Astro is Clarabelle's little bull calf that was born last Tuesday. He's just a little guy, and we want to make sure that he is getting adequate nutrition. He is Clarabelle's first calf and although she does show motherly instincts, we wanted to check on him. He is very secretive about when he nurses on her and we've only seen him nursing a few times.
Yesterday evening I brought Clarabelle into the barn to give her some dairy ration mixed with alfalfa. Little Astro was following her into the barn and suddenly stopped and arched his back. Yep, you know what is coming...
With one look, I knew that Astro was fine. He has gotten a good start from Clarabelle's colostrum. Can you see how that was confirmed? If not, I'll zoom in. (Please forgive me)
That nasty looking yellow, slimy poop looks odd. It looks like he must be sick, but he's not. Actually, it is just the opposite. He's healthy and has gotten a good belly-full of Clarabelle's colostrum or first milk. Colostrum is a special thing that mammals produce just prior to delivery. It is full of antibodies to give the calf a good head-start in protecting against disease. It also is higher in protein than milk. It is vitally important for the calf to nurse and get the colostrum within 6 hours of delivery and definitely within 12 hours. The cow will continue producing colostrum for about 72 hours and then the milk comes in.
There are numerous benefits for humans to drink colostrum, so we always capture some for us to drink. We have several quarts of it in the fridge now. I find that it does not taste as good as milk and has an "oily" consistency or mouth-feel. Sometimes we freeze some so that if we ever have trouble with a calf unable to nurse, we could thaw it out and bottle feed the calf. Astro's yellow poops are the evidence that we needed to prove that he got the colostrum he needed from Clarabelle and that he'll grow and be a healthy bull calf.
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