Photos of Cattle Farmer Using Woolly Earmuffs to Protect Baby Cows From Frostbite Go Viral

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A dairy farmer going by the name of Cans Moleman shared a picture of one of his young calves wearing pink woolly earmuffs online. The reason? To protect the calf from frostbite. The response? An online frenzy from netizens who were either baffled or besotted by the adorable invention.

The farmer from County Meath, just north of Dublin in Ireland, shared a photo of the pink “calf earmuffs” on Twitter on June 25, 2019. Moleman wrote:

“So it turns out earmuffs for calves to stop them getting frostbite are a real thing.”

Comments came in thick and fast.

“Can I get a pair? Asking for a friend,” wrote one Twitter user beside a photo of their long-eared dog.

“But Mom,“ joked another, ”none of the other calves are wearing them!”

Another user questioned why earmuffs were necessary in the temperate Irish climate. “They’re made for places like Canada where it gets to around minus-10 degrees [Celsius],” Moleman clarified.

“We put little coats on some of the weaker calves on our farm though,” the dairy farmer added, beside a second, equally squeal-inducing snap of a baby cow tucked up warm in a winter jacket.

Moleman’s original photo quickly went viral; it was liked 171,000 times and prompted more than 29,000 retweets. Other farmers took to social media to post pictures of their own baby cows wearing similarly adorable, handmade ear-warmers and garnered an appreciative audience of thousands.

Frostbite occurs when delicate body tissue sustains damage in freezing temperatures. Extremities such as feet, hands, fingers, toes, noses, and ears are most at risk.

Dr. W. Dee Whittier, extension veterinarian for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, explained why calves are so susceptible to frostbite on cattle-farming resource The Beef Site. “Newborn calves are most at risk because they are wet,” Dr. Whittier began, “and because they have a large surface area in relation to their total body mass.” The veterinarian continued:

“Calves are not fully capable of maintaining temperature the first several hours of life. Newborn calves have a circulatory system that is less able to respond to cold changes as compared to more mature animals.”

Newborn calves do have, however, a special body tissue called “brown adipose tissue.” When the calf’s surroundings are too cold, this special fatty tissue breaks down and generates heat to help the animal stay warm. Extreme cold, however, can jeopardize even this protective mechanism.

Wind chill and humidity are two major risk factors for frostbite; humid air, says Dr. Whittier, can take more warmth away from animals than dry air.

Windbreaks, bedding, and shelter can provide respite, but sometimes vulnerable calves need an extra helping hand. This is where the woolly earmuffs come in.

In actual fact, the dairy farmer from Ireland is not the first to have employed this woolly solution; earmuffs for baby cows have been seen before.

Holly Poad, the owner of Triple P Farm in Lone Rock, Wisconsin, teamed up with her aunt Kim Ewers in February 2019 in order to tackle the very same problem. Poad is the inventor of “Moo Muffs.”

Poad’s family tragically lost their cattle barn in a fire; the farm owner had to find a way to keep her newborn calves from getting frostbite, so she invested in calf jackets and pairs of calf earmuffs.

Needing more but also needing to save money, according to Insider, Poad asked Ewers, who runs an embroidery business, to make more jacket and earmuff pairs using water-repellent material and adjustable straps. A business was born.

“People love them,” Poad told WMTV. In order to keep up with the growing international demand for Moo Muffs, Poad recruited her cousins to assist in cutting the fabric. The family enterprise now produces between 15 and 20 jacket and earmuff pairings per week.

“I was surprised,” Poad admitted. “I thought we'd maybe sell five, ten pairs. I didn’t think it was going to be anything that big!”