Help! My cow has rejected its new calf

Feeding young cow or calf from a bottle of milk. Getty Images/iStockphoto

Pedro Omolo, my high school friend, was a stressed man last month. His cow had refused to nurse its calf. I helped him select the in-calf heifer from a farm in Eldoret a year ago and also gave him the design for the dairy unit where he has kept the animal in anticipation of milk and a calf. The heifer calved down during Christmas week and I was at home when he called.

“Daktari, I do not understand what is happening. The cow calved down this morning, it is now noon and the poor calf hasn’t had a chance to suckle,” Omolo lamented.