All The Cool Kids Have Them

Rowdy punk rock calves with their anti-establishment nose rings. They think they look so cool, but they just look silly.

This year, for the first time, I am weaning the calves before I sell them. Two weeks ago, Gary, Joel, and I corralled the herd, sorted the calves off, and ran them through the chute. They received their second set of vaccinations, and they each got a yellow plastic nose flap made by the QuietWean company. 

Normally I sell them "straight off the cow," which means that they are corralled, seperated from their mothers, hauled to town, and sold the same day. This is obviously really stressful for the calves, and the increased stress reduces their immune system function; this in turn makes them more susceptible to the illnesses of being at the sale barn, trailered to a new home, etc. Plus, they constantly walk the fence looking for their mother, and they loose weight from not eating. These factors make them less desirable to buyers. Plus, it just makes me feel guilty.

It is also really stressful for the momma cows who have to deal with the emotional separation from their calf, and the pain from the resultant tight udder. Sharing in this stress are Gary and Gail, who have to put up with the round-the clock, plaintive crying and bellowing of eighty cows for the better part of a week.

After placing the yellow plastic nose flap in the calf's nose the calves are put back with the cows. They can stand with their momma, snuggle, and get licked and comforted, but when they try to nurse, the flap keeps them from getting the teat in their mouth. This lasts for about ten days. Then we put them through the chute again and removed the flaps, at which point we kept the cows and calves separated. If you try to simply separate cows and calves without some kind of weaning method you will soon discover that any fence not made of iron pipe is not near strong enough to withstand the power of the mother/child bond. 

So far the flaps have worked. All but four of the pairs were weaned. Those four calves must have figured out how to nurse with the flap in because when we put them out they promptly started bawling and walking the fence trying to get back to their mothers, who were a half a mile away bawling for their baby. The rest simply went to grazing, calm and weaned.

Now, hopefully when I haul them to the auction to sell in two weeks, the price they bring will tell me the extra work of weaning them pays off. 

Comments

[Penny]

I remember the bawling of the calves and mommas the two years I lived in the Blue House. I had to ask
"Why are the cattle so upset?" It was very unsettling, the energy from their distress. I am so glad you
are trying a weaning method that is less stressful for these animals. Makes a lot of sense, ala Temple
Grandin.

Penny