For the majority of pastoral businesses, weaning typically takes place over the dry season, when pasture on offer is of poor quality. In situations where feed is good quality wet season pasture, with high energy and protein, weaners as light as 100kg typically won’t need many supplements other than some essential vitamins and minerals such as phosphorus, copper, cobalt and selenium. However, for most of northern Australia this isn’t the case. Pasture on offer for weaners, at this crucial time, is often of poorer quality and therefore supplementation is necessary.
In this scenario, the decision is often made to wean calves at a lighter weight than would be considered ideal if feed on offer was good quality. The main driver for this strategy is to help maintain body condition of the breeder herd. Once weaned, these lighter youngsters typically require some form of supplementation to ensure they don’t go backwards in their growth.
Meat Livestock Australia (MLA)has some useful resources available to assist producers when making supplement feed decisions for these weaners. The MLA infographic below gives a clear visual on varying weaner weights and roughage availability:
Further to the above, the following table from MLA looks at average and good quality pasture availability with different weight weaners. Even in situations where pasture quality is deemed as ‘good’, weaners under 100kg will benefit from additional supplementation.
In a pastoral scenario, many businesses may decide to leave calves under 60-70kg with their mothers and wean anything above this weight. For weaners from 60kg – 150kg supplementation is required in situations where pasture on offer is of poor-to-average quality and target growth rates are required. Remember that weaners under 150kg require a high protein diet for unrestricted growth.
The benefit of a supplemented weaning program ensures earlier rumen development, which results in good growth rates, enabling producers to sell steers earlier, and also ensures heifers reach target mating weights for joining, which in turn is linked with improved fertility.
When it comes to looking for a supplement to suit your operation, consider Milne Feeds Early Weaner. Specifically designed for weaners under 150kg, when pasture on offer is of average to poor quality, this easy-to-use pellet provides the essential protein, energy, vitamins and minerals necessary to ensure weaners reach weight gain targets.
Early Weaner is a 4mm pellet that is ideal for younger calves. It contains 21% crude protein and 13MJ ME/kg. It can be fed in an ad-lib situation when weaners also have access to good quality roughage and clean water. The highly palatable formulation ensures weaners get on to feed from day 1, avoiding the traditional ‘introductory’ period where calves often go backwards.
Milne Early Weaner has been thoroughly tried and tested, having been supplied to the northern cattle industry for many years. Many stations now rely on Early Weaner as a key part of their weaning program. It is a proven and effective supplement solution for any pastoral business. It is readily available from both our depot in Broome and our mill in Perth.
Early Weaner is not the only Milne Feeds solution on offer for pastoral businesses. We have a range of beef pellets, such as EasyBeef® and Vitalize®, that can be used strategically for weight gain in older cows, to prepare bulls for mating, or for feedlotting younger animals. We also have economical maintenance pellets for holding stock in yards when required.
If you would like to know more about our cattle feed solutions, please get in touch with our Beef Sales Manager, Jess Andony, on 0435 174 719, or jessica@milne.com.au.
MLA has further resources on their website for managing weaners. If you’d like to read more, head to: https://elearning.mla.com.au/courses/weaner-management-in-northern-beef-herds/
