The Story of Minnie MooDay 3 till now…

(or how to convince Dad to bring a calf home in the car!!)

By Kristy Woodhead

Narara Valley High SchoolYear 12

Primary Industries

Kristy Tash

At the Scone & Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza.

• Mini’s mum was a Charolais and her dad is an Angus. • Mini Moo had a hard start to life, her mother died when she was 3

days old after a difficult birth. • My teacher asked if I would raise Mini until she is old enough to be

weaned at around 3 months.• I agreed and so did my parents, so we, Dad, myself and Miss

Chandler drove from the Scone & Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza at White Park where we were showing the schools cattle, to the stud where she was born.

• When we got out to the stud, Mini was in terrible shape, her nose was burnt and she was severely dehydrated. Everyone said her chances of survival were slim, but 45mins after her first bottle of Lectade she was up on her feet and showing us that she was a fighter. But the battle for this little one was not over yet.

Angus BullCharolais Cow

1. First picture of Mini Moo when we picked her up from the paddock. Where she had been lying next to her dead mother for at least 12 hours. (that’s Dad holding her, he’s a big softie!!)

2. Picture of Mini Moo drinking her first bottle of Lectade which is an Oral Rehydration Therapy for all types of animals.

3.What a difference some fluids make this picture was taken 45mins after her first bottle (she then did a wee in the car, that was horrible!!)

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Day 3.

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• At the end of the Scone Beef Bonanza we packed up the camp, made a special space in the horse float for Mini and set off for home ready to face a new challenge. I had worked with the steers and heifers for a long time with the school Agricultural program and now my Primary Industries studies but this was something different. This meant becoming a replacement mother for a baby.

• I learnt many new things in the first week, increasing ratio’s of milk replacer to different volumes of water and slowly increasing so that Mini’s system wasn’t over stressed, and some students think that they will never have to use that sort of maths in the real world. HA

• A typical day starts at 5.30am with the first feed (We use Palastart blue calf milk replacer), Mini then loves to have a run around the paddock whilst the horses eat their breakfasts, at 6 days old she started to nibble at some grass and hay. I have her back in her stall by 6.30am so that I can get ready for school. Home from school by 3pm in time to feed Mini her second feed of the day and another run around the paddock and sometimes a nose to nose with the horses, then back to her stall for another sleep. Then back for the last feed of the day at 11pm and settle her in for the night. On the cold nights we found that a large dog rug helps her to stay warm.

Day 4.

Despite my best efforts, Mini Moo developed scours (diarrhoea). This was to start another learning experience, what do I do, what do I give her?

Mini Moo Not feeling well

Day 12.

Scours is the most common symptom of illness in young calves and is more common in hand reared calves. It can be caused by viruses, bacteria or Internal parasites. Whatever the cause of the scour may be the outcome is that the lining of the bowel is damaged which in turn results in large amounts of body fluids leaking into the gut, as a direct result the calf quickly dehydrates and their electrolytes become unbalanced and their energy reserves are depleted the calf can develop shock and die.

What I have learnt about Scours (diarrhoea) in a calf:

Our family is very lucky to have a family friend Keith Phillips who is a large animal vet and although he does not practice on cattle in his practice he was happy to give me lots of advice and arrange for me to get some drugs from another vet in the area who does carry cattle drugs:

Day 12:I started with Scourban which is an oral

Antidiarrhoeal Suspension and Lectade to balance electrolytes and rehydrate and I see a slight improvement for 24hrs and then Mini starts to deteriorate again.

Keith recommends that I get her on some Peptosyl and put her on to half strength milk, so another trip to the local vet to pick up the new drug and some more Lectade. Again I see a slight improvement for 24hrs then another decline another call to Keith his advice if she is not improved by the morning take her to the Local Vet as they have the drugs on hand and as it was predicted that it was going to be a 40`C day the heat was going to be a contributing factor.

Day 17:Saturday morning came and Mini was worse. We were all starting to get very concerned that she may not make it, so off the Vet we went. The Vet took a sample of her manure and looked at it under the microscope to see if she had parasites which she didn’t but this morning she had a new symptom, a slight cough, so the Vet gave her an injection of Antibiotics and gave me more Lectade and more injections to give her over the next two days.

Day 18:On Sunday I saw a slight improvement but still had concerns.

Day 19: Monday and what a difference, we have our cheeky Mini Moo back. She has had her last injection today and is still only on half strength milk and Lectade but we have turned the corner.

Day 21:Wednesday comes along and Mini is growing rapidly now. She had her first bottle of full strength milk today and no sign of scours returning

Day 22:Thursday and Mini is now on full strength milk with no sign of scours. I will now start to decrease the Scourban by half tomorrow and if no sign of scours take her off it by Friday.

Mini having a great run in the paddock, feeling so much better. Day 21

Day 20:Tuesday and Mini is improving everyday. I can see the weight going back on her slowly. She is still on Scourban and I am still slowly increasing the ratio of milk replacer to volume of water… more maths !!! Who would have thought I would need to know so much maths to look after a calf!! .

• So why does one little calf matter? • In reality, everything matters. • Each day, most of us all get up, have our cereal, maybe a cup of

coffee and head off to school or work. How many of us actually think of where that food comes from and how much work has gone into getting it onto our plates and into our cups?

• Agriculture is a subject who’s importance is not limited to farmers, understanding the process by which we come to eat that food is something that is becoming more popular in today’s society.

• More people are thinking about where their food comes from, was it grown organically, was it genetically modified. What was the impact on the environment on how it was grown?.

• My studies help me learn to develop sustainable farming techniques, trying to get the most out of our land and Australia’s limited water whilst at the same time, working to ensure we limit our impact on our native wildlife.

• Mini Moo has been an education for me, many people have commented that it’s a cheap way to get a good steak. Well, I know better than that !! By the time Mini Moo reaches maturity, she would be too expensive to use as a simple meal and she will return to the stud to become part of their breeding program.

Hand rearing an orphan calf is probably one of the most expensive and time intensive pursuits I have ever undertaken.

The cost of milk replacer, pellets and medicines required definitely make this learning opportunity an expensive endeavor but I feel that the things I have learnt have been worth the expense and have enhanced the relevance of my primary industries course.

And countless hours spend feeding, cleaning the stall and preparing the next feed gives a clear insight into why hand rearing is not really commercially viable and why orphaned calves are often abandoned by the industry. But, Mini Moo is my baby, and I wouldn’t give her up for all the early mornings and late nights in the world

…………….and I would do it again !!

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This is a Kristy Woodhead

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