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[–] WORF_MOTORBOATS_TROI ago  (edited ago)

Doesn't the dairy industry separate the calf really early on and only bottle feed it so that they can get maximum milk production from the cow? It might be helpful for pigs, or beef cows / sheep that aren't milked but leave the babies to feed from their mothers.

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[–] jonny1313 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

Sorry I forgot to reply to this sooner. In short the answer is no. The first 6 milkings from a fresh mother are unable to be used for human consumption. I know some farmers feed it to their calves and some just dump it.

As far as better or worse for the calf, it's always better to leave nature to nature. But that said it's not good for dairy cow mothers, the calves are too hard on dairy udders and would wreck them, making the mother useless at her job. Beef cattle and other animals are different, they're meant to raise their young and their milk production reflects that. A beef cows udder and milk is substantially different than a dairy cows milk. Dairy cows are truly a remarkable, selectively bred animal.