As mentioned in an earlier post, our half-holstein bottle calf has slowed her intake from the bottle to nothing. She sniffs the nipple and just walks away. It wasn’t long before I caught this picture, where Brie is “sneaking a drink” while Hayseed (Buttercup’s natural calf) is getting his fill.
The half-full glass is very full indeed. My bottle calf is getting the real stuff. She is likely to do much better than she otherwise would have done with my regime. She is even getting the “hind teat”, which I am told has more cream (I have not been able to really test that yet.) In addition, this removes a couple of maintenance pieces on the farm (two daily feedings of Brie and one milking of Buttercup). Because of some vacations, camping adventures and the fact that we are a “new homestead” (mainly, I refer to the fact that I have not found a reliable “farmhand” or partner in my area yet, who can pick up ALL the chores, including milking the cow), this ended up being a real Godsend.
In fact, I initially thought it was all Hayseed that was draining Buttercup (and toyed with the idea that she just wasn’t a big milk producer.) But, when I had to separate Buttercup (the mama) from everyone so that I could perform some of the “pre-AI” tasks on time, I learned how much milk they were drinking (her udder got big again!)
It is all fortuitous in the end – I wanted to begin milking again, in earnest, once the Summer passed. By the end of this month, both Hayseed and Brie will be at or close to months old. I plan to begin separating the lactating Jersey (Buttercup) from her children in September, at night, for a milking in the morning. But, we all know how plans go on the homestead…
Since I am prone to sometimes wander down the “glass is half-empty” path, I have to consider the risks to this discovery as well. First, I am not entirely sure that Buttercup is willingly letting Brie suckle. So far, every time I see Brie try to get a bite to eat on her own, Buttercup pushes her off once she realizes it is Brie. I have never seen Buttercup be motherly with Brie – licking or nuzzling (so, I try to do it everyday, with some good scratches, the best I can.) So, what if Brie is not getting enough to eat? I have stopped trying to give her the bottle, as she just sniffs and walks away. Could she be at risk?
Brie will be 3 months old within the week. This is a time that some folks (that I have read) say they can be weaned. So, that indicates low risk, to me, if she doesn’t get as much as she would “with the bottle”. In addition, she is frequently seen romping about, kicking her back legs up and seemingly having good fun, at play. I gotta believe this is an indication of a healthy calf. Given these two things, I consider the risk low.
The bottom line is that I failed in MY attempt to graft. I am still not convinced that a “graft” has really occurred, but Brie is getting her nourishment anyway. Those are all my conclusions at the moment. Only time will tell which of them were foolish musings and which were lucky guesses!