Weaning calves earlier saves money

Abstract

High milk replacer costs have all of us looking for ways to save money Getting cables off to a good start lets you wean them earlier. Latest estimates of average calf weaning age in the U.S. tell us that 70 percent of calves are weaned at 7 weeks of age or older. In addition, 25 percent of farms surveyed said they weaned calves at 9 weeks or later Con-sidering that calves with adequate rumen de-velopment can be physiologically ready for wean-ing as early as 3 weeks of age. many farms have a big-time opportunity to wean calves at younger ages and save money and time spent on them. Early weaning is not a new concept. but espe-cially in times when money a tight and milk re-placer costs are high, you may want to think about your current practice.