When we rounded up the cattle last weekend and brought them home for the winter, I was struck by how much the calves have grown. Most of them were born in March, and looked like this little squirt did at birth.
He weighed between 70 and 80 p0unds, and at just an hour old, had learned to stand.
A few weeks later, a group of calves were enjoying the sunshine out in the pasture. One cow acted as a babysitter, while the other mamas grazed on spring grass.
Over the summer, the calves nursed on their mama’s milk, and started grazing on pasture grass. They grew and grew, and gained weight, and today, they look like this.
They are eight months old now and weigh between 500 and 600 pounds, which is a tremendous increase from the 70 pounds they weighed at birth.
Here’s a side by side comparison:
I took this little white-faced calf’s picture when she was only a few days old:
And here she is today:
Isn’t it amazing how milk and grass can be turned into beef?
~~~~~~~~~
I used to raise baby calves on a bottle. The new babies smelled so fresh and clean, not like human babies but still wonderfully new.
Hi Chester’s Mom,
Awww…..I love that smell. All clean and soft and warm.
Truly amazing! I wonder if the dairy cows have a similar rate of growth, too.
Hi Shailaja,
I’m not sure, but I would guess it’s about the same growth rate.
Thank you!
Thanks Suzanne for the cow week. Its been so great for me. Remembering being out early in the morning with the critters.
Reminds me of how refreshing is was and how much I really loved being on the farm. I miss it.
Those calves sure are eatin’ fools – LOL. Look good and healthy.
Hi Doe,
So glad you enjoyed all the cow shenanigans.
Thank you!
Loving the calves and cows. I grew up as a farmer’s daughter here in Oregon. I loved to feed the calves calf manna. They were fun and always fought over the bottle. They only got a portion. Love your site!
Hi Becky,
I raised a couple bottle calves too years ago. They are such fun.
Thanks for stopping by and glad you enjoyed all the cows and calves last week!
I love how motherly cows are and their complex social order. In my little herd, the ox gets to babysit while Maxine goes off to graze. He’s such a proud uncle!
Hi Teresa,
Isn’t it amazing how social they are? Just passing them by on the road they look like just a bunch of grass eating machines, but there’s a lot going on in the pasture that you don’t see until you really take a long look at them.
Oh my gosh! I cannot believe they grow that fast! holy cow! I know animals grow fast, it’s just so hard to believe!
Hi Bonnie,
We see the calves all the time, so we don’t notice them growing. When we looked back at the pics, we couldn’t believe it either.