Early Weaning of Fall‐Born Beef Calves: I. Preweaning Calf and Cow Performance

Early weaning of fall‐born beef calves (Bos taurus) can increase calf performance while maintaining cows in adequate body condition on less feed. Three hundred ninety‐five Shorthorn × Angus × Hereford crossbred calves from 340 cows were used in a 5‐yr study to examine the effects of early weaning on calf and cow performance. Calves were weaned at approximately 110 to 220 d of age. There were no significant differences between treatment groups in birth weight, early weaning weight, or rate of gain from birth to early weaning. Early‐weaned calves were 44 lb heavier (P < 0.01) and 0.2 units higher (P < 0.01) in condition score than their normal‐weaned counterparts at the time of normal weaning. Early‐weaned calves gained 0.4 lb/d more (P < 0.01) than normal‐weaned calves. At the time of early weaning, dams with normal‐weaned calves tended to weigh more (P = 0.08) than dams with early‐weaned calves. From early to normal weaning, dams with normal‐weaned calves lost 0.3 lb/d more weight than dams with early weaned calves (P < 0.01). Dams with early‐weaned calves had numerically greater (P = 0.12) condition scores than dams with normal‐weaned calves. Early weaning may be advantageous in fall‐calving beef herds.