Josie and the Amazing Technicolor Calf Coat

One evening last week, I wandered over to the barn to meet the newest barn cat, "Mr. Harry." Of course, the one time I went to the barn, "Mr. Harry" was nowhere to be found. When I asked where he was, my husband was giving the newest calf some milk. (On our farm -and most farms- cows and heifers are on a staggered calving schedule, so there are new calves all the time meaning, there's always milk.) The calf was having a hard time because it was her first time drinking out of a bucket. Eventually she got the hang of it. I finally found "Mr. Harry" and pet him for a while before going back to the house to finish dinner.

The next day, my husband came in from chores and said that the new calf wasn't doing very well. The heifer wing in the barn is pretty drafty, so he thought the cold wasn't helping her. He also told me that calves are born with very little fat on their bodies. I asked my husband if there were such things as blankets or coats calves could wear. Of course, there are, but they cost a pretty penny.

This morning as I flipped through posts and updates, a friend posted a video of calves wearing calf coats and ear protectors. The calves in the video were kept in hutches, where they are not as protected from this bitter cold weather. I began thinking of the new little calf... she's probably all curled up in a ball and shivering... poor thing and I'm nice and toasty in my heated house... She needs a coat!

I googled pictures of calf coats and found a pattern for one. The pattern, being very basic, didn't give me everything I needed. Somehow the coat had to be attached. After some more searches, I decided I would make ties around the neck and some ties around the back legs.

The material of choice (and because it was my only choice) was terry cloth, in the form of VERY old beach towels. I layered three towels and tied them together, so they would stay. I used D rings to loop the back ties around the back legs. I finished the edges with a blanket stitch. (I purposefully, put the stripes on the outside, for fun. The barn needs more color.)

 

After putting the calf coat on Josie, there were some obvious issues. (She didn't make it easy to put on either.)

 

The ties hung down too long, so my husband had to tuck them in and out of the way, or Josie's neighbor would suck on them and try to eat them. (Look, she's eyeing them already...)

Making a long tab with Velcro might be a better option for around the neck. It's just a prototype, and who knows if we'll need more of these Technicolor calf coats, but Josie is warmer now.

I just hope the other calves and heifers don't get jealous and try to throw her in a pit...