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The Class of “A”….
….at least so far. The first five calves gather under a tree (that should come down and will soon if I don’t get at it) with baby-sitters U3 and R2. (click to see them all) We seem to have hit a pause with 15 yet to come.
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A beautiful day in the neighborhood….
….after more than a month without rain, we were anxious to share it with our herd. You can barely make out several of our cows through the windshield of the Gator. They seemed as happy as we were. You could sense the grass turning green and by the end of the three-hour downpour there was no question it was having an effect. While no amount of proper grazing and pasture management can overcome a drought, it does seem to make recovery much quicker. Better yet, the forecast calls for three more days of this magical—and free—fertilizer.
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Ladies in waiting….
….two of what, in another breed, would be called our “foundation cows” are close to calving. And they’ve taken to passing the time together in a corner away from the herd and close to a gate just behind them. That leads to greener grass and an area that has been a favorite calving spot in the past. On the left is R2, mother of some of our best animals including our herd sire, U2. On the right, Q18, again a top producer. Jackpot is her son and she served as the recip mother for our wonderful little English calf, Falcon. We’ll let you know.
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The anti-biotic menace…how bad is it….
….well, bad enough that the government finally recognizes it. The Center for Disease Control now recommends you stay away from meat raised with antibiotics, but of course you can’t……if you shop at the supermarket or even the few butcher shops remaining. Of course, in the Alice-in-Wonderland world of our food supply, while the CDC says stay away from meat laced with antibiotics….the USDA labels are still slapped on everything proclaiming it’s safe to eat. The problem is almost all the meat in this country is raised with the stuff, the animals are in such close quarters they’d die without it, and it also helps fatten them more quickly. Pork is a particularly…
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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.
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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.
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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,…
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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…
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The Thistle Hill alumni club…..
….well, half of her anyway. This beautiful heifer is the daughter of Thistle Hill’s Magic out of 12 Stones Grasslands Beef’s Hope. The combination was put together by Regina and Tom Tesnow at Tomina farms in Tennessee. I repeat, Tennessee! Tomina Farms has quickly come to the front rank of Devon breeders in just a few years and we’d like to think we’ve played a small part in their success.
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A VIP visitor….
…great-grandson Rowan dropped by to check the cows and pigs…and have some ice cream. (He brought his own peanut butter sandwich.) At two, I think he’s ready to pick up some chores but you can tell Wooz wants to coddle him awhile longer. Rowan has a baby brother now….but he’s stuck in the premature nursery at the hospital. At 3-pounds-8 ounces, Lachlan has got some catching-up to do!