Throughout the month of May, we’ve been celebrating #beefmonth. First, we talked calving then moved on to working and growing babies. Now, we get to move on to weaning season.
Cows have a baby calf about once a year. When they are born they weigh around 60-100 pounds. The babies spend 6-9 months with their mommas before getting weaned. By this time, they are ready to be on their own. We haul the calves in and put them in a corral for a week or two until they are used to us and know how to eat good. When we wean them they weight anywhere from 500-750 pounds. Then they get to go out to grass and come back in 1-2 times per day to get a treat.
When we pull the calves off, we have a vet pregnancy check the cows to see how far along they are with their next calf. It’s very expensive to feed a cow and if they aren’t bred, they get sold out of the herd or moved to a different calving time.
Then it’s rest and relaxation time for the cows. They are fed well to keep them in good condition for calving season that will soon be approaching. The third trimester is an important nutritional time for mom and baby. But mostly, they’re living the life. Eating eight hours per day, chewing their cud or re-processing the food for eight hours a day and sleeping for eight hours per day.
Next week, we’ll talk about choosing replacement heifers and start finishing the ones going into our finishing lots.
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