Hazel, willow, beef and storytelling from Bedfordshire

Posts tagged cattle

Hay no rain – shock

Hay no rain – shock

    Almost unbelievably and for the first time on record the hay‘s under cover without having been rained on once. After a cold spell, we’ve had a week of scorching (for the UK) weather which has dried our grass beautifully. Even so we managed to make a meal of it. On Thursday we baled some then […]

Trouble with calves

Trouble with calves

    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 […]

Calves start here

Calves start here

  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 […]

Waiting for calves

Waiting for calves

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 […]