A MIRACLE calf at St Davids Bug Farm has been modelling "moo muffs" this winter as he gets better from illness and continues on the road to recovery.

Barney was one of two Welsh black twins born at the Bug Farm in September. His mum Annie left him in a hedge to die as she knew that she only had enough milk for one calf.

Bug farm owner, Sarah Beynon, found Barney 24 hours later, weak and terrified as he had not had any antibody-rich colostrum from his mum. Usually, if a calf has not had colostrum for this long after birth they will die.

Sarah and husband Andy bottle fed him and shared his story on social media using the #unlovedcalf. He soon became a local celebrity, with the community getting behind him.

Unfortunately Barney caught pneumonia and almost died time after time as he had no immunity for the first few weeks of life.

After three weeks and a lot of hard work, his mum Annie accepted him and he began to get stronger. However, 12 year-old Annie only has enough milk for one calf, so Barney and his brother Noah are bottle fed twice a day and will live in the barn for the winter with their mum, aunties Beatrice and Eugenie and cousins Harry and Brenda. Guests can come and say hello when they visit The Bug Farm.

Social media followers soon suggested Barney's hashtag was changed to #muchlovedcalf and he now has his own Instagram profile and Facebook account.

As the weather got colder and Barney was recovering from one of his illnesses, Sarah wanted to keep him cosy and warm, so his friend Katy at Big Momma's Knits made him his own pair of hand-knitted "moo muffs".

"Barney loves wearing his Moo Muffs, but his brother Noah likes to eat them," said Sarah. "Barney and Noah will live with us here for their whole lives as our friends and we look forward to sharing their adventures with the world to help people learn more about farming and just how extraordinary cows are."

You can catch up with Barney's story on Facebook and Instagram at @muchlovedcalf.