Calves born prematurely generally don’t survive past infancy, but a calf born six weeks early on Salesian Agricultural College in Pallaskenry, Co Limerick, is defying the odds by not only surviving but thriving.
The bull calf weighed just 10kg at birth and is the progeny of Limousin Bull ZAG and Friesian/Angus dam.
ADVERTISEMENT
“He’s the height of a cocker spaniel and the width of a greyhound and is just big enough to reach the cow,” Derek O’Donoghue, principal of the college said.
“It required plenty of extra TLC at birth and was bottle-fed 250ml of milk at birth (a normal calf requires three to four litres) for the first few days but is now strong enough to suckle the cow.
“We don’t know how he came so early as the herd was synchronised to fixed-time AI and wasn’t due until the end of February and there isn’t a bull kept on the farm,” O’Donoghue concluded.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
Calves born prematurely generally don’t survive past infancy, but a calf born six weeks early on Salesian Agricultural College in Pallaskenry, Co Limerick, is defying the odds by not only surviving but thriving.
The bull calf weighed just 10kg at birth and is the progeny of Limousin Bull ZAG and Friesian/Angus dam.
“He’s the height of a cocker spaniel and the width of a greyhound and is just big enough to reach the cow,” Derek O’Donoghue, principal of the college said.
“It required plenty of extra TLC at birth and was bottle-fed 250ml of milk at birth (a normal calf requires three to four litres) for the first few days but is now strong enough to suckle the cow.
“We don’t know how he came so early as the herd was synchronised to fixed-time AI and wasn’t due until the end of February and there isn’t a bull kept on the farm,” O’Donoghue concluded.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS