We’ve been busy….
…both on and off the farm. But here’s our pre-occupation right now at Thistle Hill: welcoming new calves to our world. It’s the most special time of the year. This is our seventeenth calf so far, a heifer, by one of our best cows. The sire is U2, which means she has Rotokawa 974 in her blood.
The calf is still wet and a bit wobbly. Wobbly is good when you have to tag a new-born. A few more hours and she would have been too “mobile” to catch and we would have had to wait to catch her sleeping. A tag snapped into your ear comes under the heading of “rude awakening”.
At least with Devon cattle you don’t have to deal with a defensive mother. In fact, most often they seem to be encouraging their newborn to hold still. It only hurts for a moment. Like a shot for a baby.
We’ve had a preponderance of bull calves so far this year but the recent births have begun to even the ratio.