As usual, we fail to predict the arrival of our first calf. After ten years of doing this we still fumble around for some kind of certainty to replace the ‘well sometime soon’ when asked exactly when the calves will arrive.Last Sunday morning Alan arrived (name suggested by daughter; don’t know why). A sturdy bull […]
It is almost exactly ten years since we borrowed a trailer and drove to Ed Turner’s farm near the east coast, beyond Ipswich and that’s a long way east; to pick up three in-calf cows. That was a pretty exciting and alarming day and there have been plenty of memorable ones since – births, deaths, sales, […]
I spent most of the morning wrestling with a tractor that died last night – in a gateway, with a trailer, blocking a neighbour’s drive. Thanks to John of Town Farm Garage (the best place to take your car for a service), who, rather than going home at 6.30 on a Friday, volunteered to tow […]
The last few days have been filled with cattle. Thursday morning last week was our first chance to get ear tags into the three calves born the previous Saturday. We try to get tags in within 48 hours because after that time, calves are quick, agile and strong and rather tricky to catch. And so it […]
The waiting’s over and we have five lovely Red Poll calves. Four heifers and one bull so far; three to come. Pepper was the first last Sunday, followed by her half-sister, Copper on Wednesday. Just to add excitement to an already packed Saturday schedule two were born in the early hours and a third, to ace mum […]
At this time of year, when we finally reach the first due date (9 months after the day Admiral, our Red Poll bull, walked off the trailer to meet his heifers and cows for the first time) we start to fret and discuss and examine and try to remember exactly what a cow that will […]