What is the best time to wean calves?
Scientific weaning of calves not only improves growth rate and adaptability, but also reduces the lactation pressure on the cow, allowing her to enter the next prevention and treatment cycle faster and improving reproductive performance. So when is the best time to wean calves? Let's take a look together.
1. When is the best time to wean calves?
Weaning calves too early or too late is detrimental to their growth and development. According to evidence over time, it is most appropriate to start feeding calves forage at three weeks of age. Within three weeks of age, their forestomach is very small and does not have the ability to digest forage, nor are there feeding and ciliates present, so they can only survive on mother's milk. Feeding forage at this time will increase the burden on the calf and cause disease. However, if weaning is too late, the stomach and intestines get no exercise, which also leads to slow growth and development of the forestomach, resulting in too small a volume, and will also affect later growth and development. After three weeks of age, the forestomach rapidly enlarges, and because of contact with food and water, microorganisms enter the forestomach, and rumination begins to appear at this time. Feeding at this point can both avoid causing disease and accelerate the development of the forestomach, promote the reproduction of microorganisms and ciliates in the rumen, and increase digestive capacity.
2. Weaning methods
Within 1-3 days after the calf is born, it must get enough colostrum every day, fed to full three times a day; at 4-7 days, feed four times a day, with 3 kg of normal milk per day. At 8-15 days, feed four times a day, with 3-4 kg of normal milk; starting from the tenth day, supplement with high-quality, easily digestible concentrate or hay, adding a little more each day, keeping the feed fresh, and training it to eat. After that, increase the daily ration by 0.1 kg about every week, and by day 46, carry out weaning while supplementing with more than 1 kg of daily ration.
3. Weaning precautions
Calves cannot get enough colostrum on their own, so manual feeding is needed; it must be given in sufficient amount and early, because after more than 12 hours it will lose its effect. During the weaning process, be sure to keep clean, warm water available for free drinking, and do not cut off the water. Weaning should be carried out according to actual conditions and feed intake; at 40 days after birth, if the feed intake reaches 0.8 kg for three consecutive days, weaning can be done. Note that weaning and changing feed must not be done at the same time, so as to avoid excessive stress, which may cause calf death.
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