Weaning Grassfed Calves
Traditionally, a rancher who wanted to wean some calves would separate them from the herd and pour feed to them. The calves would fatten up on the grain until the rancher decided what to do with them. He/She would decide which calves needed to return to the herd, which ones he/she was going to continue to fatten up to eat, and which ones he/she would sell. With a grassfed herd, the traditional way to wean is out. One cannot wean their calves on grain and sell them as grassfed.
Some of our weaned calves.
Therefore at Cross Creek Cattle Company, we wean differently. We still separate the calves from their mothers. In order to make the transition less stressful, they are separated by a stout metal fence. The cow and calf can still see each other and call to one another. The calves just cannot nurse. Usually by the second day the cows decide to leave their calf and go grazing in a different pasture. Sometimes a cow will decide sooner. Either way the cow knows where her calf is and she knows that it is fine.
The calves have access to plenty of water, hay, and grass. We carefully monitor the grass situation to ensure that the calves have what they need. After a week or so, we begin feeding them alfalfa pellets, which is dehydrated alfalfa grass in pellet form. Alfalfa is a high-quality grass. It is high in protein. Therefore, the calves do well on it. Unfortunately, alfalfa does not grow well in this area, which is why we choose to feed it in pellet form.
However, cows can bloat on such rich grass if their bodies are not adjusted to it slowly. We begin with 1/2 pound of alfalfa pellets per calf a day. We slowly work them up to 2 pounds a day of alfalfa. This helps to ensure that their body condition does not fall behind while they are going through the transition of weaning.
We have several pens in which to graze so that they always have a good supply of grass. We even use electric fencing to help us separate large pastures into smaller grazing fields. This ensures that all the grasses are getting eaten. Sometimes cows will selectively eat a pasture. Then a rancher has to come behind them and shred the grasses that are left. This is a waste. It is like a child who will not eat their vegetables and a parent who throws them away every evening.
Our calves look just as good as the traditionally weaned calves. They have maintained great body condition without the use of grains and other feeds. They have eaten grass in several forms: fresh in the pastures, dried in the form of hay, and dehydrated in pellets. Grass and water is really all a cow needs. It is healthier for them and for us, which is why we raise grassfed beef.
Tags: alfalfa pellets, Grassfed Beef, hay, no grain, water, weaning calves
June 18th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Good morning, from Springville, California. I live in Tulare County, in the southeastern area of the Great Central Valley. I live on 65 acres of foothill range, and am raising a few grassfed cattle on this ground. You raise a point that I have been considering, which is the idea of either pulling a pasture down to the nubs (well, maybe not THAT low - but well down) and only then moving the cattle off, or pulling the cattle off and then going in and mowing. I only have a little irrigated ground, and the rest is dry pasture with cured grass during the summer.
The question: if you leave cattle on a specific piece of ground until the pasture is very well eaten down, you risk stressing the animals, at least a little, because they have been forced to eat forage they have been leaving until last, a lot like a child will leave the broccoli until they have no choice. How do you assure that your animals “eat their broccoli” without losing a little condition?
The obvious answer, I suppose, is very tight management of the herd. But it seems to me there remains the potential to stress the animals a bit, insisting they eat the specific pasture down short.
Thanks for your thoughts.
June 18th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
First. I want to thank you so much for your comment and question. You have pointed out some areas in my article that need clarification. We do not want them eating the grass to its nubs. Four to six inches of green grass is a minimum length we desire in our pastures. Otherwise, it takes too long for the grass to rebound. Seasonally, there are two different grazing goals. In the winter, cattle graze for food. They eat what they can. In the summer, the cattle graze for food obviously, but mainly their job is to help us manage the grass. We keep them in small pastures to ensure that they keep any of the grass from becoming overly mature. If you open them up to large grazing areas only, the cows will eat the tenderest and tastiest grasses and leave other still nutritious grasses. The latter will grow to be tough and begin losing some of its nutritional value. Therefore, we carefully monitor the small grazing areas to ensure that the cows are eating the grasses while not over grazing the pastures. They begin looking forward to moving again into a different small grazing area. I hope this answers your question. If not, don’t hesitate to respond.
June 19th, 2009 at 7:53 am
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May 1st, 2010 at 10:43 pm
I was just wondering a few things….i am getting ready to buy 3 weaned calves and put them on roughly 7 to 9 acres of pasture….the grass is pretty tall and was wondering if i should mow it down before i put them on there….and my other question was how much of the alf alfa pellets or hay can i feed if the pasture is getting low….is this something i can give a weaned calf for replacement of pasture or is this far too rich for them to have as full feed…I only have a limited number of acres right now so im just trying to get by with theses calves until fall….any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! thanks
May 11th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
I would not mow it unless it is full of weeds. We only give alfalfa pellets when we are weaning calves. You do have to be careful not to overfeed the cattle. They can bloat. When it is necessary to give alfalfa pellets, I would give one pound per head and slowly work them up to more. It should not be more than 10% their body weight. Give hay free choice. Allow them to eat as much as they like just like grass.