Weaning (animal breeding)

When settling ( lat. Ablactatio ) is referred to in the animal breeding , the separation of the offspring by the mother at the end of the suckling period and the associated conversion to milk-free feeding. In humans, these dietary changes is called "cessation" or weaning referred.

The weaning age , i.e. the time of weaning, is also due to technology and epidemic hygiene in livestock husbandry, but is limited by nutritional and physiological requirements. The transition from a diet based purely on milk to an adult diet must be gradual, as this requires a series of adaptation processes in the digestive tract .

Due to the change in diet and the stress , young animals show an increased susceptibility to disease during weaning. In most cases, weaning is also associated with relocation or resale, which increases stress levels.

literature

Jürgen Wolfgang Weiß, Wilhelm Pabst, Susanne Granz: Animal production . 14th edition. Georg Thieme, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-8304-1161-1 .