I'm curious at what stage a cow's colostrum is produced for the new calf. Reason for asking is that I have one cow with a calf that are real loners and never came to the pens so I could properly wean. Finally got them separated last weekend (calf is 10 months old and was still nursing). I noticed then it was the momma cow that needed to be weened, as the calf couldn't care less, but the momma sure wasn't happy about it. I get the feeling that if I hadn't separated them the momma cow would have continued nursing this calf indefinitely. So that makes me wonder when the colostrum is produced - and if I hadn't caught them in time, if the momma would have fed all the colostrum to her yearling? Is it produced at or near birth, or earlier? Thanks in advance!