Wild cow herds are regulated by predators, but also by themselves. Like with most herd animals, males are either killed or exiled once they reach puberty.
On my parents farm we leave the calves with their mother for a day and then move the calves to their own enclosure nearby. If I had to guess, I’d say that the social contact with the other calves significantly reduces stress for the calves and the direct line of sight helps the mothers cope. But it really depends on the individual cow how well they take it.
As far as I’m aware organic farms often keep their cows for roundabout one decade given that their health allows it. Upper teens are rare because older cows are a lot more prone to develop serious health issues and most of the time it’s more humane to slaughter a cow with a torn ligament than watching her die painfully from gas buildup.
Thanks. How do you proceed with the calves after they are separated? Are they sold, killed, kept, etc? Does what happens to them depend on a calves sex?
Wild cow herds are regulated by predators, but also by themselves. Like with most herd animals, males are either killed or exiled once they reach puberty.
On my parents farm we leave the calves with their mother for a day and then move the calves to their own enclosure nearby. If I had to guess, I’d say that the social contact with the other calves significantly reduces stress for the calves and the direct line of sight helps the mothers cope. But it really depends on the individual cow how well they take it.
As far as I’m aware organic farms often keep their cows for roundabout one decade given that their health allows it. Upper teens are rare because older cows are a lot more prone to develop serious health issues and most of the time it’s more humane to slaughter a cow with a torn ligament than watching her die painfully from gas buildup.
Thanks. How do you proceed with the calves after they are separated? Are they sold, killed, kept, etc? Does what happens to them depend on a calves sex?