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Weaning Question

  • 29-06-2013 1:22pm
    #1
    kowtow
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,135 ✭✭✭


    As some of you know I have a slightly unusual mish-mash of a herd at the moment with dairy calves suckling. Calves are still out with dams and range in age from 1st February (now over 180kg eating grass + nuts alongside Mothers but still drinking milk) to 9th May - still fairly small and not too interested in anything but milk.

    For reasons beyond our control the Mothers calved in fairly poor condition, and are only now fit enough for bulling. We injected estrumate 11 days ago and may have to again next week as only have the odd one bulling so far.

    Friends have suggested that it would be easier to get the Mothers cycling if we weaned the calves now, and it's coming time to do so for most of them anyway. We're planning on putting a decent 3 wire electric fence across the silage aftermath and putting mothers one side and calves the other.

    1. Is the 9th May calf going to cope with being weaned now, as he has little interest in grass or nuts? Should we / could we leave him and maybe another couple in with the Dams and wean the older ones first?

    2. Are we making trouble for ourselves weaning along the fenceline, would we be better bringing calves in to a shed first and if so for how long?

    3. Will it help us get the Mothers back in cycle or are we actually stressing them all just when we want them ready to AI on the estrumate... should we leave them on for a while longer?

    If you lot can help me figure out a way to do this painlessly then I promise to take the calves off immediately and put the Mothers in the parlour next year like a proper dairy farmer!


Comments

  • #2
    Horace
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 55 ✭✭Horace


    How many calves have you sucking each cow ?The estrumate injection should bring into heat on its own and weaning would cause more problems now than it would solve, if your are just single sucking then i would let the calves continue to such till they are up to six month as long as the cows are holding their own and aren't loosing condition, removing the calves now will only cause stress to the cow the calf and yourself also you have to keep the cows hungry for a few days to help them dry off and that will interfere with them coming into heat. also your dry cows could become over fat in the next nine months and that could cause problems at calving time. if you have more than one calf sucking each cow you could remove the stronger ones put them in a yard away from the cows and remaining calf and the cows should be happy enough with one calf sucking her and won't miss the other on one too much.


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