Putting Pounds on Weaners: Where the Calories Come From

Sale day is when the calf crop gets graded in dollars. Pounds on the scale are the biggest thing you control, and pounds are made of calories. If you want heavier weaners, you have to know where those calories are coming from and which ones you are paying for.

Milk first, then grass, then bag feed

A new calf lives on milk. For the first couple of months the cow is the whole feed bin, and everything you did or did not do for her in winter shows up in her bag. A cow that came into calving thin makes less milk, and the calf lags no matter how good his bull was. That is why a lot of weight problems get traced back to the cow herd and not the calf.

As the calf grows he starts grazing alongside her. That is where pasture quality earns its keep. Fresh, leafy grass delivers plenty of energy. Mature, dry grass delivers far less, and calves slow down in the dog days. After that you can add feed in a creep, but you are now buying calories instead of growing them.

Take care of the cow and the calf takes care of himself

If you only fix one thing, fix the cow's winter and spring nutrition. Check body condition before calving and again at breeding, and feed to hold her where she needs to be. We lay it out in feeding the cow that works hard, stage by stage. A cow in good shape milks better and breeds back, which pays you twice.

Grass is your cheapest feed

Everything you do to keep grass leafy and growing helps your weaners. Do not let pastures get grazed to the dirt. Rest them. Move cattle before the best plants are bitten off again. Our rotational grazing guide shows how to set it up, and the farm.fm page on boosting Angus market value frames why consistent, well-grown calves bring more at the sale barn.

Creep feed: run the math before you buy the first sack

Creep feed puts weight on calves, but whether it pays is another story. When grass is short or the cows are light milkers, creep often returns its cost. When grass is good, the calf eats less of it and gains less from the feed, and you can spend more on feed than the extra pounds are worth. Add the fact that fat calves sometimes get a discount from buyers who want growth, not condition, and a heifer calf overfed in a creep may not milk as well later.

Work it out like this: pounds of feed it takes to put on a pound of gain, times the price per pound of feed, against what the extra pound sells for. Use today's prices, not last year's. If the answer is thin, skip the creep and spend that time on the grass instead.

Calve early and tight

This one does not cost a dime. Calves born in the first part of a short calving season are older on weaning day, and older calves are heavier. A herd scattered over months wastes that. Keep your bulls in a limited breeding window, keep cows fed to cycle, and pull open ones. If you want more on timing the sale, read our guide to when and how to sell calves.

Pick bulls for growth, but keep the cow in the picture

Growth and milk EPDs help you pick sires that add pounds. But bigger, heavier-milking cows eat more, and on lean country they lose condition and fall out of the herd. Buy for the ground you have. If you want help with the selection side, start with our bull buying checklist.

Do not forget the weather and the flies

Calves gain on what they eat, and anything that keeps them from eating costs you pounds. Heat, mud, pinkeye, flies and rough handling all show up on the scale. A calf standing in a muddy lot fighting flies is not grazing. Shade, clean water and a decent fly control program are cheap compared with the gain they protect. Work calves calmly, vaccinate on your vet's schedule and keep the pairs on clean ground. A sick calf at weaning never catches up to the one that stayed healthy, and nothing in the feed bin will buy that back.

Handle calves at weaning with the same care. A calf that is stressed and off feed for a week at shipping loses pounds the buyer notices.

Heavier does not always mean richer

A load of heavy calves is not always a better load. Buyers sometimes discount weight past a certain point, and the price per pound often falls as weight climbs. Look at your local sale reports and ask your buyer what he wants. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service at ams.usda.gov posts market information, and the Economic Research Service follows the larger price trends. For local buyers and suppliers, check agriculture.directory.

The short list

• Feed the cow before you feed the calf.
• Keep pasture leafy and rested.
• Tighten the calving window.
• Run creep numbers with current prices.
• Buy bulls that fit your feed supply.
• Know what your buyer pays for weight.

Prices and premiums change, so check current numbers with your county agent or the sale barn. This site is independent and not affiliated with the American Angus Association or Certified Angus Beef.