The very first orphan calf I raised was given to me by my soon-to-be husband just a week before our wedding. In a wave of creativity I named her Daisy, and she made herself at home in the laundry – later transitioning to the backyard where she eventually desecrated the garden completely, leaving it forever in a cattle-proof state. (mainly cactus and grevilleas!)
In the following years I patiently waited for Daisy to produce a calf – romantic notions of fresh milk, hand churned butter and artisan cheese filling my head (country life still tinged with a honeymoon glow).
Daisy never lost her predilection for garden beds or fruit trees, and roamed about the farm periodically frightening the life out of my husband by sneaking up beside him as he was busy cleaning out a trough or the like, and thrusting forth her great head expecting a scratch behind the ear.
Alas, despite reaching an impressive size and subline condition, her shiny Gelbvieh cross coat shimmering in sun, Daisy proved herself barren – a dicey position for anyone living on a cattle farm. Eventually I discovered the reason.
Daisy was born a twin, the other calf born dead and the mother soon after. Twins in cattle account for less than 2%, and unlike the double bang for your buck you get with twin (or even triplet) lambs, twins in cattle are most often a headache for the farmer.
Firstly due to the afore-proven birth complications as one calf is generally in breech, and secondly because of an unusual set of circumstances in male/female twins which results in infertility in the female.
Simplistically explained, because even fraternal twins in cows usually share a placenta, they also share bloodstream. As a consequence, the heifer calf develops more male characteristics. This heifer is known as a freemartin and because of the male influence they grow out very well – just like a bull calf – but remain sterile and thus destined for table rather than paddock. According to a Journal of Agriculture published in 1958 (which Google helpfully located for me), this strong, healthy appearance often resulted in the freemartin being selected as a breeding heifer at weaning – with disappointing results.
The quick fattening potential of these heifers made them popular for the butcher if identified correctly. Such was the fate of Daisy who, despite my protestations, eventually made her way onto a truck, all 700 kilos of her (they?). It was both an interesting lesson in the breeding characteristics of cattle, as well as the other lesson I’ve never forgotten since – never fall in love with your orphan calves!
