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South Dakota State University West River Ag Center There's beauty in simplicity. Even in today's world, some of the easiest solutions are right under our noses; they just require an open mind and a willingness to try new, different methods. I witnessed an application of this recently during an extended ranch visit, and was duly impressed with the results, both short-term, and what I would anticipate the long-term, benefits will be. It involves weaning calves. Typically, weaning season equates to "damage control" for beef producers. Walking pens, watching for symptoms and treating accordingly are the management norm for producers. It's an extremely vulnerable time for calves, and sets the stage for the long term health and well-being of the animal. Newly weaned calves, that are confined, bawling and restless, are subject to any number of stress-related, respiratory or systemic illness. Lung lesions, pneumonia and fever can all take their toll. Common sense alone tells us that weaning-related illnesses will impact pay-weights; and the scientific community holds lung lesions especially suspect with regard to weight gain efficiencies, and overall long-term health of the animal. The weaning concept I witnessed reverses weaning stress and related consequences by placing the majority of risks surrounding weaning on the mother cow, whose immune system and strength provide her with an enhanced position to deal with the associated hazards. The concept is a simple reversal of roles, confining the cow rather than the calves, and turning the calves out into an adjacent pasture. What I experienced was a "non-event weaning" for calves. Fence-line contact with the cows, and free movement on grass increased their comfortability, significantly reducing bawling. Respiratory irritants like dust and other airborne particles produced and inhaled in a confinement pen when calves pace and bawl were virtually eliminated, because the calves were not confined. Such a scenario and environment is really common sense, once a person thinks about the life of a calf to that point in time. The only physical and nutritional environment a calf has known in his life has been that of a pasture with his mother. By weaning time, most calves have begun to consume significant quantities of grass, and a large portion of their diet is grass. A sudden change in both the physical and nutritional environment due to penning and being fed in a bunk, provides significant stresses to an already stressed animal. Add to that other factors, such as dust and bawling, and conditions emerge for respiratory problems and illness. Such factors lead to diminished performances post-weaning, and greater opportunities for health problems down the road. The cows were provided loose hay and a source of fresh water in the corral. Hay was limited to about 20 pounds per head per day. Fence line contact with their calves kept both cows and calves settled and comfortable. On the morning of the fourth day following separation, the cows were moved out of the corral to a fresh pasture. On the fifth day, the calves were moved to a fresh pasture; which was facilitated by placing three or four dry cows with the group. Prior to relocation, the calves were checked visually for illness or stress symptoms, which were nonexistent. They moved easily and comfortably, already adapted to an open pasture environment. This particular set of calves destined for a feedlot within 45 days, were moved with ease, their bellies full and the calves content, with a natural health advantage already in place. Although there hasn't been, to my knowledge, scientific research conducted which would validate the long term benefits of this role reversing concept, the experience was clearly successful. Reducing and managing weaning stress lays the groundwork for greater health and efficiency within the herd. It reduces veterinary, medication and labor costs, and potentially will create better post weaning performance. All of these result in increasing profits at the scale or in the feedlot. |
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