Taking the Stress out of Weaning Calves
Check out this video by my good friend Pat Pucket and his wife Deb
Pat is a renowned horseman, cowboy, and clinician, who I also have the honor and privlage of calling a friend. He has been coming out to the ranch and helping me from time to time this summer. His wife Deb took some video the day we weaned the calves and posted it on their Youtube channel. Pat dose a great job explaining what we are doing and why
Weaning Calves
This is the time of year we wean or calves. Weaning calves is important because the cow needs to maintain body condition as we get into fall and the feed value of the grass diminishes. The calves also will do better of they are weened prior to being sold.
Weaning calves is a stressful event for both the cow and the calf. It is important to minimize the stress as much as possible. There are various methods that ranchers use according to the resources and circumstances of each operation. Here, we are using a method known as “Fence line weaning”. The idea is, the cow and calf are separated into adjoining pastures with a strong fence in between. The cows and calves are able to see and smell each other, but not able to nurse. After a few days they each become more accustom to the situation and gradually spend more time grazing and less time by the fence. Eventually the cows are moved off to another area of the ranch and the calves are moved to a pasture with good strong feed so they will continue to grow.
