Weaning

[ayrt1010]

I've been a farmers wife for over 20 years now but now I have 4 dexters of my own I found it really sad today that we had to wean Tango. We put her in a shed with other heifers but she didn't like it and escaped through a feeder! Tiza her mum, doesn't seem that bothered, I think she wants a well earned rest before she has her next calf.

[goldshaft dexters]

I have just weaned one of my bull calves using Temple Grandin's "fence line weaning" method. It works stress free! (Well as stress free as weaning a mummy's boy can be!) Anyone who is serious about understanding the way animals think and doing things for them in the positive should read Temple's books - she is one amazing woman!!
Fence line weaning is putting the calf on one side of the fence where they can talk to each other but not feed. There is very little calling and after a couple of days the mum is less inclined to stay at the fence (I think as the udder pressure starts to reduce {having breastfed myself I think I know how they feel }) I am now ready to move Guns'N'Roses (bull calf) to the yards to halter break.
The heifers are nearly ready to wean so I am going to try this method with a group.

[Adam Lowline]

Hi, that sounds very interesting, I will look her up tomorrow.We have a cow who naturally weaned her calf, but when we were working out the calfs age, I think she must have been nearly a year!! So I think the cow had probably had enough! The cow has given herself a good 4 month rest before she calves again. I think that leaving the calf to wean naturally has resulted in a very healthy, well matured heifer, who is now very very friendly, now the apron strings have been cut!