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Cattle Update:
Fence Line
Weaning
Calving season
brings in
newborns which
can make for a
loud, raucous
fall when it’s
time to wean.
It’s
surprisingly
quiet, though,
with a practice
called fence
line weaning.
Call it a
gentler, kinder
way to separate
a calf from its
mother, it
allows the pair
to remain close
and greatly
reduces stress
on both.
Mark Goes, an
expert on the
process, spends
part of his time
as an instructor
at Southeast
Community
College in
Beatrice,
Nebraska and the
rest of his time
as a small
cattle rancher.
He got into the
process, which
he calls
‘pasture
weaning’ while
working with his
students in 1998
in a Ranching
for Profit
class.
“We wean
as early as
possible,”
said Goes. “"A
calf's rumen is
inoculated to
digest solid
feeds by 4
months of age.
This also
coincides with
the time that
dam's milk
production
begins to
decline. We
like to get the
younger calves
weaned and on a
solid feed diet
as soon as
possible,
thereby meeting
the performance
demands of the
calf more
effectively and
freeing up more
pasture to run
more cows."
Goes deals with
just 30 animals
at home and a
maximum of 60 at
the school.
“The University
of Nebraska is
doing fence line
weaning with
herd sizes of
250 or more,” he
said.
Goes experience
at home as well
as the college
shows the wean
stress is over
in 2 to 3 days.
“Calves get over
it faster than
cows, all they
need to learn is
where to eat” he
said. “We use a
nanny to show
them the ropes –
where the feed
and water is.”
“A cow’s milk
production
continues and
she wants some
relief so what
we’re really
doing is weaning
the mother.”
A power fence is
critical to the
process. Goes
uses a simple
and inexpensive
two wire fence
and an energizer
from Gallagher
to control his
animals.
Explaining its
effectiveness,
Gallagher
president Erwin
Quinn said “An
electric
fence is a
psychological
barrier that
doesn’t require
great strength
to be effective.
It must be well
designed and
constructed to
absorb some
pressure from
animals, snow
and wind and the
energizer must
have enough
power for the
length of the
fence and for
the animals
being controlled.”
A pulsed
electric current
is sent along
the fence wire,
about one pulse
per second, from
a grounded
energizer. When
an animal
brushes against
the fence, a
circuit between
the fence and
the ground is
completed and
the animal feels
a short, sharp
but safe shock.
Most people
agree that posts
and woven wire
won’t do.
“Weaning calves
are like sheep,”
said one
proponent.
“They’ll bunch
up next to the
fence and,
sooner or later,
they’ll push
through. The
power fence
prevents them
from doing
that.”
To prevent fence
line crowding,
Goes said it’s
important to
eliminate
corners and
place food and
water sources
away from the
fence.
Backing up Goes’
real life
experience are
many scientific
studies.
California
researchers, for
instance, tested
the
effectiveness of
fence line
weaning a few
years ago. They
weaned a group
of calves with
only a power
fence between
them and their
mothers and
compared them to
calves weaned
totally
separated from
their mothers.
They found that
fence line
calves and cows
spent about half
their time
within a few
feet of the
fence during the
first two days.
Fence line
calves bawled
and walked less,
and ate and
rested more than
the separated
calves.
All the calves
were placed
together 7 days
after weaning.
Even so, at two
weeks, the fence
line calves had
gained 23 pounds
more than
separated
calves. At 10
weeks, fence
line calves
gained an
average of 110
pounds compared
to 84 pounds for
separated
calves,
indicating the
stress from
weaning was an
ongoing
problem.
Goes agrees with
the research.
He noted that at
harvest the
fence line
calves still
showed more
weight gain and
better quality
meat than
traditionally
weaned animals. |
