Weaning can be one of the most stressful periods in your animals’ lives. The weaning methods and practices you choose will have a direct impact on their short-term and long term health and productivity. Let’s look at the pros and cons of different weaning methods, and learn some low stress weaning tips for calves, kids, and lambs.
Calf Weaning Methods
Let’s look at the pros and cons of different calf weaning methods and rate them according to animal stress level and handling amount.
One-step (traditional weaning)
Traditional, one-step weaning involves sorting all the calves from the cows and keeping them completely separated with no visual, physical, or auditory contact.
- Pros: Less handling since you only have to move the animals once during the weaning process.
- Cons: High stress for the animals. Calves spend a lot of time and energy bawling and searching for their moms, which prevents them from eating and resting.
Fenceline Weaning
In fenceline weaning, calves and cows are separated and moved into different enclosures. From there, they have visual and auditory contact with limited physical contact.
- Pros: A lot less stressful for all animals. Because they spend less time vocalizing and searching, they are able to eat and rest to continue healthy growth. Penn State found that fenceline weaned calves vocalized less, spent more time eating, and had greater weight gains compared to calves that were abruptly and completely separated from their dams.
- Cons: Calves are handled more than once (initial separation and permanent separation). This method also has higher demands on space and equipment.
Nose Flap Weaning
Nose-flap weaning uses a temporary device (often plastic) that is placed on the calf’s nose to prevent them from nursing. Calves are allowed to have full physical contact with the dams until they are completely separated.
- Pros: Less stressful than traditional weaning because calves can have complete physical contact.
- Cons: The flaps can sometimes get in the calf’s way when they are trying to graze, feed, and drink. There is also the additional cost for purchasing a nose flap for each calf. Calves also have to be processed at least twice (once to install the flaps, once to remove).
Tips for Reducing Calf Weaning Stress
Wean Before Transition/Sale/Auction
Introducing animals to new facilities can be a major stressor that increases risk of illness and other setbacks. Avoid combining stressors by weaning at least 30 days before selling, or transporting. Calves weaned before transportation have fewer health and performance problems.
Move the Cows, Not the Calves
Give calves a few days to adjust to their new environment before separation. Bring the dams and calves in together so they can find their water and feed stations. When separating, move the cows, not the calves, to another pasture/enclosure.
Stagger With Vet Procedures
Vaccinations, castrating, and dehorning procedures should be completed around 1 month before starting the weaning process. This gives the calves time to develop their immunity and recover from these vet visits before starting another stressor.
Prep Equipment and Fencing
Plan ahead so you know which areas are going to be used for the weaning process. Place feeders and waters around the edges of the calf enclosure, because that is where calves will spend the most time as they look for their moms while weaning. Beef up fencing, and make sure it is adapted to smaller animals, especially if you plan on using the fenceline method.
Watch the Weather
Consider delaying weaning if major weather events are on the horizon, such as: prolonged heat waves, tropical storms, snow storms, etc. to reduce the stress load on the calves.
Tips for Weaning Goat Kids
Weaning goat kids can be a lot simpler than calves, but there are some strategies to consider to help avoid future growth and health problems.
Pre-weaning Preparation
Introducing solid feed 1-2 weeks after birth stimulates rumen development, even if they don’t eat a lot at first. This pre-weaning rumen prep helps them better absorb nutrients in the future without a growth slump.
Weaning Timeline
Weaning gradually has been found to be less stressful for kids as their milk allowance is slowly reduced over a several day period. Gradual weaning after 70 days of life can help reduce weaning shock and get them used to finding and using their new feed sources.
Spread Out Stressors
Avoid performing other stressful procedures at the same time as weaning, such as:
- Disbudding
- Vet visits and vaccinations
- Mixing/reorganizing herds
- Housing changes
- Transportation
Spreading out stressful events by a week or two gives goat kids time to adjust between changes. You should also avoid weaning kids who are sick so you don’t set their recovery back even farther. Kids that were sick between birth and weaning, even if they seem healthy now, can also benefit from a few extra days on milk.
Tips for Weaning Lambs
Unlike cows, most ewes’ milk production peaks around 3-4 weeks after they give birth and then starts to quickly decrease. Before weaning, lambs should be given plenty of solid feed so their rumen are ready for weaning. Natural weaning is the least stressful method, where lambs can stay in the same pasture with their mothers until they are around 4-6 months old.
If natural weaning doesn’t fit your schedule, you can make changes to your ewe’s diet that kickstarts drying. Removing grain feed, switching to a lower quality hay, and briefly reducing water intake can trigger a drop in milk production. Consult with your vet or nutritionist to make these changes safely. Watch their udders carefully as they begin to shrink and dry off so you can catch signs of mastitis (swelling or redness). You can do some light milking to relieve their discomfort, but not too much or you can re-stimulate their milk.
Livestock Minerals for High Stress Events
High stress events are hard on animal health and performance alike, and can lead to:
- Weight loss, lower body condition scores
- Greater death losses
- Reduced feed conversion/efficiency
- More manure with higher pathogen count
- Weakened immunity
- Poor meat quality
Since 1958, Redmond’s mission to support healthy farms includes high-risk animals in transition. Background calves are particularly vulnerable to health and production problems during and after transport. A farm in Oklahoma found that offering a 50/50 blend of Redmond conditioner and sea minerals greatly reduced sickness, weight loss, and death rates in their background calves.
Click for the full study and to see how Redmond can help livestock during high stress events. Give Redmond a call today at 
so we can help you get back to what you love about raising animals!
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