Getting Calves Ready Before You Wean

Weaning is one of the hardest times in a calf's life, and the weeks leading up to and through weaning have major implications on that animal’s health and profitability for the rest of it’s life. 

The single biggest factor in determining success through weaning is stress. The best feed, best genetics, and perfect weather can help a lot, but one thing can overcome them all. Stress.

Which is why almost everything we are about to say comes down to the same idea: do the hard things before weaning.

One thing at a time

A fresh weaned calf is already dealing with a lot. It has been removed from its mother and main source of nutrition, it may be in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar food, and it has to learn a new way of life with animals it may not know.

Ask it to also recover from castration, dehorning, a round of vaccinations and dewormers on top of that, and the stress builds to the highest levels of its life. 

Let’s split the stress up. Get the processing done ahead of time and let the calf recover from it while it's still with mom. Then weaning is only weaning.

What to do for preweaning

Vaccinations. Respiratory and clostridial protection needs time to actually work. A vaccine given the day you wean is asking the calf to build immunity during the exact week its immune system is under the most pressure.

Deworming. Easier on the calf while it is still nursing, and it means the parasite load is already reduced before the transition.

Fly control. Fly pressure is still real going into fall and a calf fighting flies is a calf spending energy it needs elsewhere.

Dehorning. Earlier is better and recovery is faster.

Castration. Same. The younger the calf, the smaller the setback.

No two operations run the same protocol

We are deliberately not putting a vaccine schedule on this page, because we would be guessing at your operation.

The best program for you depends on your calving window, your marketing plan, your challenges, and what happened last year. A protocol that fits a spring calving outfit selling at weaning is not the same protocol for somebody keeping replacements or selling weaned calves. 

Come talk to us and we will build one that fits your needs. That’s not a sales conversation, it is the conversation we would rather be having in August than when you call us in October about a pen of sick calves.

The handling side of it - kid gloves

If sorting and processing is a rodeo, the return on your investment in genetics, products and time may be wasted.

Calves that get through it quickly and walk out of the chute calmly are carrying less stress into the next week. As opposed to the bunch that fights you in the alley, has to be forced every step of the way and bolts out of the chute. 

This is where the facility matters, and it is the honest reason we sell the equipment we sell. Not because a chute is exciting. Because a calm working day is worth something you can actually realize in the profitability of your calves.

Weigh 'em while you have 'em

Ninety five percent of the cattle that come through our veterinary chute get weighed, and the producer gets that information back in reporting and analysis they can use.

When we are pregchecking and preweaning calves the same day, we can tie the calf's weight to the dam. That tells you what percentage of her body weight she is weaning, which is one of the most useful numbers in this business and one most people have never seen for their own herd.

A big cow that eats a lot and brings you a small calf is not paying her way. You can’t know for sure which cows are freeloaders without the weights.

A lot of operations don’t have a way to weigh cattle and check individual performance. If yours does not, that’s worth fixing, and it only takes a few extra seconds while you have them in the chute. 

Questions we get asked

How far ahead of weaning should I process calves? Far enough that they are recovered and the vaccines have had time to work. The exact window depends on your program and contracts you have, but the general rule of thumb is at least 30 days. 

Can I just do everything at weaning to save a trip through the chute? You can, and plenty of people do. You are trading one less gathering for a calf that has to handle everything at once. Whether that trade is worth it depends on your setup and your labor, and it is a fair conversation to have. The protocols may look very different, so touch base with us on this. 

What vaccines do calves need before weaning? Respiratory and clostridial protection are the core of it. What specific products, and how many rounds, depends on your herd and your history. Let's talk. 

Does weaning stress really affect them long term? Yes. It is the most critical time point in a calf's life for lifetime performance and health. It shows up later in gain, in health, and in the case of replacement heifers, in whether they breed back.

Should I keep my heifers back at weaning? If you are keeping replacements, it's best to make those decisions before shipping day so you have time to use all of the data and info you have. Heifer selection is its own subject and we will cover it separately.

Do you weigh cattle when you work them? Yes, and we give you the data with reports and analysis so you can actually use it to make decisions.

Can you come to us? We cover roughly 150 miles from Brush. Call and we’ll try to help you out.