we haven t been here long when there s news that a cow is in labour. we head over to the calving shed. do you know how long she s been showing signs, alec? about an hour, hour and a half. how long would you leave it before you maybe intervene? yeah, about this time, hour and a half, two hours. 0h, right, here we go. on examining the cow, there s a surprise in store. now that alec s examined it, he finds it s got. there s two heads there. so it s a twin birth. calving plays a vital part in the milk production process. giving birth induces the cow to start producing milk, but little of that milk is destined for her own calves. so the calf is going to be separated from the mother now? the mother is going to be taken in to be milked, so that we get the colostrum from the mother, ready to feed the calves later. oh, i see, yeah.
this farm for 30 years. he says while cow calf separation maximises the milk production, doing it this way is also in the animals best interests. so is that the best option for the cow and the calf? we absolutely, genuinely believe so. you know, welfare is about health, happiness of the individual and the group. and in this case, even though it might be a tough hit at the start, we think it is the most healthiest thing to do. so to what extent do the consumers who buy the milk in the supermarkets know what s going on, on a dairy farm? i suspect that they have a certain rose tinted view of dairying in green fields all of the time. these cows go out to green fields every year. they probably don t realise some of the realities of what we do, and how we do it and particularly why we do it. many of us now have a greater interest in where our food comes from and the lives of the farm animals that feed us.
fairly common practice. is there not a potential to damage the hips? i suppose there must be a potential, but i mean, it s done so commonly without any damage. and isn t it also likely that the cow is in some distress or pain when that s happening? absolutely, definitely. yeah. yeah, definitely. so what you have to balance is the stress and the pain of that over a short period of time to be put into a nice environment versus the alternative, which would be to be left where she was. when animals are beyond help, the law requires them to be put out of their suffering promptly. but that didn t always happen on this farm. this cow was severely ill and in need of attention. a vet who was treating another cow at the farm was asked about it. have you seen the other cow? the vet that was present acknowledged that they are suffering and advised prompt
to see how you can have an emotional response. but it s a fundamental part of mass milk production and happens on nearly every dairy farm in the uk. i ve come to taynton court in gloucestershire. it s a large dairy farm, which has been recognised by the industry for its high welfare standards. they re happy to show me how and why they separate calves at birth. roger blowey is a vet who s been looking after the animals here for a0 years. you can see the cows all lined up, and as soon as there s a space, the cow goes onto the platform. we re here for the first of two daily milkings. over the next few hours, 800 cows will pass through this rotating milking parlour.
watching the calves being quickly separated from their mothers, it s easy to see how you can have an emotional response. but it s a fundamental part of mass milk production and happens on nearly every dairy farm in the uk. i ve come to taynton court in gloucestershire. it s a large dairy farm, which has been recognised by the industry for its high welfare standards. they re happy to show me how and why they separate calves at birth. roger blowey is a vet who s been looking after the animals here for a0 years. you can see the cows all lined up, and as soon as there s a space, the cow goes onto the platform. we re here for the first of two daily milkings. over the next few hours, 800 cows will pass through this rotating milking parlour.