The typical weaning method is to sort all the calves from the cows, shut the calves up in a barn, move the cows as far away as possible, and then put up with the bawling for a few days. What happens if we reverse this picture?
Breaking the dam-young bond may be the most important factor in weaning. Weaned calves placed in a group will quickly bond to other calves if the dam is removed. A 2003 Penn State study showed this period of adaptation can be influenced by leaving dams within hearing of the newly weaned calf. Calves left within hearing of their dams developed new bonds with fewer signs of distress by 3 days after weaning, while calves removed from hearing of their dam took an average of 6 days to show reduced signs of distress. In this case, we may want to consider putting the cows in the barn drylot and leaving the calves in the pasture.
Market Access
There is substantial evidence to show transported, weaned calves will perform better and with less sickness in the feedlot compared to unweaned calves. A combination of weaning with a vaccination program will allow many producers to gain access to preconditioned calf markets. It is important that access to a marketing program be available before considering marketing preconditioned calves.
Feedlots and backgrounding operations will discount the value of calves in small groups because of the cost of transportation. Therefore, a producer with less than 40,000 lbs. of uniform calves will usually not get optimum returns for preconditioning calves. Pennsylvania and other states in the Northeast have cooperative marketing programs that allow small producers to gain access to higher-value preconditioned calf markets, and this association will be essential in recovering costs and gaining a premium value for weaned and vaccinated calves
