Love for Calves Named Lewis and Clark

I wasn’t sure Clark would make it.
I’d bought day-old Clark and another week-old bull calf from a dairy farm in New Hampton. Both calves drank milk formula like champs. Then, on day four, Clark quit. He turned his nose up at the bottle, and a calf that won’t drink is in trouble.

Milk Is for Humans
The truth about dairy cows surprises most people. A cow, just like a human mother, makes milk to feed her baby. But on a dairy farm, people usually take a calf from its mother at birth so we can get her milk into our cheese, yogurt, kefir, and, let’s be honest, ice cream. That’s how these two male calves came to me so young. The farm needs the milk.
Separating a calf from its mother may seem cruel, but we humans love our dairy. Besides, a dairy cow produces far more milk than even one or two calves can drink. Too much milk can give a calf scours, a severe diarrhea that is often fatal. Turns out you really can have too much of a good thing.

Beef vs. Dairy
Not every cow is a dairy cow. Beef cows make just enough milk for one calf, or two if she’s ambitious. At Miles Smith Farm, we raise beef cattle, so our calves stay with their mothers for up to six months. Telling the two apart is easy. Dairy cows are lean with huge udders. Beef cattle are stocky with small udders. Dairy cows look like they forgot to eat lunch. Beef cows look like they never miss a meal.

Calves Are Fragile
I named my two bull calves Lewis and Clark. I planned to train them to work together in a yoke, pulling a sled full of giggling kids. But now half of my expedition had lost interest in breakfast and dinner. Lewis kicked up his heels and tore around the barnyard. Clark just stood in the sun, or lay down in it.
It’s always sad when a newborn calf dies, but it happens. I’ve lost calves before, no matter how hard I worked to save them. Some calves give up. So I’ve learned to start them on medicated milk replacer, reach for Pepto-Bismol at the first sign of diarrhea, and, if coccidiosis is diagnosed, bring out the Corid. In the end, the calf has to decide he wants to live.

The Comeback
Clark decided.
These days he slurps down his bottle with gusto and bounds around the barnyard with Lewis like he never missed a meal. He even sucks on my fingers, hunting for seconds.

Now that he’s feeling better, the real work begins: teaching both boys to respond to voice commands. Lewis and Clark have a long trail ahead.
Stay tuned to this column to follow their expedition, or visit the farm and meet Lewis and Clark in person. Plan your visit here: www.milessmithfarm.com.

Carole Soule, co-owner of Miles Smith Farm in Loudon, N.H., would love you to share your used pumpkins with her cattle. Just bring them to the farm and follow the signs. You can reach Carole at carole@cow-coach.com