Feeding Weaned Calves During A Pre-Conditioning Program

By Glenn Selk

Spring born calves have already been, or soon will be weaned to meet the 45 day requirement for value-added calf sales.  A minimum of a 45-day weaning period is recommended to maximize the benefits of pre-conditioning. A balanced nutrition program during this period is critical to ensure profitability for the cow/calf producer and maximum immune system function during the stressful weaning period and later production phases.

Calves targeted for a VAC-45 sale (i.e. Oklahoma Quality Beef Network) should gain 1.5 to 2 pounds per head per day from weaning to marketing to greatly enhance the likelihood of profitability of the pre-conditioning program. Research has repeatedly shown that calves that begin eating soon after shipping or weaning will have reduced health issues and certainly gain weight more quickly and consistently. Low stress “fenceline weaning” has been shown to help calves start to eat sooner and begin weight gain more quickly than calves that are weaned away from the cows.