2 Step Calf Weaning

Our mother cows are busy growing their 2021 calves and as a result, their 2020 calves are D-O-N-E. To be honest, we usually wean much sooner than we did this year, but the weather threw us for a loop this last Fall / Winter. We didn’t feel it was fair to wean the calves from their mothers in the cold, snow storms, etc. SO we let them nurse through the winter months and fed the moms extra extra extra so that they could sustain their own bodily needs as well as produce milk for their calves.

We utilize a “2 step” weaning process (opposed to a “hard wean”). This means that we choose to introduce only 1 “stressor” at a time for the cows and calves. Step one is the insertion of nose flap into the calves noses. We call these “nose flaps”. These hard plastic contraptions prevent the calves from being able to latch onto their mothers feet. However, opposed to a “hard wean”, we allow the calves to remain alongside their mothers as they get use to not nursing and being a “big kid”. The mothers aren’t as stressed as the babies are still around, and the calves learn to grow up alongside mama. A win / win! After a week, we will remove the nose flaps and then separate the calves form the mother cows (this is step 2). There is no crying, no bawling, and very little stress in the separation process at this stage.