-
Parade of bulls….Triple 8….
Triple 8….688-8….is another line bred bull. He’s exactly two years old, the son of Rotokawa 688 of course as well as 688’s daughter, Thistle Hill Hope (R6). If you’re interested in a powerful concentration of the best Devon genetics, look no further than 688-8. He can upgrade your herd in a generation. For the argument for line breeding, here’s a quote from Gearld Fry’s recent newsletter: “There is no faster way that I know of to make genetic progress and fix traits in a herd. What happens is, a son from that particular mating will have the genetic quality traits from the mother and the quality and prepotency contained in…
-
Parade of bulls….Esprit….
Esprit….aka 180-6…is the result of a mating between our “wow cow”, as one cattleman called her, and the famed Rotokawa 688. Frankly, he was slow to mature but now we’re glad we waited. He’s not quite two he has a lot of growing still to do. We like the combination of Rotokawa genetics with some of our best cows. They seem to do best in the Virginia heat. His dam, Lakota 180, consistently produces our top bulls. Esprit is polled and was bon in October 2011.
-
Parade of bulls….Red Lad….
Red Lad….known as X3 in the registry…is another descendant of Rotokawa’s 974. “Lad” is six months to a year or more younger than the other bulls you’ve seen so far in the parade. But we think he is in line to take over the job when U2 moves on. The dam is one of our top 5 cows….R3….who I saw being calved years ago while visiting Lakota Farms. I claimed her on the spot and Jeremy Engh made good on his promise and delivered her six months later despite Dad’s opposition. Year in and year out, R3 produces outstanding animals and two of her daughters are in our main herd. From…
-
Parade of bulls….Oh My….
At least this name makes sense! “Oh My“….actually 688-6….is an impressive 30-month old line bred bull. Son of the famed Rotokawa 688 out of a 688 daughter, R6, the star of our herd. R6 has produced more calves, and more winning calves, than any other at Thistle Hill. And she has some stiff competition. Oh My may look massive in this picture, but like all Thistle Hill animals, he’s actually moderate-sized. And he has been de-horned.
-
Parade of bulls – Double Trouble
First of all, don’t ask me about the name, entirely inappropriate for this gentle four-year old. Wooz named him and says “no reason, I just called him that”. Are you married? Anyway, Double Trouble….formally U2….is a grandson of Rotokawa 974 and he’s given us a string of wonderful calves, male and female. With as many daughters as he has in our herd, this is probably his last breeding season. And that decision is made easier, knowing that he has a son coming along. Mom is an excellent Lakota cow that I stole from the Enghs when they were distracted. If I was forced to sell all but five of our cows,…
-
Parade of the bulls….”Jackpot”
“Jackpot“…or W18…is approaching three and the Crown Prince of Thistle Hill. We’d anoint him number one but it seems more fitting that we should, at least, see the kind of calves he sires. The first ones are due in October. The sire is Rotokawa 243, who Ken McDowall describes as his “final and best bull”. And who are we to argue? The dam—Q18—has consistently produced our top bulls and heifers. She was selected as one of four cows to serve as recips for our English embryos and at Thistle Hill being chosen as a recip is our top honor, particularly for those expensive English embryos. She didn’t let us down and…
-
Parade of the bulls….
For the next few days we thought we’d highlight some of the bulls in our Thistle Hill inventory. The three bulls at the front of the parade here are just about two years old. “Tail end Charlie” is not a runt. He’s not even a year old and knows his place in the pecking order. We’re indebted to Ken McDowell not only for his Rotokawa bulls but for the counsel he has provided on his many visits to Thistle Hill. We’ve combined Rotokawa genetics with our best females to produce animals that we think are particularly suited for American pastures. All Thistle Hill bulls come with a money back guarantee…a…
-
Mission accomplished….
Traditional Devon’s English bull, Churchill, returns to his Thistle Hill pasture after an extremely successful stay at North American Breeders for collection. The tech there called him “fantastic”…and we agree. In fact, grass fed bulls generally are far more fertile than grain fed. With all the news reports about declining sperm counts in western males, we’ve wondered whether the high level of corn fructose in young diets is partly to blame. Churchill is not yet two. He’s been used in a limited way here at Thistle Hill. His brother, Wellington, will be traveling to South Carolina in another month to be tried on our partners’ Walker Century Farms herd. And…
-
A meeting of the minds….
Photograph by Karen Schumacher (no relation), president of the New Zealand Devon Association. Karen won first price in the Association contest.
-
They tried to tell us….
….we’re too young. Clearly time to split these two up! That’s Thistle Hill Babette snuggling up to our TDA bull Churchill. Actually, Churchill will be going off this week….to North American Breeders where we’ll be collecting him….not for sale but for protection. Traditional Devon America (TDA)….a partnership of three breeders…wants to be sure to preserve the Devon genetics we’ve gathering on our trips to southwest England.