Since I am feeding my first bottle fed calf, I am noticing a lot of different things about bovines than I had an opportunity to notice before. For instance, yesterday, I decided that if my calf was ever going to develop an appetite for grass, I would have to stake her out in some. I have known that without other bovine influence, she would be a bit behind, so I have been trying to be her "mom" and doing things the way the other cows have done with their calves. I noticed that she couldn't just bite off a piece of grass. I had always thought that that would be a no-brainer for a bovine, but apparently, it is something that has to be learned. If you think about it, calves are like human babies. They only learn the things that someone teaches them. If there is no one to teach them, they may learn it, but on a slower calendar. I am pretty sure that as Murphy keeps trying to eat grass, she will get the hang of it, and one of the holdups is her bottle feeding. Eating from a bottle is different than nursing from mom. It takes less co-ordination to suck from a bottle. This may explain why bottle fed calves hold their mouths differently.
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