 After a typical 45- or 60-days preconditioning period, these calves will have an advantage at the market.\u00a0 They should also gain another 2.0 lbs. per day, conservatively.\u00a0 Combine that with a good deworming protocol, and there can be some serious payweight added to your sale ticket.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Good weaning management is important and includes- abundant, clean water; quality forage; a good growing diet; good shade; secure fencing; sanitary pen conditions.\u00a0 It\u2019s not the only way, but it\u2019s the best way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Two Weaning Methods Jul 16, 2019 Jason Duggin, PC Southeast Update, July 2019   One of my dad\u2019s favorite sayings was, \u201cThere\u2019s more than one way to skin a cat.\u201d When it comes to types of calf weaning methods, this phrase could easily be used.\u00a0 However, my dad tended to tell me this when I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grazing","category-livestock","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/234"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":385,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383\/revisions\/385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/benhillcoag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}