Did you know cows contribute massively to the lives of humans? They provide food via dairy products, for examples milks, cheese, yogurt and butter. They are also bred to provide stock for the dairy herd and other meat industries, heifers which are the female cows are used either for milking or breeding, male cows or bulls/bullocks are used for breeding or meat. The cows are used for meat that can produce beef, sausage, and steak; baby cows (calves) produce veal. Their skin is used to manufacture leather which can then be made into shoes, coats, and handbags.
One the small farm at the end of the long narrow lane there were cows, horses, geese and chickens, the farmer was an older gentleman who walked with shuffle, but always wore a warm smile when talking to his animals. He had lived on his farm with his wife and children for many years, but now it was just him and his animals, Claire was not sure where the lady went, she just stopped coming to the barn one day a few summers ago, Claire liked her, she had always smelled sweet and brought nice tasting treat.
When the calves are born, Claire's calves are born using AI, artificial insemination, which is less stressful for Claire, and for her friend and the first-time mother Harriet. It is a technique that makes that sure the heifer (Harriet) and cow (Claire) that will have calves based on the selected bull that the farmer will chose; he will select a breed of the cow be it British Blue or English Longhorn or Friesian or Saler breed. He chooses depending on what he wanting. AI allows him to select breeds or features that was not be available from natural breeding. It is the vets job to inseminate the cows into Claire and Harriet, which is more successful than any bull and has a higher chance of a calf being created.
Every twelves months, the herd get new family members, over the years Claire had seen many animals come and go, even some of her children had be taken away, some when very young others when they were older, she was never sure when it would be the last time, she would see someone.
Every year Claire had to put up with the gestation period of nine month- it was no fun as all, it makes you fell slow and sluggish, tired and very fat. When Claire finally gave birth to Venny, he was a bouncy little boy, but she overheard the farmer saying her going to be killed when he was 22 to 26 weeks of age, when he would 200 to 320 kg. He would be killed for human consumption. Veal or calf meat is very tender and tasty, which is why it is very tender and tasty, which is why it is so expensive so would bring money to the farm. Harriet was another of the cows that was a new member of Claire's hers, she joined recently and was very shy and nervous around all the new surroundings and animals. Claire had instinctively wanted to protect her, so became a bit of surrogate mum to the younger cow. Harriet had also just given birth to a little boy, Benjamin, but Claire knew he would be kept a little longer than her own calf, he was to be fattened up a then sold after about two years to another farm, a meat farm. Benjamin would be castrated before being sold; this was usually done withing the first few weeks of life; this means he will not be able to father any calves in his life and is usually done to the bullocks being sold for meant.
When both Venny and Benjamin were born, it was in a warm cosy barn, with fresh hay spread around on the floor to make a comfy bed area, they were cleaned by their mothers who licked them from head to toe to remove any nasty stuff, not an easy tasks as the two new born boys, unsteady on the feet were wobbly and wanted to be jumping and running around. The cleaning by the mother is virtually important as it is this act carried out by Claire and Harriet which stimulates the calves to stand up. If Venny or Benjamin were heifer (but they are not) they would become a part of the dairy herd and create fresh milk while eating delicious grass but plans for their lives would be very different. The calves would start trying to start within less than a few minutes of being born and suckling milk from their mother within the first hour. This is the same of any hooved animal like a deer, moose, or a buffalo, it is a survival instinct to escape form predator like bears or wolves. During the first few weeks Venny and Benjamin fed on Claire and Harriet's milk, suckling, and drinking and growing very fast, eventually the mothers would return to the dairy herd. Over time, they will forget about their sons, not entirely because no mother does, but their go back to their job. Venny and Benjamin will the be hand fed by the farmer (Freddy) as will all the other calves on the farm.
