If I could, I would adopt every orphaned animal in the world and give them a good home, but since that’s not practical (or even in my budget… or in anyone’s budget), most of us struggle to face the reality that not every animal will have a loving mama who helps them grow up. Fortunately, we’ve figured out ways to help nature along in that respect, and once in awhile, we can convince other adult animals who live near them to take them in as their own, especially when it comes to cows.
This heartwarming video shows that process in action — and how wonderful it can be when it works. One farm on TikTok shared their attempt to get a mama cow to adopt an orphaned calf as her own, and seeing how well it worked is so sweet.
@frank_russo84Mom has accepted baby!!!! We will be taking the hide off after this nursing. #calves #farmlife #cowcalf #cattle
This footage comes to us from Thornapple Creek Farm, who shared the video on Saturday, March 2. While mama cow was a bit hesitant at first, it didn’t take her long to decide that she was happy to become a surrogate mom to this little guy.
Before they knew it, she was grooming the baby and let him nurse like she’d given birth to him herself. How amazing is that?!
Rather than having to continue bottle feeding this calf, they can rest assured that mama’s got this, since nursing shows that she has accepted him as her own.
The way the farm was able to accomplish this is pretty neat. Sadly, the mama lost one of her calves at birth, so they put the hide from that calf on this orphan in a process called grafting, which they showed in another video. Through smelling the baby she lost, mama allowed this one to nurse. Aww.
This little calf needs a name
Now that this baby has found a home and a mama, it’s time to find the perfect name. On Sunday, the farm showed a peek at how things are going between them — very well, if this adorable video is any indication — along with their next challenge: finding the perfect name for their calf.
They’re taking name ideas in the comments of this video, and they’re going to make a poll of the ones that are suggested most so that their followers can be part of it.
So far, a ton of names have been suggested. My favorites: Grant (because he has been “granted” a second chance), Patches, and Flapjack.
They have a lot of options to consider, and meanwhile, this little calf seems to be thriving. Good job, mama!
