The correct weaning of heifer calves is an important step in the management of your future replacement heifers.
The weaning process should take place when adequate rumen development has occurred.
Getting the weaning process right, is important to ensure that calves continue to grow and develop.
Weaning calves
The time of weaning is dependent on every farm’s feeding regime. Calves can be weaned once they are eating 1kg of concentrates/day for three or more consecutive days, which is usually from about eight to 10-weeks-old.
However, if starter concentrates are limited or if larger volumes of liquid feed are given, this can be delayed.
To reduce stress, and the potential for a growth check at weaning, weaning should be done gradually. This is achieved by reducing the volume of milk the calves are fed over a 10-day period.
If calves are being fed manually more than once-a-day (OAD), the first move is to change to OAD feeding.
This is best to do approximately one month prior to weaning, to allow calves time to adjust to the new regime and further develop their rumen prior to reducing the total amount of liquid given.
With automatic feeding systems calves tend to be fed larger volumes of liquid feed.
Therefore, weaning should be as gradual as possible over a period of approximately four weeks.
In automatic calf feeding systems, the volume reduction is calculated by the computer programme on the feeder by using a milk feeding curve and adjusting accordingly.
Considerations
Some other factors that should be considered before weaning calves is their health.
The calves should be healthy and any sick calves shouldn’t be weaned until they have fully recovered.
Also, ensure that calves are not stressed and keep in mind that disbudding should not be completed at the same time as weaning.
Once a calf is eating 1kg of concentrates/day, is healthy and is not stressed, there should be no stunt in growth after weaning.