Weaning tool
Spiked Calf Weaning Ring
Anti-suckling nose device
What it is
A ring fitted into a calf's nose with projections facing outward. When the calf reaches the udder, the projections press into the cow and she pushes the calf away.
Where it sits in the system
Weaning happens on the farm's schedule, not the calf's. The ring makes the cow do the rejecting, so suckling stops before or during separation.
Welfare concern
Depending on how it fits and how the projections are shaped, the ring rubs and irritates the calf's nose and mouth. Cut off from milk and driven off by its mother, the calf is hungry, calls, and shows distress.
Worth being precise about
The ring does not cut. It works by making the cow refuse. Fit, how long it stays in, monitoring, and how the separation itself is handled vary between farms, and they decide how much harm it does.
