She was born on May 30th to a first time mother. The birth went well and she was a healthy little heifer, but when she got up and attempted to nurse, her mother would not allow her. This does sometimes happen with a first calf-it is always heartbreaking. After unsuccessful attempts to get one of the other cows to "adopt" her, we made the decision to bottle feed her. It is essential that calves get an adequate supply of colostrum (a nutrient and antibody rich substance that cows produce for only about 12 hours after delivering) in the first 2 hours after birth, and we were running out of time. We always TRY and keep a supply of powdered colostrum on hand, but on this day, it was a frantic race to the feed store to get more.
Clementine moved into our backyard where she would be safe from predators and/or other cows that normally her mother would have protected her from. She had a great appetite and quickly learned how to use the bottle. She spent her first 2 months camping out under our deck, where she had a fan to keep her cool and keep the bugs away, regular grooming, a straw house with an extra soft bed, and our three dogs as her playmates. She imprinted on Neel very quickly and would follow him around every morning and afternoon as we did the other chores. Regular calf stuff.
When we felt she was big enough to hold her own with the hard, we slowly re-integrated her. The other calves welcomed her immediately and Wallace the Bull was very protective of his little girl. She is living with them full time now and remains happy and healthy. She still gets bottled milk replacer 3 times daily but will be weaned in a few months along with the rest of the other calves.
Clementine will remain with us and become one of our breeding cows. Although I would always prefer that the animals are raised by their mothers in as natural an environment as possible, it has been a wonderful experience caring for her and getting to know her.
