Everyone loves calving in the Spring and watching newborn calves bouncing around the pastures.  It provides a sense of new beginnings for that particular calf crop with great expectations of how they will perform over the summer grazing season.  I would argue that weaning is as important, or even more critical as a period of new beginnings for the calf crop.  Calves must now perform on their own without any assistance from their mother.  From a cow-calf producers stand point with all that has been invested up to this point, you will want to make sure calves are able to transition to stockers, feeders, replacement heifers or young bulls without any set-backs in growth or compromised health status.  After all, for most producers, pay day is just around the corner.

Providing creep feed during the summer is a common practice by many cow-calf producers that will help calves make the transition much easier.  They are exposed to grains or commodity byproduct blended feeds delivered in a bunk and so at weaning they are much more familiar with where and how to eat, compared to calves that have not been fed a creep ration.   There are many herds, however, that for reasons such as extensive pastures, pasture rotation schedules, small herd size or difficulty in getting creep feeds delivered, will have calves coming off pastures at weaning without any exposure to bunks or dried feeds. 

There are several situations where a good starting program is extremely important.  If you are a cow-calf producer and looking to wean your calves and hold them for a period of time before selling, a good starting program should be a top priority.  Any young breeding stock, replacement heifers or bulls should also be included in a planned starting program.  If you are a stocker operator and bringing cattle in from several sources with little knowledge of how they have been managed, starter program protocols are critical.  Also, if you are looking to take weaned calves all the way through growing and finishing programs, or retaining ownership in a custom feedyard, getting them started right can help reduce their time on feed and limit any health issues.  So in short, only when weaning and shipping the same day, would a well thought out starting program have little economic and health benefits to your calf crop.

There are many different styles in getting calves weaned and started on feed.  These vary by regions of the country, ranch/feeder facilities and resources, as well as philosophies of cattle managers, nutritionists and veterinarians.  I think most, however, will agree that there are a few critical pieces to the puzzle that above all, must take place.  Calves need to eat and they need to drink as soon as they possibly can in order to stay healthy and maintain weight gains.  I know this sounds very simple, and a few of you will even say that must be where the “Duh”, came from in Dhuyvetter, but this is where a starting program can often go bad. 

We have been involved with a number of operations from cow-calf, stocker operators, farmer feeders as well as larger feedlots where we have looked at designing products that can help get calves started off right and increase returns to the producer.  I invite you to go to Crystalyx.com and review the many experiences that our customers have had when using Brigade^® Stress Fighting Formula as part of their weaning program.  The very palatable, self-fed, low-moisture block delivery has demonstrated consistent results in helping calves get started on feed and adjusting to the stressors of weaning.  In fact, the more stressful the environment or conditions are, the greater the response in health and calf performance.  Table 1 shows a typical response that we see when using Brigade^® from a previous trial that was conducted in Saskatchewan recently.  Improvements in animal performance as well as fewer sick cattle contribute with a significant return on investment.  

*49 Day Trial

When you stop and think about it, Using Brigade^® at weaning or when starting cattle just seems to make good economic sense.  Sometimes we call it an insurance policy when providing key nutrients required for optimal animal health.  Most producers who have used this program in the past won’t start, or wean a set of calves without Brigade^® in the pen.  By the way, the “Dhu” in Dhuyvetter is really for “Doing the right thing” and starting your calves with Brigade^® almost always assures that they will get started off right!   Go to Crystalyx.com and see how other producers are getting the benefits from Brigade^® when weaning and starting cattle!