SHI BLOGS TOO

Cows.

It's that time of year again...the calves have been taken away from their mothers. We live right across from the pasture where the Ovenell's have their cattle grazing. They own a very large working ranch with horses and cattle. The young calves are taken away from their mothers every spring. The mother cows bellow and bawl for a few days afterwards. Usually it's the first day that they are taken away when it is the noisest outside. Sometimes we can hear them calling for their babies even after we are in bed for the night! My first year here I really felt so bad for the cows who bawled for days afterward.

Traditionally, calves of beef cattle are removed from their mothers well before the biologically predetermined age of weaning. Enforced mother-calf separation is stressful for the animals. This common management practice is primarily based on the belief that allowing the cow to wean the calf herself would affect her reproductive performance, and hence the rancher's profit.

I'm not sure if this is the reason that the Ovenell's separate their calves from the cows, but it seems logical to me. I have noticed that the calves have been separated by only a fence for awhile, allowing the calves fenceline contact with their mothers for several days before being permanently separated.

If anyone is familar with these actions and the reasons behind this type of separation, I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter.

Here is a photo of the pasture across the road from us. That's Sauk Mountain in the background.




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