Introduction
Weaning typically consists of separation of dam and offspring, no more milk for the calf, and a transition to a more solid diet. This time is often quite stressful for the calf because all they know up to this point is their mother, they have not yet lived on their own or eaten a diet consisting of anything but milk. The purpose of this study was to determine if fence line weaning helped to reduce negative impacts on behavior and growth. One study done in 1997 showed that fence line weaned calves initially showed a greater weight gain than calves that were totally separated, however after two to three days there was no difference between the two groups. This recent study however, used a non-weaned control group to determine the
Weaning typically consists of separation of dam and offspring, no more milk for the calf, and a transition to a more solid diet. This time is often quite stressful for the calf because all they know up to this point is their mother, they have not yet lived on their own or eaten a diet consisting of anything but milk. The purpose of this study was to determine if fence line weaning helped to reduce negative impacts on behavior and growth. One study done in 1997 showed that fence line weaned calves initially showed a greater weight gain than calves that were totally separated, however after two to three days there was no difference between the two groups. This recent study however, used a non-weaned control group to determine the