-
Two that got away….
….that Regina Tesnow is a sharpie! She snapped up two of our really good, older cows awhile back. And they didn’t let her down. On the left is Thistle Hill Shenandoah and on the right Thistle Hill Brandy Station. They’re both two now and ready for breeding. Both were sired by our herd bull U2 Double Trouble. He’s made a big impact on our herd, too, and will be going back into the herd this week once we let the AI work settle. Actually, it sometimes pains Wooz, but it is our policy to sell our good animals. We always save one to protect the line, but after that we…
-
Where to begin….
….well, to coin a phrase, “start at the beginning”. Posting has been non-existent for almost a month, but not because there’s been nothing to report. It’s breeding season and Wooz here discusses strategy with our vet, Dr. Monica O’Brien. AI comes first, and we’re using two sires across some of our best cows: Traditional Devon’s Falcon (our English bull) and Rotokawa 243, who has given us some wonderful calves in the past. After that, came sorting the herd into groups….getting the right bulls with the right females. In all, we’ll be using four bulls this time: Jackpot and U2 plus limited use of two Traditional Devon bulls, a son of…
-
243…the formal portrait…
….well, actually we liked the one we ran the other day, 243 fresh from work, splattered with mud and head covered with hay. But Ken McDowell cleaned him up so here’s New Zealand’s finest: Rotokawa 243. Ken’s not saying but that fact that he went to all this trouble and gussied him up and put a label on the picture tells us that the shortage of 243 semen here in the States may be about to be remedied.
-
Ken’s best….
….a current picture of Rotokawa 243, the bull New Zealand’s Ken McDowell feels is the best he’s ever produced. This is the one bull that was too young to make the trip when the Rotokawa herd was shipped to the United States. 243 is the sire of our herd bull, “Jackpot“, and we’re very impressed with the first calves that he’s fathered for us. He did, by the way, achieve 100% of his assignment. Regina Tesnow, in Tennessee, purchased a 243 son from us a year ago, and she also reports being very pleased with her calves. It’s the most uniform crop she’s ever had.
-
The test that counts….
….the latest from our new herd bull “Jackpot“. This little bull calf born in icy rain is out of another line here that has produced some top bulls, 31. Along with “Magic“, “Jackpot“, a son of Rotokawa 243, is the most impressive-looking bull we’ve produced here. But it is the progeny that counts and from the calves we’ve seen so far, “Jackpot” is going to deliver everything he promises. Mom left this little guy under a wagon in an adjoining field where we found him after birth. We tagged him and he trotted up the hill without a concern and turned into the next pasture to be reunited with his dam. From…
-
Here we go again….
….the start of a new calving season with A123. He’s a “he”….by Thistle Hill Reality. A bull we sold as a youngster but brought back for a command performance when we saw how well he had matured. We like it when calves confidently accept our attention—and tagging—on their very first contact. Wooz wants to name him Elizabeth since it’s her birthday and that’s her real name. Do we dare?! I have in mind John Cash’s “Boy Named Sue”, of course. Reality has Rotokawa 667 on both sides so he comes by his sturdiness naturally. And it certainly helps to come out of our wonderful “3 family” as well….mom is THF…
-
A ‘foundation cow”….
….is not a designation we use in the “Devon world”. But if we did, R2 would certainly merit the honor. Purchased almost as an afterthought from Lakota Ranch seven years ago, she has been a steady star performer. R2 comes from the same Lakota family that sired a top Devon bull, “Bud”, who became a star performer for Bill Roberts. That line is almost as prevalent in our herd as Rotokawa. R2‘s daughter, T2, by Rotokawa 93, has maintained the momentum. Visitors often ask to reserve a future calf by her or pay for a flush, which we politely decline. T2‘s latest is this heifer, X2a, pictured at birth. But the next…
-
You’re going a long way, baby….
….two young bulls ready for shipment from Thistle Hill to the Midwest. In the foreground, a line-bred 688 son….behind him a 93 off-spring. They’re at the vets for their travel papers and last minute inoculations as required by Indiana and Ohio. It’s become almost routine to make our out-of-state shipments from the vets…making sure our animals have recent breeding soundness exams, dna work and all their shots in order. Dr. Derek Vandrey is checking their TB results. The 688 bull was destined for Joe Vosburgh in Alexandria, Indiana; the 93 son for Richard Jeffers in Athens, Ohio. We drove the bulls, and ourselves, through heavy rain and slick mountain roads…
-
Thistle Hill Alumni Club….
….two young heifers enjoying the sun at Tomina Farms in Tennessee. On the left is “Brandy Station” out of Thistle Hill 486 and on the right “Shenandoah” out of our Q1. Both heifers are by our herd bull “Double Trouble”. Owner Regina Tesnow has been naming Thistle Hill alumni for Virginia towns and landmarks. A nice touch that we appreciate.
-
Parade of bulls….about “Tail-End Charlie”….
“Charlie” isn’t his name, of course. He’s Thistle Hill Falcon, an English bull, and smaller than the other bulls in the parade because he’s half their age. Actually, we think he would rank in front among a group of his contemporaries. When we were selecting animals for our Traditional Devon project, Wooz decided to free-lance by selecting a cow of her own from Ivan Rowe’s Cornwall herd…Goldings Snowdrop. We bred her to the great English bull, Millennium Falcon…from Shiamala Comer’s herd. The embryos were brought here and Falcon calved at Thistle Hill almost exactly a year ago. He is de-horned.