We live next door to a cow farm that raises them and sells them at
auction for beef.  Usually they keep the females for breeding and all the
males are neutered as babies and all dehorned.  The males are sold for
beef and any twin babies are also sold for beef which the female we have
is.  She was found covered in mud in late winter 7-8 years ago and her
umbilical cord was hanging from her in the mud.  She was barely breathing
and ended up developing menangitis.  She never received colestrum from
her mother which is needed within 24 hours of birth.  (Her twin was fine
and was sold for beef as she got old enough.  Suposidly twins have a
hard time breeding.) Anyway, the baby was cleaned up and kept in a cellar
where she was bottle fed and cared for till she got strong enough.  We
heard of her plight, being friendly with these neighbors and my husband
wanted her.  We bought her knowing she would be sold as beef otherwise
when old enough.  Every day I would drive down the road to a Jersey cow
farm and get a huge bucket of milk for her.  She is huge today and
healthy today.

The male who is now 6 years old was literally pulled out of his mother by
means of chains wrapped around his legs attached to a big farm tractor.
His mother before birth could not get up even with a vet's help, her
legs had attrophed and she was killed.  He was raised the same way as
our female and of course we bought him to save him from being beef.  He
is even bigger than the female but has longer legs because he is half
Holstein cow.

Even the farmer says "It's a cruel cow world" .

The babies are so cute when small but they do grow up to be huge and
strong.  They are smart and know their names.  Cows are not as stupid
as people think.  These cows are very lucky and we want them to be even
luckier to find a good permanent home, they deserve it.  When they see
me coming they both start licking their chops, knowing they will get a
treat, it is just too funny.  Cool animals but we just do not have the
land for them and it is not fair to them to keep them in a small area
without an area to graze on.

Eleanor, Donald and the 6 pack of ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 5268]