About EasyWean
A practical solution to reduced weaning stress
Fertility has long been considered a critical factor in livestock breeding - together with mothering ability and nutritional health of the animals.
However, weaning percentage is also one of the most important factors. Unless calves, lambs or kids reach weaning there is little value in fertility. Once the young have reached weaning age there are more factors that producers need to take into consideration. Beef producers particularly are very aware of the stress involved in weaning their cattle, although it is not easily measured. Broken fences and bawling cattle are well known symptoms of the stress of weaning and producers will have a preferred weaning method to reduce the stress involved and the subsequent loss in production that is associated with it.
In 1999 NSW graziers Brian & Rosemary Marshall introduced a plastic nose ring for weaning calves in Australia and gave it the name EasyWean. This modification of an old idea came from Dick Richardson of Whole Concepts in South Africa. His motivation was the obvious benefit of reduced cost from loss of production due to stress, easier management of grazing planning, larger and fewer herds, and easier single herd management.
Both Brian and Dick are practical cattlemen and work in their respective countries as Holistic Management ™educators focusing on better decisions for people, land and profitability.
For most cattle producers the motivation to use EasyWean Nose Rings is the reduced stress caused by:
- the loss of milk intake for the calf ·
- the separation effect of cow and calf.
By using EasyWean you are eliminating the separation factor. And as milk loss only has about a 10% effect on weaning weight at 7 months of age, the use of EasyWean has a significant impact on reducing stress at weaning. If the calf is later separated from the cow, stress will occur but it is greatly reduced in duration and extent.
In 1998 a trial was conducted on an extensive beef operation near Kimberley, South Africa weaning 1500 calves. Nose Rings were fitted to calves, which were then allowed to stay with their mothers. Results showed that calves and cows continued to grow during the weaning process. More specifically, heifer calves that were weaned with Nose Rings, and then left to run with their mothers until the bulls were put into the herd, weighed 30kgs more than their conventionally weaned counterparts. This could mean the difference between joining or not joining heifers on time.
With steers, this extra gain can be translated into finishing earlier and weighing more. Cows gaining condition through the weaning period means having cows in better condition at calving and then higher conception rates. A commercial grazing family in northern NSW compared yard weaning with the EasyWean technique and experienced a weight gain of .7kg/day during the weaning period with the nose ring. They now routinely wean with Easywean. In 2000 a trial was conducted by a major South African feedlot to determine, amongst other things, the impact that weaning with Nose Rings would have if fitted for two weeks prior to weaners being trucked to the feedlot. The results from these trials are also significant. Lower loss in weight, faster stabilization and improved weight gain during feeding period, lower incidence of sickness and treatment cost.