Hello! We are Cookies and Cream the Holsteins!

Cookies and Cream the Holsteins came to the farm at about three weeks of age. They were small and sweet and still on the bottle. The boys picked them from the group of ten and said they were ours.

I will never forget the ride home with them the night we picked them up. My husband sprawled in the back of the F-150 holding them as we drove to their new home away from their brothers. We got home, in the early dusk. He hopped out covered in cow manure because the little guys had been so scared. That was the beginning!

The kids fell in love with them. We spent the first few warm fall days snuggled up next to them in their pasture as they made it their home. Liliana really took a liking to feeding and caring for them. She never complained to wake up early to go to the farm to feed with me and even eventually began making their bottles on her own. It was a great learning experience for her to have to care for something that depended on her.

I think it is so important for kids to have something to care for. After this crazy year she has had with CoVid, I think it was even more so important. As adults we can sometimes take for granted that we are the only ones affected. She hasn’t seen her friends in over ten months, so for her, these were new friends for her to love and care for.

Holsteins

I never really wanted Holstein cows, I was dead set on only Black Angus. That is what my daddy raised and I wasn’t having anything less. However, with CoVid, most of the larger stock markets near us had been closed or were not open on our schedule. My husband found these little fellas through a friend at a reasonable price. Since we couldn’t get the cows we wanted at the time, we thought it would be a great opportunity and learning experience for us and our kids, so we signed up!

Holsteins are one of many breeds of dairy cattle. This breed originated in the Netherlands and made its way to the United States with settlers beginning in around 1852. Today, they are one of the most commonly used breed of dairy cow due to their abundant milk production. The traditional black and white pattern is reminiscent of Old McDonald’s Farm and is what most people think of when you say cow.

Holsteins were originally bred in Europe around 2,000 years ago, and made their way to the top of their dairy production chain since then. While they are most notorious for dairy production, their large size also makes them good for beef as well. In Rockbridge County, we have quite a few dairy farms close by, and with little need for an excessive amount of male calves, they come at a decent price.

Holsteins- Care

Caring for a calf is relatively easy, if not a little time consuming. You have to like early mornings, because the little fellas need to be fed a milk replacer by bottle for the first eight to nine weeks. They will require two feedings, once in the morning and once at night. If you have a number of calves, you can use a bucket instead of a bottle, but bottle feeding for us was half the fun.

Healthcare

It is important to keep up with all of their vaccinations and shots to ensure they remain happy and healthy. We had our local veterinarian come and check the calves out to make sure they were good an healthy. However, vaccines like blackleg are easily given at home. It is also important to do daily health checks on your calves. Checking for any abnormalities or potential sickness will help prevent the spread of disease among your herd.

Shelter

Since we just have the two of them right now, they stay in a small barn stall at night. The stall requires a daily mucking and a full cleaning with new bedding every few weeks. My husband refused to believe mucking was the correct term for cleaning a stall so I am putting it here to prove him wrong haha. If you don Cattle need minimal shelter, but calves should have some kind of protection from the harsh cold if they are all on their own.

Cows are much messier than a lot of animals and they can create quite the stink. However, we will have a pretty large compost pile going once garden time rolls around in the spring! So it isn’t all bad.

Food

After weaning, we began giving a calf started along with free range grass and hay. They seemed to have more fun with the hay at first than interest in eating it, but that soon gave way to hungry bellies. You can check out their cute hay romping on our Youtube Channel.

Cookies and Cream on the Farm

Since coming to the farm, these little guys have brought a lot of joy. They are fun loving and enjoy romping around in their small pasture. While Archie the Donkey does not particular care for them yet, I think he is beginning to warm up to them.

Cookie is by far the more bashful of the two, but is still a rambunctious calf with a lot of pluck. Cream is a little more outgoing and has no problem chasing his brother around the field. Both love a good head scratch and rump pat.

Cookies and Cream live on the North Hill with Archie. For now, these guys have their own small pasture as we wait until they are big enough to pasture with the temperamental donkey. Until then, they are loving their little space.

Market

While Cookies and Cream are just babies now and we are loving them to pieces, we know there will come a day when we have to say good bye to them. These two will eventually be sent to market and sold, in the hopes of making a profit to then turn back into more cattle for the farm.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to watch their journey and all the other critters on Hackett Hill Farm! Do you have any tips on raising cattle and homesteading? We would love for you to share in the comments below.

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