Click here to view as a pdf: Crystal Creek® Recommended Calf Weaning Protocols
By Carley Ciolkosz, B.S.
Livestock Nutritionist
Weaning is a crucial stage in a calf’s life. New research has shown that a slower, gradual weaning has led to healthier, thriftier calves with better weight gain and less health problems. Crystal Creek® encourages a healthy calf weaning program that promotes increased grain intake, improved growth and decreased weight loss during the weaning phase, enhanced rumen development, and an overall reduced stress transition phase.
There has been extensive research and trials done over the years to find both the ideal time period for keeping calves on milk and the optimal weaning age. It used to be common to wean calves at 10-12 weeks with the belief that calves who are on milk longer have better average daily gain and grow into healthier lactating cows. Later on, more research suggested that weaning at 8 weeks while promoting grain intake had the same outcome as weaning at 10 weeks. Since weaning at 8 weeks was a successful trial, this idea was taken a step further to try weaning at 6 weeks, as farmers thought this could also potentially save on milk replacer and calf rearing costs. This proved to be ineffective as calves did not have enough time on milk or grain to achieve an adequate weight at wean-time and presented with more health struggles after weaning.
With these trials, errors, and further research, producers have found that starting the weaning process at 8 weeks of age, doing a gradual weaning over the course of 2 weeks, and being fully weaned at 10 weeks of age has proved to be the most desirable and optimal weaning period timeline. Weaning at 10 weeks gives the calves time to keep gaining weight and increase their grain intake while still being fed milk. While this concept is widely known across farms, what is not as well-known or practiced is a gradual weaning phase starting at 8 weeks and being fully weaned at 10 weeks.
There are two primary methods of weaning: the Step-Down method, and the Cold Turkey or complete removal of milk method. Step-Down weaning involves gradually reducing the amount of milk fed to calves in the days or weeks leading up to being fully weaned. This method not only encourages calves to begin consuming a high-quality starter to make up for the energy they are no longer receiving from the milk but also increases their water consumption as well.
This decrease in the amount of milk fed should begin 10-14 days prior to when weaning is planned. For example, if you want calves to be fully weaned by 10 weeks, you should start the step-down weaning process at around 8 weeks. Reducing the amount of milk fed to calves during this process can be achieved by either decreasing the volume of milk offered to the calf at each feeding or by decreasing the number of milk feedings offered in a day. When implementing Step-Down weaning in your calves, the weaning timeline should be adjusted based on calf health and performance, as well as feed and water intake. If a calf begins scouring or there is a significant decrease in starter intake, complete removal of milk should be delayed until the calf’s health or appetite improves to avoid the incidence of further health problems and weight loss.
Cold Turkey weaning involves abruptly removing any milk offered to calves immediately once they reach weaning age. This method of weaning requires less management than Step-Down weaning but will likely result in increased scours incidences as well as decreased body weight in the weaning period. Instead of abruptly taking calves off of milk at 8 weeks and putting the calves at risk for stress-related immune problems and weight loss, there have been multiple studies done that show the health benefits of the Step-Down weaning process.
Research has shown that gradual weaning has been proven to be more effective on decreasing the stress on calves’ digestive and immune systems and eliminates the risk for gaps in both weight gain and weight maintenance. This is why Crystal Creek® recommends the Step-Down weaning approach as it biologically supports the calf’s health needs, and overall lifetime performance prior to weaning.
Examples A and B show two 2x/d feeding Step-Down Example Charts:
Example C shows a 3x/d feeding Step-Down example chart:
A Step-Down weaning program supports calves better than a Cold Turkey approach due to the gradual change. Gradual change has been proven to have a better response than sudden change as sudden changes cause stress and adversely affect health. This also gives calves a chance to familiarize themselves with the starter grain offered and in turn start to rely on eating more grain to get energy rather than milk. As you slowly decrease the milk their starter intake slowly increases. When calves consume adequate solid feed while they are still on milk, they undergo less hunger and stress at weaning time because they are already adapted to eating the starter and will have a smoother transition from milk and starter to just starter.
The longer duration of weaning supports higher energy intakes, prevents weight loss, stress and helps with overall immune and digestive function. Crystal Creek® supports the longevity of your herd and that starts with the base of your farm: the calf program. The nutrition and care calves receive during their first two years of life will directly impact their performance when entering the milking herd. Healthy calves grow to be productive cows that improve the profitability of a dairy and they need a strong foundation in order to achieve that. To learn more about how Crystal Creek® can help build the foundation of a healthy calf-raising and weaning program, call 1-888-376-6777 and ask to speak to one of our nutritionists.