Usually a dairy cow has her calf taken away at 24 hours to allow her milk
to be sold. And a beef cow rears her own single calf for nine months.

When I reared calves I bought dairy cows which produced loads of milk and trained
them to foster bought-in calves. The record was 25 for one cow in a year!

It was quite a sight when we turned them out into the fields in spring
- 10 cows and 40 calves running in a field. Some of the cows would allow only their
own 'family' to suckle, but several would open the 'milkbar' for any passing
calf that was brave enough to risk a hefty kick if the cow wasn't so accommodating!

Needless to say, those calves were far healthier and grew faster than those reared
from buckets of milk-substitute.

From my Cattle gallery.

Link to my Cattle Topic