Assessing Natural Weaning in Suckler Beef Cattle: A Single-Farm Retrospective Data Analysis of Calf-Raising Success and Colostrum Antibody Uptake in the Absence or Presence of a Yearling Calf

Summary

Suckler beef cows and their calves are commonly separated when calves are between four and ten months old. This is earlier than would happen naturally and causes stress in dams and calves and reduces feed intake and immunocompetence, and thus introduces calf performance and health problems. To address these concerns, weaning by separation was gradually phased out on a single extensive suckler beef farm comprising nine separate breeding herds based on chalk downland in southern England. Over seven consecutive years, the farm’s breeding herds were converted to natural weaning, one to two herds per year. This meant yearling calves stayed with their dams until weaned off naturally and beyond the subsequent calving season. To examine the effects of yearlings being left with their dams, retrospe