Prepare Now to Wean Spring-Born Calves

Preconditioning your calves pays, no matter what their destination is; whether you are planning to sell weaned calves, retain ownership through feeding, or keep replacement stock. Weaning can be one of the most stressful times in a calf’s life and a cattleman’s year, but a small amount of planning can go a long way. Proper care and nutrition during this time can result in a lifetime of health for cattle, increased rate of gain during the weaning period, and decreased death loss. Even in the current bullish cattle market, taking the time and effort to prepare your calves your market will provide a return on investment.

There are many weaning strategies that can be used successfully. Fenceline weaning is a commonly used practice to help alleviate stress on both cows and calves by providing contact between them while calves settle in to a new environment. Sometimes abrupt weaning is the only option, where calves are totally separated from the dams. This can cause some additional stress on both parties, but this stress can be mitigated with some planning. The weaning strategy that will work best for your operation depends on facilities and can change year by year with forage and labor availability.  

Timing of working calves:

Following the administration of a vaccine, it takes a calf’s immune system 2 to 3 weeks to create a protective response to the pathogens in the vaccine. At weaning, the calf’s immune system is suppressed because of the stress of separation from the dam. This immune suppression means that calves vaccinated at the time of weaning will not produce as strong of an immune response to vaccinations. Vaccinating at least 2 to 3 weeks prior to weaning is ideal to set their immune system up for success. If castration, dehorning, or branding needs to be done as well, these practices should also be before or after weaning and not concurrently if possible. These events further stress the calf, causing immunosuppression and increased likelihood of disease.

Respiratory vaccine:

Bovine respiratory disease is the most common cause of sickness and death in weaning calves. Calves should be adequately vaccinated against bovine respiratory pathogens prior to weaning. If an intranasal product was administered prior to pasture turnout, preweaning is the ideal time to administer an injectable vaccine as a booster. Modified live vaccines are ideal over killed vaccines to provide an increased immunity to respiratory pathogens.

Clostridial Vaccination:  

Clostridial diseases can affect cattle of any age and include blackleg, tetanus, enterotoxemia (overeating disease) and other less common ailments. Preweaning vaccinations is a great time to administer a clostridial vaccine if animals weren’t vaccinated prior to grass turnout. If weaning age calves are being banded, they should have previously received a dose of a tetanus vaccine. Tetanus is caused by a clostridial bacteria, but not all clostridial vaccines include tetanus coverage. Make sure to check the product you are using to ensure adequate coverage for the task at hand. All clostridial vaccines are killed products, but they are known for providing good protection from clostridial diseases when administered according to label directions.

Parasite Control:

 An oral dewormer should be administered when calves are coming off grass. Calves will graze and be exposed to internal parasites from their dams. This parasite load causes decreased production in calves. However, deworming will not necessarily prevent a coccidiosis problem, which is a common cause of diarrhea in weaned calves. If diarrhea is noticed, a fecal examination is a good way to help identify the cause. This is a test that can be at our office to look for eggs of parasites, including coccidia in the feces. A pour-on for external parasites should be administered to reduce flies and lice. External parasites are additional stressors for cattle of any life stage, reducing productivity.

Implanting:

In animals destined for slaughter and not breeding, an implant prior to weaning should be considered. If a calf received an implant before grass turnout, another implant at weaning can still be beneficial Implants are an easy and effective way to increase gain and efficiency. It can be overwhelming to decide which implant to use in different classes of cattle. We’d be happy to discuss implant strategies with you at any time.

It's time to start planning for fall weaning now. We, at Apogee, would be happy to meet with you to discuss the best strategies and products that you can use in your calves to make your weaning season as stress-free as possible!