Why we don’t offer “Bottle babies”
In the nearly 30 years that we’ve raised Scottish Highlands we have not offered bottle babies, intentionally taking a baby from it’s mother with the intent to raise it on a bottle. We have had 2 now that we HAD to bottle raise to save their lives, one because mama had no milk, and one because he just would not nurse from his mama.
Before I begin, I want to say that raising a bull on a bottle can be dangerous and should be avoided. Though I see it every day “bull for sale, raised on a bottle, sweet and gentle”. When they reach sexual maturity they are not the same cuddly little calf who was raised on a bottle. Bulls in general should never be trusted but bulls raised on a bottle can be more unpredictable and more dangerous. They have learned not to fear or respect humans, but to see them as a competitor, much like wild animals that have learned not to fear or respect humans. So that’s all I have to say about bottle raising a bull, just avoid it if you can
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Calves in general should be raised by their moms if at all possible, bottle fed only as a last resort. It is our view that they should not be taken from their moms for human amusement. They can be gentled once they are weaned. What they learn from their dams and the herd environment is difficult to learn from human interaction. It’s easy for them to pick up bad habits as a cute cuddly baby on a bottle. They don’t see us as their cuddly buddy they see us as a source of food and their need to survive. As they get bigger they can become pushy, heifers as well as steers if bad behavior is allowed to persist.
It is a lot of work to correct this behavior because we allowed it as a cuddly baby. Rubbing their head on you, bouncing around you like a jack in the box or chasing you “playing tag”, all of it is so dang cute till they get to be 500 pounds. These are things that are extremely difficult to stop once it has been allowed, and they become dangerous behaviors for their “Human buddy”.
.Even adult cows see us as a source of food. All training is food related. That’s how we get the response we want, is with food. The most important thing to remember is from the beginning they need to be taught what is and is not allowed with human interaction. That their special person is the top of the food chain as well as the top of the pecking order in their herd. They don’t have to like you but they have to respect you.
If you watch cows interact with each other in the field, it only takes a glance from the boss cow to get others to move away from the food dish. If you want to know how the pecking order really works put out half as many dishes as you have cows. See who gets the first, second, third etc., food dishes first. You will not see any of the cows challenge the head cow, not even when she gets old, she’s earned that position. She is not mean, she can be the most gentle in the herd but she gets her point across. Little calves learn this behavior early on, bottle raised calves do not. You need to be just above her to your herd.
We interact with our cows everyday. Most accept field brushing and petting, all come when they are called, they all love treats and all know where we stand it the pecking order. Given all of these facts I still never walk into our pasture without a “walking stick”, they have been known to get as close as possible to follow me back to the barn, and if one gets a little frisky I am likely to get ran over accidentally. So I keep my eye on them to know how close they are getting and they are only allowed as close as the end of my stick (about 5-6 feet) when they are following me. It’s just respect.
In as much as we like to think of them as pets, please remember, they have a mind of their own, and most of the time we don’t know what they are thinking, and we need to be aware and stay safe by being one step ahead of them. Enjoy them, but most of all be safe, leave the feeding to their mom’s till they are weaned, you’ll be glad you did.