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You can go home again (2)….
A Thistle Hill bull returns home at sunset. Some years ago we sold he and his mother to nearby Reality Farm, owned by Teri and John Geuvremont. We told John, the little guy would probably turn out to be the herd bull for his Angus cows. Recently his mother was returned here for breeding and she reminded us of our agonizing over the decision to sell her. (See “You Can Go Home Again” below.) Well that made us curious about the bull calf. To make a long story short, he’s all growed up and John and Teri agreed to loan him to us to use over a major portion of…
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Praise from across the pond….
…our English friend and partner, Angus Cottey, saw the picture of Thistle Hill Magic on our home page and wrote a glowing appraisal. We’re immodest enough to share it. Angus knows cows and a compliment for an American bull from the Brits is no small thing. He writes: “Magic looks a tremendous Bull, I recall your photo of him as a young calf. He certainly has grown on well. I particularly like his top line and how flat he is across the top. A good beef animal should not be pointed across the shoulders but broad and flat. They say snow should be able to settle, certainly not like a…
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You can go home again…
….at least if you’re Thistle Hill’s Q25. She was born on this same pasture seven years ago…sold to John and Teri Guevremont’s Reality Farm of nearby Sperryville, Virginia three years ago…and now returned here for mating with one of our bulls. Q25 is one cow we should have never let get away. With the superb Rotokawa 667 on both sides of her pedigree, we sold her with an outstanding bull calf that John and Teri are now using on their grass-based Angus herd. Hopefully, we’ll be able to arrange for his temporary return as well. It’s a line we’d like to re-establish here. Reality Farm is our preferred source for…
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When it absolutely has to be there overnight….
….we always hope transport driver Mark Howard is available. The other day we made a large (for us) shipment of six cows with calves and a bull to two farms in Tennessee. The scheduled morning arrived and so did a heavy rain the night before. That made it impossible for Mark’s big rig to get down to the pens to load directly. So we ferried the animals in our trailer….three at a time….with our tractor standing by to pull us out of the mud, if necessary. Fortunately, it wasn’t necessary. Here farm manager Duane Ard (he was hoping for a raise for Christmas but we gave him a promotion instead)…
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Our alumni club….
….a young bull from Thistle Hill that is developing nicely at the Linda Hendrix Misty Ridge farm in South Carolina. He’s named for his grandfather, the Lenoir Creek sire Guardsman. Thistle Hill Guardsman W31 is not quite two-years old. Linda and her son, Dr. John Hendrix, have just bought five more females from us so Thistle Hill Guardsman has his work cut out for him.
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One that got away….
….that we should have made sure we collected semen from. He’s Magic, a Rotokawa 93 son and one of the best bulls we’ve produced here at Thistle Hill. We love posting pictures of our alumni. Magic is short, a Frame 1 bull but almost as wide as he is tall…off the charts in linear measurement. Magic originally was sold to Regina and Tom Tesnow of Tomina Farm in Tennessee and fortunately they have now collected his semen. Just the other day he moved on to Ronnie Bardwell’s farm in Louisiana and, at our open house, the Tesnow’s purchased another Thistle Hill bull, Casino. The line is already forming for Magic semen…
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Two pin-up girls….
Our email brought some lovely pictures from Regina Tesnow of Waynesboro, Tennessee. She’s produced two great young heifers, thanks in part to Thistle Hill’s bull Magic. Ruby Red Slippers is just six months old and showing all the lines and volume of her dad. Her half-sister, Scarlett O’Hara, is several months younger, but looks ready to challenge for “princess of the herd”. We recently sold a Magic son but think we’ll keep the other. Magic has short legs carrying a powerful lot of meat! And a gentler bull there never was. We think Regina and Tom are doing a terrific job for Devon in Tennessee and suggest you check out their…
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What is truly rewarding….
….is helping people getting started in Devon. Here, Linda Hendrix of Pacolet, South Carolina welcomes a young Thistle Hill bull to her farm. THF W31 was accompanied by four pregnant cows, two with calves, on the 10 hour trailer ride from Virginia. Most of the time was spent in the Friday afternoon, Memorial Day weekend rush hour around Charlotte. But now Linda and her son, Dr. John Hendrix, are on their way with what we might call a “Thistle Hill starter herd”. This is the view from the breakfast room window as, from this moment forward, Linda starts her day. A perfect Carolina morning. The Hendrix had not really planned…
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“I’m so big….
….you don’t even want to think about it. (I hope) That’s the message Carolina Hobo is sending to two younger bulls as they return to the bull pasture after being gone for a few months “on assignment”. He is displaying his massive side view in hopes it will discourage any thoughts in the youngsters of trying to challenge his dominance. If you click on the picture to enlarge, you’ll see Double Trouble looking suitably impressed. Animal behavior expert Temple Grandin first pointed out just what was going on here. Both bulls and cows establish a pecking order, and whenever a new animal joins the herd, even if they’ve been there before, it’s…
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A gamble pays off….
The smile stayed on Dr. Monica O’Brien’s face all afternoon, despite the heat. We were checking pregnancies, and again and again she reported: “Three months!” That was particularly gratifying since we had gambled this year, selling our herd bull Watson and banking on his son, 2-year old U2 or Double Trouble. Because of the uncertainty of putting a young bull with 24 grown cows, we kept him in an extra month. But it wasn’t necessary. He settled 75% of his charges in the first 22 days. All but two in the next month for a total of 94%. All in all, a performance that earned Double Trouble bragging rights with…