Weaning is one of the most stressful events in a calf’s life — and one of the most significant for long-term health and performance.
During a Drovers exclusive on Farm Journal TV, Ron Lemenager, Purdue beef extension specialist; A.J. Tarpoff, Kansas State University Extension veterinarian; and Brian Walt, a Kansas cow-calf producer who backgrounds his calves and others he buys, discuss tips to help producers navigate the weaning process.
How producers handle six key decisions — often weeks before calves ever leave their mothers — determines whether that stress turns into a setback or a smooth transition. Here’s how the panelists answer those important questions:
1. When Should You Wean?
The short answer: Base it on cow body condition, forage availability and market timing — not a fixed date.
“The first one is body condition. So, what’s the current condition of the cow at this moment in time? Is she gaining weight? Is she losing weight?” Lemenager explains. “The second one is forage quality and quantity. The third one is seasonality markets — if I could wean maybe just a little bit ahead of that October to November price decline, maybe I could background those calves a little bit or precondition them.”
There’s also a floor on age. Calves weaned before 70 days of age run a higher risk of stunted growth, Lemenager stresses.
“If I wean a calf at less than 70 days of age, that calf is probably going to look like a pot-bellied orphan calf — weaning before 70 days of age can create some stunted growth,” he explains.
Walt, owner of W6 Cattle Co., Collyer, Kan., with both spring- and fall-calving herds, says he leans toward earlier weaning when conditions allow.
“I always wean earlier in the summer, it allows that cow to get back into better shape in the winter,” Walt says. “Another reason is to try to avoid such big temperature swings as you get into late September and October.”
2. Which Weaning Method Is Best?
The short answer: Whatever method you use, separate cows and calves by sight and sound — and acclimate calves to their new environment beforehand.
Lemenager explains with his cow herd he uses abrupt weaning, moving the cows to a different pasture nine miles away.
“The calves and the cows are separated by a distance, so that they’re out of sight and out of sound from each other,” he explains. “My weaning is over in three to four days.”
Tarpoff says acclimation ahead of weaning day is one of the most underused tools available to producers.
“I don’t think we can ever undersell the impact of acclimation,” Tarpoff explains. “Acclimation of the environment, acclimation of the new water tank, acclimation of how they’re going to be receiving their feed — introducing that prior to the actual weaning steps, I think is extremely beneficial for any and all operations.”
3. Is Your Health Protocol Timed Correctly?
The short answer: Handle castration, dehorning and vaccine boosters well before weaning — not on top of it.
Both Lemenager and Tarpoff point to a common mistake: piling procedures on top of the weaning process itself, rather than spacing them out ahead of time.
“It’s really, really critical that these calves be castrated, dehorned and vaccinated prior to weaning, where you’re not stacking stresses on top of stresses,” Lemenager says.
Tarpoff lays out a vaccine timeline built around that same principle — priming the immune system early, then boosting well ahead of the actual weaning date.
“We give that primer at 3 to 4 months of age, and then we can jumpstart closer to weaning,” Tarpoff explains. “We can backtrack about four weeks or so before we plan to wean, and that’s when we give our boosters. We want to be ahead of that challenge, so we can challenge the immune system when it’s healthy and prepared.”
4. What Should — and Shouldn’t — Be in the Ration?
The short answer: Start with a palatable, balanced ration — and avoid fermented and high-sulfur feeds for newly weaned calves to prevent digestive upset or rumen shock from sudden dietary shifts during high-stress periods.
Panelists suggest a balanced starter with an ionophore. Limit distillers and avoid introducing silage/fermented feeds in brand‑new weanlings unless they’ve already seen it with the cow.
“The diet should not be finely ground or dusty,” Lemenager explains.
5. Do You Have the Facilities to Manage Stress?
The short answer: You don’t need elite infrastructure — you need a plan, and you can share resources if needed.
Tarpoff says producers without extensive working facilities aren’t out of options.
“Just because you don’t necessarily have a hydraulic squeeze chute on your farm doesn’t mean that you can’t implement some of these strategies,” he adds.
He suggests producers without working facilities reach out to their veterinarian for options or investigate cost-share opportunities with neighbors — a portable corral or a small working facility.
Once calves are weaned, close daily observation matters just as much as facilities.
“Ideally, I like to get through the cattle — walk through them morning and night — make sure everything is still active, still coming up to the bunk,” Walt says.
Tarpoff agrees with Walt and points to the DART system — depression, appetite, respiratory rate, temperature — as a simple way to catch sick calves early.
6. Do You Have a Plan If Calves Get Sick?
The short answer: Have clear intervention thresholds, be flexible with timing and accept that some health issues will occur — but planning keeps them manageable.
Set an intervention threshold (e.g., when multiple calves are off for more than a day) and have a treatment protocol ready with your veterinarian.
The Bottom Line
For all three panelists, the consensus is the same: a plan — and the discipline to build in flexibility around it — beats reacting to problems after they start.
“The weaning pitfalls that I see is that there’s no plan,” Lemenager stresses.
Farm Journal TV hosted this exclusive discussion about weaning: Watch it for free here, and you can sign up for more exclusive content.
This article is part of Drovers’ Weaning Strategies and Preparation Week. Weaning is a high-stakes milestone when herd health, nutrition and marketing strategies must align perfectly. Throughout the week, the Drovers team will share expert-backed tips to minimize stress on your calves — and your bottom line. Bookmark our weaning resource hub to stay updated.
