is weaning necessary?

[gwithrow]

I think I know the answer, just hate to hear all the bawling...the babies are now 9 mos old....and the moms are due with another crop of babies in Nov/Dec....so I think the time is now...one mom is a fence jumper, and a devoted mom....we have decided to sell her after she calves this next time, perhaps with her new calf....she is a nice cow, but I dont need the headache of a easily frightened jumper....she is also the babysitter for all the calves...so will it work to put her with the calves while they are separated from the moms? I guess she will just still have her calf with her...I just can't think of anothe rway to do this...as I am mostly on my own with the whole project and grandma here just can't wrestle with her,to say nothing of having her winging herself over every barrier between her and her calf....I don't have a stall that is completely enclosed top to bottom..........we have good divided spaces...decent fencing....and hay for everyone as well as grass....to summerize my questions are: has anyone weaned with a babysitter? are we sacrificing the babysitters new calf if we do it this way? ....we are planning on keeping her steer anyway...the others will be sold in Sept....and should we offer grain to the weaning calves? these are beef calves..thanks...

[agmantoo]

We may not have discussed weaning when you visited but I do not separate. I send the 550 pounders to market and that occurs prior to calving. However, for the heifers that I retain they get weaned by the cow and remain with the herd. I have had almost no problem with this arrangement. You may find as the jumper matures that she will cease the habit. I had a heifer that I really liked that had the habit. I took a slingshot and every time she was not where she belonged I used it. She has learned to remain with the herd.

[gwithrow]

oh you have such creative ways of working the cows..would never have thought of a slingshot!!....I had hoped to not wean them, but just round them up and send them off.....but several of the moms are looking a little pulled down.....their babies are good, but they are not discouraging the nursing....and I have been told that if I can wait to sell the calves the price may get better in Sept...the jumper just is wild when she is cornered, like headed into the chute .......she was injured when she was young, hurt a leg...I hate to get rid of her, but she is also a big cow and the last time we tried to work with the cows, she sailed over my son who was standing there and landed on a gate which was ripped off the hinges...I think she is a liability ....we had hoped when she had her baby she would settle down....as soon as we move the cows she heads to a corner with all the babies...and we are not a rodeo out here....I can't imagine if we had anyone helping that was loud or waving a stick....so you just round them up , separate and haul off? isn't that hard on the momma cows? or do they just go back to eating?

[Jay]

They will bawl for a day or so, just ignore it. Everything has to be weaned sooner or later.

Mama's need a rest time to build up their bodies and the growing calf inside them. It's much easier for them to do all of this if they aren't making milk on top of it.

[Farm 36]

A cow needs a 60 day dry period and less than 45 just keep her milking . Less than 60 days dry and milk production will be seriously reduced know matter what the body score

[.netDude]

I suppose it may be better for the mom's, but I usually never wean my beef calves (used to, but don't anymore). The mothers do it when they're ready. Then again, I never calve in Nov/Dec, always June'ish. I've had yearlings trying to nurse with their baby sisters/brothers, but it didn't last long and I've never had a problem with the mothers or their calves.

[ds40]

Agman, do you have a problem with heifers getting bred to young? How do you deal with it?

[copperhead46]

At nine month old, they need to be off the momma, she's gotta get some rest before the next babies come along, plus, if you let them stay on, they'll rob the new babies milk.
P.J.

[NWMO]

I was concerned about weaning too, but I did not have the facilities to seperate and keep seperated.....and as stated above, the momma's did a good job of keeping the older calves off once the babies were on the ground. I took some "heat" for it from all the area guys, but it always seemed to work out.......after a couple of good firm kicks from the momma cow, they seemed to catch on. I am sure it could have been a strain on the momma, but had plenty of grass, so they never showed it if they were overly stressed.

[Allen W]

If I was going to sell them in the next 30 days I wouldn't mess with weaning them. A sick calf or two and you would lose more then you would gain.