Kids and Calves Go Together

Living on a farm has afforded our six kids ample opportunity to participate in raising animals.  It is a chore and a pleasure I would love to give to each child whether from a farm or the city. 

The life lessons to be learned are important as a kid takes on the full responsibility of a creature being totally dependent on him or her.  We have rehabilitated wildlife, always maintained a large variety of pets, raised orphans and produced animals for 4-H in addition to our family farm production of raising grass-fed beef.

It happens every so often that we will have a calf orphaned or otherwise victim of circumstances that require being raised on a bottle.  It usually falls to the youngest of the children to take on the chore of bottle-feeding.  What always begins as pleasure and fun gives way to the realization of real work.

Such is the case with a calf being raised this year by our 8 year-old daughter, Katie Grace.  She has never had the responsibility before and begged to be allowed to be the one to do the feeding.  Previously, she had always looked upon the job as pure fun when she had helped her brothers with the duty.