Late Weaning in Uk

[StormInATeaCup]

https://hereford.org/static/files/1115_LateWeaning.pdf

Recently read this article which I thought was interesting… does anyone do this in the UK?

Outwintering cow and calf pairs, weaning at 10 months in March and calving in May/June.

The late weaning would make the out-wintering and weaning easier, the cows would lose plenty of condition over winter but recover fast in March & April to avoid fertility problems.

This weaning system would be part of an extensive system of finishing at grass by 30 months

 

[The Ruminant]

Sounds like a good plan.
The only reason I wean in November is because I always found calves would get absolutely covered in shite in with their mothers and it didn't matter how much straw I used. It would be all over their heads and backs even if their bellies were clean. They got shat on while lying down in the shed
Cows are wintered out for longer on deferred grass now though so I had planned on leaving calves on but my deferred grass didn't grow too well this year as the field was so dry and it didn't rain much so I'll wean them into a shed next week and the cows can strip graze what's there and have some hay. Not brave enough to leave calves on with not much grass there. Could creep them I suppose.
@The Ruminant does what you are describing I think. Or will know about it if he doesn't

I’ve done it for a year or two now. In fact my current hereford bull was born outside early one February, has never seen the inside of a shed, was never weaned, as such (his mother naturally dried off before giving birth to the next calf the following February) and has never eaten anything other than rough scrubby river “meadows”.

I’d prefer them to be calving later (and a small herd of Sussex I had did calve later which worked very well, again, no formal weaning involved) but the herefords were bought in-calf so I had no real say about their calving date.