Let's face it. Ultimately, we view dairy cows as food and beverage for their meat and milk. Dairy cows have become an essential part of our everyday life because of what they provide for us. In a way, we cannot belittle them because we really need them. And so we breed them and raise them accordingly to be healthy and to provide nutritious meat and milk. This is a dairy cow's life.

When young, we call it a calf. It's mother is called a dam and the father called a sire. A female calf is called a heifer when it has not yet given birth to a calf of its own and is less than thirty months old. The heifer will be called a springer when it becomes seven months pregnant and its udder starts to swell. The process of giving birth to its calf is called calving or parturition. Upon giving birth to a calf, the female dairy animal will be rightfully called a cow.

After calving or parturition, the new calf is separated from its dam within 24 hours of birth. This early separation will help ease the stress on the cow and calf as there will be no bonding between parent and offspring. For the dam, there will be little anxiety in losing its calf. For the calf, it will be easier to teach it to drink milk from a bucket. The calf also has to be moved to a clean and nearly sterile environment to help keep it away from disease and sickness.

The newborn calf should drink it's mothers first milk, called colostrum, which is rich in antibodies to protect it from infection. Within twelve hours of birth, the calf should be given around two liters of colostrum. The calf has no immunity of its own for the first two weeks so drinking colostrum is absolutely necessary. The colostrum changes into milk (fit for commercial use) within three to four days after calving. The calf will then depend on commercial milk replacer feed until it is old enough to eat solid food at three to four weeks of age.

Dairy life is simpler for the males, generally called a bull. Whether it's young or old, it is still called a bull. If it is castrated, however, the bull comes to be called as a steer. When the steer is four months old, it will be called an ox.

In the past, the dairy cattle and the beef cattle weren't as different as they are now. Back then, there was little or no distinction between them --- just cows grazing around to become meat and milk afterwards. Now the dairy cattle is bred specifically to give out volumes of milk while beef cattle are raised specifically for their meat.

Selling the dairy cows would vary according to their condition. Purebred heifer calves are very valuable to dairy farms and are usually raised as herd replacements. Selling crossbred heifers and bull calves will depend on the demand for beef animals and transport range of the farm. Surplus calves are usually sold at two weeks old. Purebred bulls who prove to be superior sires for breeding are probably the most valuable among the cattle, and can fetch a high price when sold.