Happy Mother’s Day. Family structures and situations may differ, but somewhere in the mix is a “Mom”. We’ve all seen the ferocity of a Mama bear who’s protecting her cubs or an elephant Mom and the herd’s group of “Aunts” protecting one of their babies.  But, here on the farm, the maternal instinct to protect their baby or babies is every bit as strong.
When one of our brood cows has a calf, we need to clip a numbered eartag into the calf’s ear for identification. This tag number lets us know which calf came from which momma, the date it was born and its sex.  Tagging the calf requires holding the calf and using a special tool to clip the tag into the calf’s ear. Sounds easy since most times the calf only weighs about 40 lbs. and is just getting its “run for your life” protocol mastered.  But wait…
When calves are first born, the Momma sees the farmer as a baby-snatching-serial killer-space alien who is there to harm her baby. She’ll have none of you catching her baby. She will bellow, snort, paw the ground and even charge you. Just drop the calf and tagger tool and run for your life. That cow really means to knock you to the ground and stump on you. After a few days, she’ll let you touch her baby and put the numbered tag in its ear. She’ll just keep circling you and act really menacing but won’t try to turn you into a grease spot.
While momma cows are very protective, a sow (momma hog) is protection on steroids.  First she probably weight 350-400 pounds but can move faster than a speeding bullet. She’ll have a litter of piggies, usually 8-12 here, and they are each about the size of a gerbil. In the first few days after birth, we leave the momma sow and baby piggies to themselves. Of course we provide clean feed and water for the sow. If you try to come near to the litter that gargantuan porcine will charge you with her massive jaws snapping. If one of her babies sequels, she may try to lunge at you. She truly means to bite you or worse.  After a few days, she’ll let us handle the piggies to determine their sex, castrate the males, and check their general health. Baby piggies are amazingly strong.
While many farm animals have been “Disneyvied” to be portrayed them as docile, lovable pets. when grown in a production system like ours, they can freely exhibit their innate behaviors.at the different stages of their growth.  After a few weeks for the piggies or months for the calves, their mommas are ready to pass them on to the rest of the herd. The young have learned how to take care of themselves, get along with the rest of the herd, and to contribute to the overall wellbeing of their group.
Thanks to good mothering and attention to their life lessons, these young are ready to graduate to the next phase of their life. Sounds like ceremonies that will be happening soon at the end of the school year doesn’t it?
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