Since moving from bustling Pukekohe south of Auckland to the quiet farming town of Tokoroa Blayke, 13, and Lily, 10, have embraced their new lives on the farm – so much so they even entered this year’s Calf Club New Zealand competition and are proving it is for all kids, even if they’ve never been near a calf before.
Their mum Andrea Murray says both kids have adapted to farm life extremely well and can often be found in the milking shed with their stepfather Leon, who is 2IC on the 167ha farm milking 400 cows.
“My husband used to work on a farm and he was keen to get back to it after a stint in the city. We picked Tokoroa because my parents are here so it’s familiar and we liked the community,” she says.
Lily learned about the Calf Club NZ competition through farm managers Vince and Sheridan Steiner’s daughter Gabrielle and promptly asked if she could take part too. Andrea was hesitant but soon came around to the idea.
“They’re city kids and this is their first time on a farm and I thought Calf Club NZ looked a bit too professional for us first-timers.
“But we ended up signing Lily up and then we had Blayke asking what his sister was doing so we figured it was something he could get involved with as well.”
Entering the competition has given Blayke and Lily a sense of responsibility and helped teach them more about life on the farm and caring for animals. They were spoiled for choice when it came to picking their calves. The farm is home to four breeds of dairy cows – Holstein, Brown Swiss, Jersey and Ayrshire.
“We were wanting one of the kids to use a bull calf that arrived through Cesarean. He was too big to come out naturally and I had to work him a bit when he came out to get him going. We couldn’t bobby him because his mum was on antibiotics but he’s just a bit big for the kids. He’s a big ball of love and very friendly. We called him Jumpstart for obvious reasons,” Andrea says.
Both Blayke and Lily picked Ayrshire calves for the cute factor.
Lily has learned a lot in her first few months on the farm and quickly learned though calves are cute they aren’t always biddable and willing partners.
“Calves don’t just stay standing still when you want them too. And they don’t stay clean. They get rather dirty, especially when they lie in the mud just after you’ve spent hours brushing them,” Lily says.
Her calf, Pretzel, often gives her a run for her money and getting Pretzel to walk on a lead has often resulted in Lily being deposited in a pool of mud as Pretzel runs around with the other calves but Lily takes is all in her stride and says she actually quite enjoys it.
“It’s a new experience and I really like it. The best bit is when the calf takes off,” Lily says.
Pretzel is one of a set of twins, the other is affectionately called Twisted Sister, and wasn’t Lily’s original choice. Milkshake, a mainly white calf, was Lily’s first pick and the calf she did the most work with. When twin heifer calves Pretzel and Twisted Sister came along she fell in love with them and decided to swap despite having put so much work into Milkshake.
For Blayke, entering the competition has encouraged him to try new things, something that doesn’t come easily to him. Blayke has autism, along with eight other diagnoses including a processing disorder and cognitive insensitivity to pain so while a lot of things about him are different to his peers, Andrea says he’s pretty much just a normal kid.
“He’s at a higher functioning level and is now in mainstream school, which has been really great for him and he loves it. The special school he was at we felt was limiting him a bit. He was doing a lot of things the other kids weren’t, like talking,” Andrea says.
Blayke is very time and place orientated and likes a certain structure so the daily duties of calf care and training can sometimes be challenging for him to focus on but Andrea has been impressed at the small milestones he’s making and his willingness to give it a go.
“He gets a bit bored of brushing his calf Cashew all the time and will say can we put them away now when he’s over it but he’s been good at going down the shed and doing something with her every day. The calves are still newish to halter training so it can difficult at times for them to keep hold of the rope.”
Blayke often won’t interact with people he doesn’t know and though he’s still hesitant with most of the other animals on the farm he’s completely fine with the calves.
“We do have to watch him a little bit because his sense of self-safety isn’t that good so he’ll often just walk behind a tractor or something. We think that’s partly due to his processing disorder.”
Despite all aspects of the experience being completely new Andrea has been impressed with their willingness to get stuck in and loves that it has given the kids something fun to do that’s also helping them acclimatise to life on the farm.
“It’s given them both some responsibility and a chance to have a bit of fun and learn. This is all entirely new to them. We have chickens and cats but the calves are their own to look after and we try to encourage them to do the lion’s share of the care and training.”
The competition has bought out a competitive streak in both Lily and Blayke with each keen on beating the other. Rivalry aside, they’re both keen to learn as much as they can and enjoy their new best friends.
“I want to learn more above calves and how to groom them ready for the club and gain their trust so it’s my friend,” Lily says.
“I enjoy looking after Cashew and brushing her. She kisses me by licking my face, it feels like sandpaper,” Blayke says.
With a fantastic induction into their new way of life Lily, Blayke and Andrea are looking forward to what the future holds on the farm.
What’s it for?
Calf Club NZ was established last year for Kiwi kids to continue the tradition of calf club amid the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak.
The online competition was so popular it is back again this year.
The Dairy Farmer team is thrilled to be the media partner again and we look forward to sharing more stories with our readers.
