In 1999, holistic management educator and grazier Brian Marshall learned of the nosering and the advantages offered in reducing the cost from loss of production due to stress.

“Brian recognised the benefits it would provide and started manufacturing and selling the noserings in Australia,” EasyWean business director Gillian Stephens said.

“EasyWean is a product created by graziers for graziers who have a passion for improving productivity and are striving for best practice in terms of animal welfare.”

It has been widely confirmed that stress has a detrimental effect on livestock productivity. One of the most stressful times for cattle is during weaning.

As such, any measure which alleviates or minimizes stress is to the benefit of the producer and helps reduce weight loss.

The most common method of weaning is complete separation of cows and calves, which leads to the stress of nutritional changes as well as a change in the physical and social environment.

EasyWean provides an alternative to this practice, by allowing the calf to stay with its mother and mob while being weaned.

“The ring not only provides a barrier to weaning but also works on the cow. When the calf tries to suckle, the spikes make the cow uncomfortable, so she moves away,” Gillian explained.

The ring needs to be left in the nose for four to six weeks. They’re easily fitted and removed. They’re also reusable.

At the average weaning age of seven months, Gillian says, milk loss only has about a l0pc effect on the weaning weight of calves. Separation is the major cause of weight loss, with calves recorded losing 25-30kgs when moved from their mothers.

The stress releases hormones into the system, she continued, which causes cattle to become prone to physical illness. As a result, reconditioning is often required, which can be a costly and time-consuming process.

Studies show that behavioural stress responses, such as increased vocalization (bawling cattle) and increased walking and pacing, result in increased energy requirements of 4pc to 24pc over maintenance requirements.

“What’s also only recently being understood is that marbling in beef isn’t controlled by feedlots in the final months of feeding,” she said.

“It’s linked to feed quality and stress much earlier in the animal’s life. Meat tenderness is negatively affected by animals losing and gaining weight.”

Reducing stress increases profit by increasing production, immune response, weight gain, and carcass quality of the calves. As such, low stress weaning is key to quality beef production.

“EasyWean also allows weaned calves to learn herd behaviour as they stay with their mothers and the herd instead of being grouped with other calves at weaning time, which can improve some aspects of temperament, plant selection, mothering ability and adaptation,” Gillian said.

Weaning calves with EasyWean next to their mothers also enables glaziers to manage their land more effectively.

Many producers think that the impact of weaning stress is not their problem. It is thought that the cost from the stress and subsequent loss of production are to the detriment of the buyer, not the seller. This is true in terms of the health and growth of the calf but the loss of production of the cow is not taken into consideration.

Stress can affect reproduction and milk production in cattle. When cows are stressed, a variety of mechanisms are triggered which suppress reproductive and maternal performance. This makes weaning stress an issue for the seller too, not just the buyer.

Gillian says a cow’s condition is directly related with her chance of reconceiving in the next mating season.

“Cows need a body condition score of three or higher at calving to maximise the chance of getting pregnant again within 75 days,” she said.

“In Australia’s variable climate a cow feeding her calf may struggle to maintain her body condition. De-stressing the cow by managing when she weans her calf is vital to maximizing conception rates.”

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The Pearts, who wean 400-500 calves in their certified EU-organic beef operation at “Bundaleer”, 90 km north of Injune, began time-controlled grazing in the late 1990s to address pasture decline.

These days, Matthew Peart said, “instead of growing grass for cattle, we run cattle for grass”.

That philosophy has served them well. Stocking rates have increased from 22 stock days per hectare per 100 mm of rainfall to 36-37 stock days/ha/100mm; while groundcover, once decreasing, now stands at close to 100 per cent.

Graduates of the RCS and Holistic Management schools, the Pearts credit this turnaround to successfully managing the short graze/long rest principles the schools’ teach.

The concept means concentrating as many cattle as possible onto small areas for a short time, so that grass not eaten is trampled to mulch and soil disturbance encourages fresh plant recruitment.

For the Pearts, that has meant creating 70 paddocks out of their original 16, so that stock densities have risen from 0.25 animals per hectare most of the time, to 40-100 animals/ha (sometimes up to 250 animals/ha) for very short, intensive grazing periods.

It has also meant that their ideas about weaning had to change.

To maximise grazing densities, the Pearts bundled all their cattle into one mob. Traditional weaning methods mean splitting the mob and diluting grazing pressure, so in 2002 they turned instead to Easywean nose rings.

The spiked Easywean rings inhibit a calf’s ability to suckle its mother.

The rings ensure a calf is weaned from milk, taking the pressure off its dam “so that it can get on with its next pregnancy”. But because cows and calves remain in the same mob, the maternal link – a link as strong between cattle as it is between people – remains intact.

“It takes the madness out of weaning,” said Mr Peart, who now recognises several generations of females in some family groups.

He considers the main attribute of the Easywean system is the ability to keep the mob together. However, there are other benefits.

Putting in and later removing up to 640 rings, as he has in some years, “doesn’t happen before breakfast”, but can be done in a day.

By contrast traditional yard weaning involves many days work, productivity loss from stressed cattle, and often additional costs from feeding and damaged infrastructure.

Those costs are eliminated with the rings, which present an up-front cost, but can be used many times over. Mr Peart is still using some of the rings he bought in 2002, which will eventually have to be discarded only because the spikes have worn smooth.

No system is foolproof, and nor is Easywean.

Certain cows – Mr Peart identifies these tend to be empty cows in particular – have maternal instincts that outweight the discomfort they get from the rings, so the calf keeps suckling.

Mr Peart said the percentage of such incidents is small, and cows will naturally wean their calves over time.

But to capture these “non-conformers”, he will this year divide the weaners from the mothers with a ‘through the fence’ separation for a short period after the rings are removed.

Because they can still associate with each other across the fence, this method lacks the stress of conventional weaning.

A very small percentage of rings are lost during the 6-8 weeks that the Pearts leave the rings in, “but not enough to outweigh the benefits”.

He has never seen a calf entangled in fences or vegetation by a ring.

“At the end of the weaning, 90-plus percent of our calves have been converted to grass-eaters, while they still run with their Mum,” Mr Peart said.

“We find them a really valuable tool to help us grow grass and the legumes we’re testing. Instead of worrying about broken fences, we can stay focused on maintaining groundcover and plant density, and that ultimately means more beef.”

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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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The EasyWean® nosering, distinguished by its bright orange colour and blunt spikes, was developed in South Africa to allow calves to remain in the same herd as their mother, but to stop them visiting the udder.

Not only do the ring’s spikes discomfort the dam, but the device also frustrates the calf’s ability to suck even if the cow was able to endure the jabs.

The result, according to Guyra grazier and the importer of the EasyWean concept, Brian Marshall, is cows and calves that not only do not suffer any weight loss during the weaning process – and frequently gain weight – but are better mannered cattle as a whole.

“If you want to teach your daughter how to live well in society, you’re not likely to turn her out to live with her teenage mates at 13,” Mr Marshall said.

“And the best place to bring up a heifer is also in the herd.”

The concept allows graziers to revisit some of their management strategies.

The rings has proved especially useful for those who don’t want to split their herd into breeders and weaners, like rotational graziers operating with one large mob, or drovers on the road.

It has also proven beneficial for those who use weaning to draft off cull cows and sale weaners.

In both cases, Mr Marshall said, the additional stress of sudden separation could affect the value of the cattle, either in weaner weight loss and temperament, or in discounts for dark-cutting meat.

Mr Marshall said he no longer buys “snap weaned” calves – those taken straight from mother and put on a truck.

“The premium I am prepared to pay for a well weaned calf is more than justified by the savings on weight loss, feed, fencing repairs and possible medication,” he said.

He ensures his own weaners live up to client expectation by fitting them with weaning rings for a minimum of two weeks and as long as six weeks before trucking.

The rings have proven particularly valuable for those graziers who want to avoid the growth setback that tends to go with conventional weaning practices.

Mr Marshall conducted a trial in 2004 using 104 weaners fitted with EasyWean® rings and 15 “control” animals without rings.

All the weaners were from another property about 80 kilometres from “Tara”. They were trucked to Mr Marshall’s property about a fortnight after the weaning rings were fitted to the 104 calves.

During the fortnight with their parent herd, the weaners with the rings did not gain or lose weights, while the ring-free weaners gained weight. But on arrival at “Tara”, the calves fitted with the rings settled quickly into a grazing parttern and visibly began to gain weight, while the calves without rings mooned around the “Tara” yards and lost condition for the first few weeks.

“It’s a common observation that calves fitted with the rings will gain weight throughout the weaning process – as much as 0.75kg a day,” Mr Marshall said.

“Some may not gain weight, but they don’t lose it, either.”

Mr Marshall said some of the rings he began using in 1998 were still going strong.

EasyWean® noserings have been in use for six years at Margaret and Rob Chapman’s Wongwibinda properties “Abroi” and “Mt Harry”, and according to manager, Wade Gaddes, have proved their worth.

Mr Gaddes, pictured with the rings, runs an organically-certified beef operation on “Abroi”, and has found that any stress during weaning leaves the calves open to worm infection and other illnesses. Use of the rings makes weaning a stress-free operation.

The enterprise has also found the rings ideal for ensuring that weight gains in its Charolais-cross calves don’t slip during the weaning period.

“The first year we tried the rings, on average the calves didn’t lose any weight during the weaning process and the biggest of them had put on 20 kilograms,” Mr Gaddes said.

“We also find it useful for our replacement heifers. We pull the calls off to sell to backgrounders, but the replacements get fitted with a ring and stay with mum so they get taught to eat.”

The calves are yarded after they have gone through the weaning process, the rings removed, and the calves held in the yard for several days while they learn to eat hay and deal with human contact.

Some seasons, as with this year, early weaning is not just desirable but essential.

NSW Department of Primary Industries beef cattle officer, Ian Blackwood, Paterson, said in years where autumn pasture rapidly deteriorated, as it did this year, some quick decisions needed to be taken about the future of the herd.

“With spring/summer calves back in calf, the cows need to be nursed through the winter and calve with a fat score of 1 ½ to 2 or 2 to 2 ½ would be better, so they can join successfully from October,” he said.

“Cows eating poor pasture quality live ‘off their backs’, mobilising body fat in order to make milk for their calf. Early weaning is a cheap investment in maximising the conception rate at the next joining.”

Brian Marshall said that it was often desirable in drought to remove calves from their mothers to allow the cows to go onto a different plane of nutrition, but that there remained a role for weaning rings in minimising stress in difficult times.

“Although a two-week weaning with the rings is recommended for calves which will be removed from their mothers, even four days would have a positive effect in reducing stress,” Mr Marshall said.

Article by Matthew Cawood, The Land, June 15 2006

The post Easy weaning with nose rings appeared first on Easywean NoseRings.

Badly-weaned calves leave the buyer – lotfeeder or finisher – to cope with a stressed animal prone to bawling, weight loss and with a greater susceptibility to sickness.

Weaned calves avoid these behaviours and their costs, with producers willing to pay more for a “well weaned calf”.

Holistic management educator, Brian Marshall, “Tara”, Guyra, introduced the concept to Australia in 1997, and uses it in his 600-head herd.

The spiked noserings are designed to get the cows themselves to stop calves drinking.

Mr Marshall will no longer buy “snap weaned” calves – those taken straight from mother and put on a truck.

“The premium I am prepared to pay for a well-weaned calf is more than justified by the savings on weight loss, feed, fencing repairs and possible medication,” Mr Marshall said.

He puts the bright orange plastic anti-suck devices on his weaners for a minimum of two weeks and as long as six weeks before sale day.

In that time the calf is weaned from its mother without the added stress of separation.

“This two step weaning process is the no-stress, quiet alternative to yard weaning,” Mr Marshall said.

The nosering is fitted to the calf which is then weaned next to its mother in the paddock, before removing the ring and separating the cow and calf.

If the breeder elects to retain weaners, there is no need to separate until other management objectives require the weaners to be in another mob.

Mr Marshall said from his observation retained heifers were best left to grow up with their mothers in the herd.

“This decision is potentially a new paradigm, and is dependent on scale and joining strategies,” Mr Marshall said.

The concept was pioneered in South Africa, where more than 100 000 rings a year are sold.

The rings are being used by graziers as far afield as Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

Customers range from hobby farmers or those in closely settled areas wanting to stop calves bawling, through to extensive operations which regard them as an easy way to manage weaning and minimise the set-back.

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