calf grafting

This is what we hope for!

This calf's mother didn't have enough milk to feed it so we stole it from her and grafted it on a cow that her calf had died.
The picture below is of Shawn skinning the dead calf so that the "new" mother will smell her calf. The tail is very important because the new mother will lick the tail head quite a bit. We tie the hide on the calf, good and tight, and then put Orphan NoMo on the hide. It smells a little like black licorice and coffee and it's not something that you want to get on your hands because it lingers.
I should have taken a picture of the calf nursing the cow with his coat on but we like to leave them alone to bond. She will lick the hide and then she will let him nurse. It truly is an amazing process that we have great success with.

Sorry, another gross picture. It only takes about 10 minutes to skin the calf. The hide stays on the new calf 24-48 hours. This particular calf had the hide on about 12 hours. It gets stinky and a little damp and cold. It is the harsh realities of farm life but it is the life cycle.