Lake Quinault Giant Academy
Cow Adoption
In January of 2015 the Lake Quinault Giant Academy eagerly chose to
participate in Discover Dairy’s Adopt a Cow program. The application process
was easy and at no cost to the after school program. Shortly after applying for
the cow adoption program we received an envelope filled with pictures,
activities, and various other information on our dairy cow. The children and staff
expected to adopt a full grown dairy cow, and to our surprise we received an
adoption certificate for a new born calf named Annie! The news of the new born
calf made the adoption experience far more exciting for the children and our
staff.
Annie was born on November 22, 2014 at Fairview Holsteins Farm in East Berlin,
PA. At birth Annie was measured at 35 inches tall and weighed 100 lbs. Annie is
expected to grow about one inch a month for the next four months of her life, she
is expected to grow to about 55 inches tall and weigh about 1,350 lbs. when she
becomes an adult. Annie’s mother, Aleena, is a producer of approx. 70 pounds –
or 140 glasses of milk each day, with the exception of a 2 month vacation to give
birth to Annie, adds up to a whopping 21,500 pounds – or 43,000 glasses of milk
a year!
By learning this and additional information, the children have been comparing
and contrasting the differences between humans and cows in relation to size
and growth rate, nutrition, physiology, life cycles, and the important role cows
play in our own nutrition.
All of us at the Lake Quinault Giant Academy are excited to share how much
Annie has helped bring life to our nutrition component and we are eager to learn
more about Annie throughout the year. We highly recommend the Discover
Dairy Adopt a Cow program to schools across the nation!