Getting the rejects to suckle and survive is great

This was a big herd, whereas ours was an "interesting sideline". They were South Devons – big, red, the original "why the long face?" cows. Great milkers and good tempered – mostly. We only had four, named Patsy, Ruby, June and her daughter Juno.

Our puppy Bess was learning to be a sheepdog. However, we used to take her out for practice and she was supposed to stay at our heels. One day I was taking June out when she decided to turn into a narrow gap in a wall (which she had never shown any interest in before), which led through the yard onto the road! No way could I get through and turn her, or run round the wall to get ahead. Panic! Till Bess decided to prove her "cow-dog" skills and shot past June's heels, dived in front of her, lay down, spread her front legs and "eyed" her. June stopped. I held my breath and she backed through the gap – job done! The image of that small dog facing up to such a massive cow lives with me still.

We used to multiple suckle these cows as they always had gallons of milk. They had "crates" which they went in twice a day to feed their own and other bought-in calves. They didn't like their "adoptees" and there was always a lot of kicking and tail lashing at first, but they soon learned not to look at these aliens, but concentrate on their own.

The calves would dash out of their pens and dive for their teat – always same one, and the aliens learned to turn their bottoms away from being sniffed – to avoid "mum" kicking. So they could rear lots of calves per lactation including their own.

Juno's first calf died of iodine deficiency. But we got one from a neighbour who had lost a cow. They were a difficult few weeks, teaching a heifer to suckle (for the first time), a calf which she knew wasn't her own, which she'd licked. Such a big beast can be really scary in a small space, and as I was the one who had handled her the most, pre-calving, it fell to me to be in that space. Still we made her "love it" in the end.

We also lost Ruby when her calf was small and decided to twin him onto Patsy. Patsy was only a little cow so we thought we'd just let her raise hers, Patrick, and the alien, so they could go in the field together. Not easy or quick! The calf learned to wait till Patrick was sucking then sneaked in the other side. Result! I know it's nature's way that animals reject what they know are not their own, but it's such a waste.

Rosemary Allen is a retired livestock farmer now living near Ellesmere and with her husband Peter is part of CowCash-UK.