Weaning Time

Time to wean the big calves off of their mothers, from the fall calving season. We wait until the calves are ~6 months old to wean them off their mother's "milkshake". The longer we wait, generally the healthier the calves will be because they have been getting nutrients and disease immunity through the milk. We let the calves "creep graze" for a couple months before weaning to establish some independence by raising the bottom wire of the fence to 42". This height allows the calves to slip underneath but the mother's stay behind in the main field. When it is time to officially wean the calves, we separate the mothers from the calves with a good fence. They aren't too happy at first but by that time the calves are too big to be drinking from their mothers so it is better for both the mothers and calves. Picture below shows calves off gaining independence "creep grazing" in a field neighboring the one that their mothers are in.