The Calves
The
parlour The Inseminator
The Food The
calves A bit about cows in Israel
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Here at Ein-Gev
we are a seasonal dairy. That means that most of the calves are born from
September to April.
The females are
raised to be introduced into the herd while the males are sold after a
week or so to be raised by other concerns for the meat industry.
Every calf recieves
its mothers milk (colostrum) immedietly after birth until it is three days
old thus ensuring that all antibodies from the mother are passed on. The
percentage of deaths due to difficult births on Ein Gev in the 97/98 season
was 1.8% which is 6% below the average for the country. I do like to blow
my own trumpet whenever i can.
After a period
of 5 day isolation in which they are monitored constantly for signs of
illness, the calves are transfered to pens in groups of five where they
feed on milk powder up until the age of two months depending upon their
weight. This is Liat and Michelle's job and they
do it excellently , even if they do complain a bit that we (the guys) don't
do enough cleaning.
(piccie of some calves)
From the age of
two to thirteen months the calves go through all sorts of innoculations
including foot and mouth , botulism ,brocillicis , anaplazma and of course
rabies. They also get branded on their backs with an identification number.
The number is actually frozen onto the hide not burnt as in the days of
old.
The
parlour The Inseminator
The Food The
calves A bit about cows in Israel
Back
to the start