There comes a time when the calves have to be separated from cows to stop them from suckling and encourage them to start feeding on pasture and water. Usually it involves moving the calves away from the cows to a separate location but both may show behaviour changes following this action. As a result, it may affect their feeding patterns and calves have been known to show depressed performance following weaning.
But the use of a suckling preventer, a weaning ring or calf-weaning nose ring can achieve the separation of calf and cow with better results and less effect on their behaviour. It comes in different shapes and material like plastic or metal, some have spikes while others are without. Some have screws which are used to adjust when being fitted on the calf’s nose.
In the suckling preventer, livestock farmers have a measure to control grown up calves from over suckling their mothers and move to graze on their own. A suckling preventer or calf-weaning ring provides an alternative to the crude methods of separating calves from their mothers during weaning. Some of them have plastic spikes which are uncomfortable for the cow, which causes it to reject the calf’s efforts at suckling. Weaning nose rings are also available for sheep and goats. The rings, which are made of plastic, can be attached to the nose of the calf without hurting it, and are reusable.
