1. The Story of Minnie Moo
Day 3 till now…
(or how to convince Dad to bring a calf home in the car!!)
Tash
Kristy
By Kristy Woodhead
Narara Valley High School
Year 12
Primary Industries
At the Scone & Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza.

2. Charolais Cow Angus Bull
• Mini’s mum was a Charolais and her dad is an Angus.
• Mini Moo had a hard start to life, her mother died when she was 3
days old after a difficult birth.
• My teacher asked if I would raise Mini until she is old enough to be
weaned at around 3 months.
• I agreed and so did my parents, so we, Dad, myself and Miss
Chandler drove from the Scone & Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza at
White Park where we were showing the schools cattle, to the stud
where she was born.
• When we got out to the stud, Mini was in terrible shape, her nose
was burnt and she was severely dehydrated. Everyone said her
chances of survival were slim, but 45mins after her first bottle of
Lectade she was up on her feet and showing us that she was a
fighter. But the battle for this little one was not over yet.

3. Day 3.
1
1. First picture of Mini Moo when we picked her up
from the paddock. Where she had been lying next
1 to her dead mother for at least 12 hours. (that’s Dad
holding her, he’s a big softie!!)
2. Picture of Mini Moo drinking her first bottle of
Lectade which is an Oral Rehydration Therapy for
2
all types of animals.
3
3.What a difference some
fluids make this picture was
taken 45mins after her first
bottle (she then did a wee in
the car, that was horrible!!)

4. • At the end of the Scone Beef Bonanza we packed up
the camp, made a special space in the horse float for
Mini and set off for home ready to face a new
challenge. I had worked with the steers and heifers for
a long time with the school Agricultural program and
now my Primary Industries studies but this was
something different. This meant becoming a
replacement mother for a baby.
• I learnt many new things in the first week, increasing
ratio’s of milk replacer to different volumes of water
and slowly increasing so that Mini’s system wasn’t
Day 4. over stressed, and some students think that they will
never have to use that sort of maths in the real world.
HA
• A typical day starts at 5.30am with the first feed (We
use Palastart blue calf milk replacer), Mini then loves
to have a run around the paddock whilst the horses
eat their breakfasts, at 6 days old she started to nibble
at some grass and hay. I have her back in her stall by
6.30am so that I can get ready for school. Home from
school by 3pm in time to feed Mini her second feed of
the day and another run around the paddock and
sometimes a nose to nose with the horses, then back
to her stall for another sleep. Then back for the last
feed of the day at 11pm and settle her in for the night.
On the cold nights we found that a large dog rug helps
her to stay warm.

5. Despite my best efforts, Mini Moo developed scours (diarrhoea). This
was to start another learning experience, what do I do, what do I give
her?
What I have learnt about Scours (diarrhoea) in a calf:
Scours is the most common symptom of
illness in young calves and is more
common in hand reared calves. It can be
caused by viruses, bacteria or Internal
parasites. Whatever the cause of the
scour may be the outcome is that the
lining of the bowel is damaged which in
turn results in large amounts of body
fluids leaking into the gut, as a direct
result the calf quickly dehydrates and
their electrolytes become unbalanced
and their energy reserves are depleted
the calf can develop shock and die.
Mini Moo Not feeling well
Day 12.

6. Our family is very lucky to have a family friend Keith Phillips who is a
large animal vet and although he does not practice on cattle in his
practice he was happy to give me lots of advice and arrange for me to
get some drugs from another vet in the area who does carry cattle
drugs:
Day 12:
I started with Scourban which is an oral
Antidiarrhoeal Suspension and Lectade to balance
electrolytes and rehydrate and I see a slight
improvement for 24hrs and then Mini starts to deteriorate
again.
Keith recommends that I get her on some
Peptosyl and put her on to half strength milk, so another
trip to the local vet to pick up the new drug and some
more Lectade. Again I see a slight improvement for 24hrs
then another decline another call to Keith his advice if
she is not improved by the morning take her to the Local
Vet as they have the drugs on hand and as it was
predicted that it was going to be a 40`C day the heat was
going to be a contributing factor.

7. Day 17:
Saturday morning came and Mini was worse. We were all starting to
get very concerned that she may not make it, so off the Vet we
went. The Vet took a sample of her manure and looked at it under
the microscope to see if she had parasites which she didn’t but this
morning she had a new symptom, a slight cough, so the Vet gave
her an injection of Antibiotics and gave me more Lectade and more
injections to give her over the next two days.
Day 18:
On Sunday I saw a slight improvement but still had concerns.
Day 19:
Monday and what a difference, we have our cheeky Mini Moo back.
She has had her last injection today and is still only on half strength
milk and Lectade but we have turned the corner.

8. Day 20:
Tuesday and Mini is improving everyday. I can see the weight going
back on her slowly. She is still on Scourban and I am still slowly
increasing the ratio of milk replacer to volume of water… more maths
!!! Who would have thought I would need to know so much maths to
look after a calf!! .
Day 21:
Wednesday comes along and Mini is growing rapidly
now. She had her first bottle of full strength milk
today and no sign of scours returning
Day 22:
Thursday and Mini is now on full strength milk with
no sign of scours. I will now start to decrease the
Scourban by half tomorrow and if no sign of scours
take her off it by Friday.
Mini having a great
run in the paddock,
feeling so much
better. Day 21

9. • So why does one little calf matter?
• In reality, everything matters.
• Each day, most of us all get up, have our cereal, maybe a cup of
coffee and head off to school or work. How many of us actually
think of where that food comes from and how much work has
gone into getting it onto our plates and into our cups?
• Agriculture is a subject who’s importance is not limited to farmers,
understanding the process by which we come to eat that food is
something that is becoming more popular in today’s society.
• More people are thinking about where their food comes from, was
it grown organically, was it genetically modified. What was the
impact on the environment on how it was grown?.
• My studies help me learn to develop sustainable farming
techniques, trying to get the most out of our land and Australia’s
limited water whilst at the same time, working to ensure we limit
our impact on our native wildlife.
• Mini Moo has been an education for me, many people have
commented that it’s a cheap way to get a good steak. Well, I
know better than that !! By the time Mini Moo reaches maturity,
she would be too expensive to use as a simple meal and she will
return to the stud to become part of their breeding program.

10. Hand rearing an orphan calf is probably one of the most expensive and
time intensive pursuits I have ever undertaken.
The cost of milk replacer, pellets and medicines required definitely
make this learning opportunity an expensive endeavor but I feel that the
things I have learnt have been worth the expense and have enhanced
the relevance of my primary industries course.
And countless hours spend feeding,
cleaning the stall and preparing the
next feed gives a clear insight into why
hand rearing is not really commercially
viable and why orphaned calves are
often abandoned by the industry.
But, Mini Moo is my baby, and I
wouldn’t give her up for all the early
mornings and late nights in the world
…………….and I would do it again !!

11. PLATINUM GOLD SILVER
BRONZE MEDIA SPONSOR
Gerringong
& Albion Park
Vet Clinic

12. This is a
Kristy Woodhead
presentation
for the
2009