Effects of date of weaning on subsequent performance of beef cows and their female calves

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Makarechian, M.
  • Kubish, H. M.
  • Price, M. A.

• 1233 April/May born calves were weaned either on 30 Sept. (EW) or 31 Oct. (LW) to assess the effects of weaning date on subsequent performance of their dams and female calves. Cows in the EW group lost less weight than those in the LW group in the month of October (0.003 vs. 0.48 kg d−1, P < 0.05). Dam's breed group, year and the interaction between year and age of dam also had significant effects on weight change during October. Cows generally lost weight between weaning and the next calving and the two weaning groups were similar in body weight at calving and reproductive performance. The reproductive performance of the EW and LW female calves were also quite similar. It can be concluded that weaning April/May born calves in September rather than October would not influence the subsequent production of the dams or their female calves, but would probably reduce their maintenance requirements as they enter the cold season in better condition.

• Date created

  1988

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Weight changes
  • Reproduction
  • Beef cows
  • Weaning date

• Type of Item

  Article (Published)

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3XB93

• License

  @1988 Makarechian, M., Kubish, H. M., Price, M. A. This version of this article is open access and can be downloaded and shared. The original author(s) and source must be cited.