The Calves

The Dexter calf (on the left) is our future family dairy cow; the Jersey (on the right) is our beef steer. They are like pets, which is by design, since a micro farm like ours depends on well-behaved and compliant animals rather than special cattle-handling equipment, like squeeze chutes and head gates. We invest quite a bit of handling time getting them there.

Some days all that calf attention seems like a great big chore, especially when it’s rainy or cold, or when the animals are in an annoying two-year-old-child-bouncing-off-the-walls mood. But each visit to the calf pen also provides a reward. The calves are cute, interesting, innocent, and more important, interested, in us and everything else. New-puppy fun.