But not for New England grazier Christopher Wright who during this year’s weaning recorded an average weight gain of 0.64kg a day in his calves.

Nor does the normal practices of weaning – forced separation between cows and calves – hold true for Mr Wright.

Instead, he uses spiked EasyWean® noserings, a South African invention that has become increasingly popular there and in Australia since their introduction in 1997.

The spiked ring interferes with a calf’s ability to suckle it mother. Mr Wright’s observation is that despite the potential of the spikes to jab the cow, the rings work by preventing the calf getting its tongue around the teat.

Both yard weaning and EasyWean® noserings succeed in turning off the milk supply.

The critical difference, Mr Wright believes, is that the EasyWean process doesn’t break the maternal link between cow and calf and therefore doesn’t create enormous distress in a highly social animal.

Nor does EasyWean® thrust the calf onto a new diet at the height of its distress as yard weaning does.

“Calves might still be sucking at their mothers at weaning age but by then it’s out of habit rather than necessity,” Mr Wright said.

“The rings just quietly break that habit without suddenly breaking the maternal link. The cows immediately begin to increase bodyweight because they no longer have to produce milk and they aren’t suffering the stress that goes with losing their calves. And the calves are obviously gaining weight at the same time.”

The Wrights’ calves only require a 13-18 day weaning, which is enough to remove their dependence on their mothers before they are sold onto a backgrounder.

For Mr Wright, who with wife Margot runs a 880ha property, using the EasyWean® process to take the stress out of weaning has simultaneously lowered costs, increased productivity and halted environmental damage by fence-patrolling cattle.

When he initiated the weaning process in mid-May, by putting the rings on the calves when his rotationally-grazed herd passed the yards, the calves went over the scales at an average 301kg curfew weight.

When he took the rings out last week, 13 days later, the calves weighed an average 309kg, translating to a 0.64kg daily weight gain over 13 days. Last year his calves gained 0.6kg per day over 18 days.

Mr Wright, who has just started his “sixth passive weaning”, said at $8 each, the upfront cost of the rings could seem prohibitive.

“But when you amortise the cost over the life of a ring, you’re down to a couple of dollars per weaning,” he said. “In the last couple of years we’ve only lost two rings out of the 250 we put in.”

Mr Wright said the cost of the EasyWean® process was also considerably cheaper than yard weaning. “It takes two of us a day to pregnancy test 280 breeders and put the EasyWean® rings into 250 weaners,” he said.

“Some of the figures I’ve seen for yard weaning put the costs at somewhere between $14-$20 a head and I don’t know of anyone who records weight gain in the calves during the process. Usually it’s the opposite.”

New England grazier Christopher Wright opted for the energy-efficient EasyWean® process after a trial six years ago in which he used EasyWean® rings in 180 calves and weaned another 20 by forced separation. The calves were weighed before the trial and weighed afterwards. On average, those with noserings gained weight while those without rings lost about 20kg.

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In 2008 the DRDPIFR undertook a trial on three of its Northern Territory properties to test the use of EasyWean noserings compared to traditional yard weaning.

The aim of the trial was to study the effect of weaning stress and the costs involved. Weaning stress leads to significant weight loss among calves and the trial was examining ways to reduce this weight loss.

Stress associated with weaning is the result of both the loss of milk and separation of the calf from its mother. By eliminating or delaying the separation, the stress from weaning is greatly reduced. The use of EasyWean nose rings allows the calves to be weaned without having to separate them from their mothers.

Results from the study made it apparent that weaning with EasyWean noserings almost halved the cost per head of weaning. However, it was also noted that the weaners produced were less educated.

Regarding weight loss, the trial on Old Man Plains Research Station recorded that calves with an EasyWean nosering grew at an average of 0.82kgs per day for the first 14 days while their yard weaned counterparts lost weight. When taken off their mothers the nosering group did lose some condition, but the extent and duration of the loss was greatly reduced.

The DRDPIFR trial acknowledged that different enterprises have different management objectives. With this in mind, it concluded that using EasyWean noserings would be beneficial for:

EasyWean® is not designed to prevent the calf from suckling. Although the nosering does act as a barrier and pushes the teat out of reach, it is designed to encourage the cow to wean her own calf. The discomfort is with the cow when the calf tries to suckle, and the spikes of the nosering irritate her udder. She will then move away.

For more information on this trial refer the DRDPIFR internal publication, Alice Springs Rural Review; Aug/Sept 2008 or contact EasyWean or refer to the website www.easywean.com.au

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Dairy farmers across Australia have found a solution to this problem by using an anti-suckling device on their calves.

The popularity of EasyWean® noserings has even extended abroad.

Matthew Beautlerk, Allegraine Jersey Dairies, South Africa has been using EasyWean noserings since 1997, since they discovered problems with their calves suckling each other.

“The suckling induces a hormone imbalance in the heifer causing her to go through early puberty and this damages the udder,” Mr Beautlerk said.

At Allegraine the calves are taken away from their mothers at birth and placed in a calf pen where they are given regular bottle feeds.

Mr Beautlerk said the suckling problem started when calves graduated from the pen to group life, which included the transition from milk to concentrates and grass.

“Once the calves are out of the pen, about ten percent show the inclination to suckle,” he said. “One suckler can damage four to five udders.”

To combat the problem, a nosering is clamped on each suckler and when the suckling calf goes for the udders of other heifers, the plastic spikes on the ring poke the suckled calf and it kicks at the source of irritation and so breaks the suckling cycle.

“We have found the nosering extremely useful,” Beautlerk said.

“It is going very well as they are easy to put in and take out.”

The Australian-made EasyWean® noserings are easily identified because they are bright orange, spiky and made from acetyl plastic, which is hardy and means they can be reused over many seasons.

The nosering is easily fitted in a few minutes by pushing the lugs into the nose and tightening the bolt and wing nut until the ring is tight but can still move up and down.

Contact EasyWean® for more information.

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These events can cause considerable stress and potential weight loss but EasyWean® noserings can offer an alternative.

Feeding calves is usually necessary in conventional yard weaning and education for feeding and handling is often an objective of this process.

The net cost of time, labour, feed and possible weight loss can be considerable.

EasyWean® noserings offer a low-cost alternative with a simple plastic and stainless steel device for weaning calves without separation from their mothers.

The concept involves the quick fitting of a nosering to the calf at weaning age and putting the cows and calves back together for 4-6 weeks.

This allows the lactation to stop without separating the calf from its mother which greatly reduces stress and weight-loss.

If handling and feeding education are considered necessary, this can occur when the nosering is removed.

These reusable noserings are Australian-made and have gained popularity with stud and commercial breeders since 1999.

Early adopters Jim and Pam McGregor of Ardcairnie Angus, Maybenup, Kojonup, were attracted to EasyWean® noserings as a means of weaning the calves from heifers to take pressure off the young cows, before the feed quality in the Great Southern region of WA deteriorated.

“It gives the young cows a better chance to build body reserves over summer as they are still growing animals,” Pam said.

Jim said they decided to wean all the calves with the noserings, which proved to be of benefit to the cow and calf, without the traumatic traditional weaning process.

“This year we will install the noserings when we do the 200 day weights on the calves, in November, and hopefully there will still be some green feed around,” Jim said.

“The noserings will also allow us to creep-feed the calves while having the company of their mums if the quality and quantity of the feed during this difficult season remains an issue.”

Pam said they normally liked to separate the bull calves from the rest of the cow/calf group before there was any possibility of the heifer calves being mated. With the noserings they could wean them for about two weeks then remove them from the group.

“The noserings also enable us to do the weaning process without dramatically changing the calves’ diet,” Pam said.

The McGregor’s run over 200 pedigree Angus females and the same number of pure and commercial Angus females.

As holistic management practitioners planning their grazing, the cows are run in one mob as far as possible and for most of the year.

EasyWean® noserings are a useful management tool to enable them to achieve that objective.

Jim said they separate the young stock sometime after weaning and supplementary feed them through their first summer.

“The separated heifers are then mated three weeks before the main mob of females,” he said.

“They are calved separately until they are well through calving, and only then do they join the cow mob.”

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