A friend went to a petting farm the other day and got to see the cow being milked. Said cow had a calf more than a month ago and calf was fed with a pail with mummy cow's milk. When her 4 year old asked, "Why isn't the calf nursing?" the reply was that the cows nowadays are bred to produce lots of milk and if the calf is allowed to drink from the cow they drink too much and get diarrhea. Ditto for goats. There was also a pen with two lambs who were being supplemented because the mum ewe didn't have enough milk. My background being anumal science, I found this kind of true, but not really. Wouldn't the cow's system adjust to the demand, even if she is bred for more milk than her foremothers (forecows?). I know calves who are used to being fed twice daily will keep drinking when it's offered in a pail or bottle, but wouldn't they adjsut their demands to what they need, if they are allowed to stay with the mummy cow? Any dairy experts out there? Donna Hansen Burnaby, British Columbia mailto:[log in to unmask] *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html