It is important to make adjustment to life in the feedlot or backgrounding yard as stress free for your calves as possible. Stresses associated with weaning and transit can cause feed intake to be depressed. Inadequate nutrient intake can be a major problem during the weaning period if calves are not accustomed to eating from a bunk. Ensuring that calves eat as soon as possible after weaning is critical for health, proper immune response, and growth. Undernourished calves have poorer responses to vaccinations and are more susceptible to disease. Bunk breaking (training cattle to eat from a feed bunk) can be a difficult process, especially if calves have never eaten processed feed before. Calves that have only drunk from streams or ponds may not know how to drink from a commercial waterer or water fountain. Consider putting an experienced calf with newly weaned calves to show them where the waterers are located and how to drink from them. Here are a few suggestions for bunk breaking calves: • Feed long-stem grass hay in the bunks for four to seven days to help get calves used to eating out of a bunk. • After calves are accustomed to eating from bunks (usually less than four to seven days, but this can vary), gradually begin acclimating them to the backgrounding diet. • Avoid excessive processing of grains and hays. This tends to result in a dry, dusty, unpalatable ration. • Consider including a liquid supplement, molasses, or other wet feeds in the ration as a way to cut the dust and improve feed intake.

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