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dragracesssss t1_jdfadc9 wrote

They get it as they exit the birth canal and from suckling the mom's Teats during feeding. Some of it survives the stomach initially and then the good bacteria spread through the rest of the GI tract.

it also works the same way in humans, and there's a theory that giving our children beneficial bacteria is why we just wanna kiss them up so much.

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SabreToothSandHopper t1_jdgshcw wrote

I never understood the birth canal thing

a) why are stomach bacteria smeared all inside the cows vagina?

b) how does birth canal bacteria get inside the calf’s 4 stomachs? Does the calf sort of smear it’s mouth on everything while being born then lick it’s lips once it’s out?

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Player-X t1_jdhahkm wrote

Bacteria gets everywhere that it can survive so it's not unreasonable that some will end up in the cow vagina, and birth is messy so it'll also end up in the calf on its way out

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Nvenom8 t1_jdj61ci wrote

Think about the proximity between the anus and vagina and their relative arrangement on a cow.

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