All of us remember our mothers putting hats and scarves on us when we were kids to shield us from the cold. Now, a story is going viral that shows that farmers do the very same thing for their calves!

During the freezing winter months, these farmers knit special earmuffs to put on their baby cows so that they can protect the animals from frostbite. Not only are the earmuffs practical, they are also the cutest things ever!

A Twitter user who goes by “This Farming Man” shared images of the earmuffs online, and they immediately went viral. While the earmuffs are certainly fun, it’s important to remember that frostbite itself is no laughing matter.

“Frostbite is the damage to body tissues that occurs when these tissues freeze,” explained Dr. W. Dee Whittier. “The extremities are most at risk. Frozen ears and tails result in changes of cattle appearance but do not affect cattle performance significantly.”

“Newborn calves are most at risk because they are wet and because they have a large surface area in relation to their total body mass,” Whittier 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.”

Thankfully, these earmuffs protect the calves from this while also making them look as cute as ever. We’re so glad that farmers have come up with such an adorable way to keep their calves safe!

So it turns out ear muffs for calves to stop them getting frostbite are a real thing… pic.twitter.com/KiiAbTaRYV

— Cans Moleman (@ThisFarmingMan_) June 25, 2019