Momma don't let your calves grow up to be bulls

For the past couple of weeks I have been seeing all kinds of posts about kiddos headed back to school. I think there has been a mix reaction of relieved parents and bittersweet moments as moms and dads watch their babies grow up.

On the farm our baby calves are also growing up, and that means it is time to wean them from their mommas milk. This can be a stressful time for the calves and their moms, so the Boy and I try to do whatever we can to make the transition easier.

Introducing the Quiet Wean. That piece of plastic in that bull calf's nose is called a Quiet Wean. When the calves are ready to be weaned we place those clips in their noses. The Quiet Wean prevents them for nursing, but still allows them to eat grass and grain. This means that the calves get to stay with their moms (which reduces stress) while they become used to not nursing.

It also prevents the bawling (crying) that lots of people associated with weaning. It is much quieter around our house since the use of the Quiet Weans.

Someone on my Instagram feed asked what is the cows reaction? Using the Quiet Weans means less stress for the moms too. Even though the calves can't nurse, and their udders do become swollen for the first couple of days, the cows seem to eventually forgot about that and start grazing again. Food solves most problems for cows ;)

After the Quiet Weans have been in for 4-14 days we take out the clips and separate the cows and calves. And that is it. Those little babies are on their own and the moms are focusing on the new calf that is growing inside of them.

We spent Labor Day removing the Quiet Weans and now we have a nice group of calves behind of barn. I guess these guys can call me mom now.

Why We Use Antibiotics on our Farm

There has been a lot of talk about antibiotics in the news again lately, especially with Panera's horrible EZ Chicken marketing campaign that implies those farmers that use antibiotics are taking the easy route.

A couple days ago we noticed one of our cows, Cici, had a swollen eye, that way very irritated. Her symptoms implied that she likely had pinkeye. Pinkeye in cattle can occur when the eye is irritated by long grass, dust or flies, and if not treated it can lead to blindness.

Just looking at Cici's eye you can't tell that it is hurting her? If you were in pain like this or a family member was would you opt for an antibiotic treatment? 

Cici's treatment was a two step process. First we gave her a injection of Penicillin. Since Cici is a cow raising a calf right now so she won't be entering the food chain. However, if she was, we would have to wait 10 days withdrawal period (these instructions are found on the bottle and this Beef Quality Assurance chart) for any antibiotic residues to leave her system so that the any meat entering the food system would be safe.

Next we prepared a patch for Cici to wear so that nothing (wind, flies, dirt, grass) would continue to irritate her eye. 

Old worn out jeans make the perfect cow eye patches.

Cici the "Pirate" cow is now on the road to recovery. 

I don't think any of what the Boy and I did to Cici was lazy or irresponsible. Instead we are making sure the animal health and welfare of our herd is closely watched. There is tons of misinformation and fear tactics that groups like Panera and Food Babe try to use to market a product. If you have questions about antibiotics ask a farmer or vet for some help sorting out the answers. We are the ones that are raising the food that is feeding our family and our communities. 

If you are looking for more information on common questions like antibiotics, GMOs, hormones, corporate farms, etc, check out this awesome website called Finding Common Ground. Tons of great resources!