Calf Snowy
Snowy longs for her twin
Snowy was only a few weeks old when she became an Aiderbichler. She actually had a twin sibling, but the two had been separated. First she was separated from her mum, then from her sibling: Little Snowy no longer wanted to drink.
Emotions, humanisation and a lack of expertise
The hot debate about whether the calf and the mother cow suffer when they are separated may remain unanswered. The fact is that nature has determined that the cow has a calf and produces milk for its calf. But today’s dairy farming can no longer be compared with the cattle farming of the past; it has been industrialised. Cow and calf are therefore separated too early. It is no longer about the family feeding itself from the farm’s own produce, but about profit through mass production. By working with the animals, our animal keepers realise that every moo has a special meaning; cows can cry, be happy and sad.
Little Snowy is currently teaching us another very interesting lesson about the emotions of a cow.
Snowy and her twin
When Snowy was born in December last year, everything was fine. She was happy with her twin and with her mum. Snowy was smaller than the second calf and so was perhaps more sensitive than other calves from the start of her life. The calves were separated from their mum and placed in a calf pen. Snowy herself remained small and slender, but her sibling put on a lot of weight and grew. So the two were now also separated. The sibling was sent to a fattening farm and Snowy stayed behind.
From that day on, Snowy no longer wanted to drink. The vet gave her vitamins and other important substances. Snowy was healthy, but she showed no zest for life. She missed her twin.
Snowy asked "Where is my twin"?
One Gut Aiderbichl employee felt sorry for little Snowy and asked to take in the sad little calf. Dieter Ehrengruber and his team even tried to ransom Snowy’s twin. There was no way round it – Snowy’s sibling developed into a profitable beef cow and had a new destiny.
The animal carers made an effort and did everything they could to lure Snowy out of her sadness. Things got better with her drinking. Snowy is gradually becoming more self-confident and is now eating quite well. She’s out of the woods.
Unfortunately, we can only guess at her emotions: no mum, no twin – but there are lots of animals and lovely people here and maybe Snowy can be integrated into the herd of cattle in the spring.
All will be well, dear Snowy!
From: Gisela Pschenitschnig, Gut Aiderbichl
