What the actual fuck IS this *pics included*

[NickMyLipple]

Recieved a casserole dish type thing from South African family members for Christmas. It looked like it was in original packaging, so it wasn't until today when I was putting away all our Christmas stuff that I opened it properly.

Inside was 2 packets of biltong, a net to cover your sugar dish, and this insane contraption.

What on earth is it, and what do I do with it?!

I'm interested to see why you've been given this!

What exactly is a porthole in the side of a cow?? I have always wondered about information going around about dairy farms - cows with huge udders full of milk so they can barely stand up let alone walk, killing them very young etc etc

Pressed send too early.

Could it be a weird joke about your sexual preferences?!!

I've asked my south African husband and hes never seen one of these things and had no idea what it was until now.

Apparently from what we could see online it's a type of calf weaning ring and There is a petition on change.org to ban the use of them, understandably. I worked in agriculture for several years and have never been aware of their use before in the UK at least.

Anyway he has no idea why anyone would give one as a gift.

Elf Genuine question here...I would like to know more because everything I know about the dairy and meat industry so far is negative (brother in law was pig, beef and dairy but is now arable). Do your calves stay with their mothers until they are naturally weaned? You mentioned they aren’t where the cows are milked for safety reasons,which I understand, but are they still allowed to suckle? Males too? If so, credit to you. I wish more did the same. We have sheep at the bottom of the garden and those left in the summer cry for days when the others are taken :(

I was reading up about your fancy contraption, OP, and wish I hadn’t. Seems it’s mainly for beef calves so they can be weaned (uncomfortable for the cow and they can’t find the nipple) gently. Bollocks. They aren’t ready to be weaned. The study cited said those weaned with the device paced and vocalised significantly less than those without, but they still did :(

I second oat milk!

Also, why are we the only species that drinks milk in any significant quantity after weaning? And another species’ milk at that??? Just odd.

@MapMyMum

modernfarmer.com/2014/09/holey-cow-wonderful-world-fistulated-cow/

@EffYouSeeKaye I have family members who’ve worked on dairy farms and says pretty much the same as you. And also that a lot of the anti dairy farming stuff we see on the internet is based on farms not in the uk.

I think you win the prize for Bizarre Christmas Present 2018, OP.

For those who want to read about happy cows and calves, I recommend a surprise Christmas present of my own - a charming little book called The Secret Life of Cows, by Rosamund Young. It is rather moving in its way.

I've only read the first page but, if someone hasn't said it already, why not just ask the people who gave it to you!

@Flossmequick

No the calves aren't taken away at a day old and the bullocks aren't slaughtered at a day old either.

Beef comes from the male, we don't actually eat the female cow

@Slippersandacuppa

No they don't stay with mothers until naturally weaned, they're drinking profit. It depends on what the cows are bred with when they're inseminated. They can be crossed with a dairy bull (produce dairy calves, females can be kept to replace dairy stock but males are useless as don't produce any reasonable quantity of meat - henceforth many farms dispose of them) or can be crossed with a meat bull (All calves can be fattened up for slaughter) either way the dairy stock can repeat the cycle and lactate. I hope that makes sense.

A lot of farms that keep on calves to fatten move them into pens specifically for them with automatic feeders that usually run off from the milked cows. It depends what is most profitable and what facilities dairy farmers have available.

I promise you they are on a lot of farms @BayandBlonde. We don't eat female cows? I've heard it all now lol

I've grown up in the country and my parents currently live next door to a big dairy farm. Never seen one of these in my life! When I used to help out on the farm we used fingers in buckets to wean cows (or rubber gloves with holes pierced in them for those that were a bit more reluctant).

Maybe it's an American thing?

What a horrid device.

I am thinking it wasn't meant for you

Oatily milk is really very very good-great in tea.
Just saying x

the reason we able drink milk is directly related to ancient farming practice -I imagine there was a period (long?) of famine & milk products were used to feed starving people - those that survived were "lactose tolerant" ie able to digest milk over the age of 2 - across the world there is a link between lactose tolerance (as opposed to intolerance) in areas with historic dairy practice www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/12/27/168144785/an-evolutionary-whodunit-how-did-humans-develop-lactose-tolerance

Is your dc awful? Maybe for you to insert and keep your dh away? New fangled contraceptive device?!

I'd try and wear it as some sort of weird earring cuff or something to confuse them back.

This is so funny.

These are so rarely used in the UK that it's not worth getting worked up about.

The majority of farmers would use a ring with more blunt spikes on it if they were to use one. Additionally, they are more commonly used on older cattle to stop them suckling on other cattle (which can cause mastitis).

Calves are generally weaned by separation...imagine a farmer putting one of these on every individual calf at weaning time (they are more powerful than you would think), and then having to handle them all again to remove them.

Lack of education is severely damaging the livestock injury.

Nope, nothing here has changed my eating habits (although it constantly shocks me that we create devices like these at all).

It’s the other things you’ve mentioned, that are common knowledge, that upset me. ‘Weaned by separation’ and ‘to stop them suckling’. Calves naturally wean at about 12
months. They are removed from their mothers well before this in most cases (apart from Elf’s herd). They don’t suddenly lose all of their biological urges. Read the studies done on least stressful removals. It’s harrowing stuff. Calves losing up to 5% of their bodyweight through stress, bawling, pacing, mothers grieving.

That’s not uncommon at all.

I wonder if they are hinting at Veganuary ?

Each to their own and all that, but people need to remember that the majority of PETA and other organisations use propaganda from other countries in their media campaigns. Please remember that farming in the UK probably doesn't feature too regularly in the photos and videos you see online. Beef and lamb from Scotland are actually considered a premium product and are exported globally due to their taste, and welfare really does play a part in the quality of the end product.

Hidingfromhim speaking personally whilst I can appreciate that UK farming practices are different it's irrelevant to many people who choose not to consume animal products for ethical reasons. Those awful things may not happen here, but they do happen somewhere. And to me that is the problem. But I understand that not everyone feels the same way.

But just because worse things happen elsewhere (and I do agree, I grew up in one such country), it doesn’t mean that it’s okay here. I know we have stringent controls in place but it’s not enough. P&O recently decided to stop transporting live calves to Europe and almost immediately, another company stepped in to take over the contract. There’s enough going on here (without looking at any websites like PETA’s). But I do agree, each to their own. I live with meat eaters, respect their views and don’t talk about my choices unless someone asks. Seeing that contraption though - ergh!

Hope you’ve enjoyed your presents OP!