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COW-CALF OPERATIONSABOUT COW-CALF |
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Care of the Young CalfThe farmer will usually keep an eye on the newborn calf for the first few hours to ensure that its mother is taking care of it. Occasionally a mother will reject her calf. The farmer will encourage the new mother to look after her calf but if that fails, the farmer will try to find another mother to look after it, often using a cow that has lost its own calf. Once the farmer is sure that all the calves and cows are healthy, they are moved to pasture where the cows graze and the calves nurse. Most of the calf-care is left up to the mother cow. However there are some interventions that the farmer takes to ensure the health and safety of the herd. These include vaccinating the calves against diseases, castrating male calves to prevent fighting when they mature, and dehorning to prevent the cattle from injuring one another with their horns when they grow up. In some parts of the country where the terrain is vast and rugged, calves are branded to identify their ownership. All cattle must be ear tagged with a Canadian Cattle Identification Program tag before they leave their herd of origin. This is often done at the same time as other herd health and safety interventions. |
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