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Songsheet

At the Start
Joined
May 2, 2003
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3,217
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Somerset
Two new additions over the past few days - the pedigree Belgian Blue, Wilma, gave birth to a very charming bull calf who is going to be called NewPole Chaz, as all pedigree calves this yar have to have names begiining with 'C'. This will, of course, mean that if we get a bull next year, he can be called 'Dave'...

The good news also was, in spite of it being her first calf, she didn't have to have a C-section, so it looks like we've a natural calving line with her.

And last night, my B B cross bred suckler cow calved down the biggest bull calf I've seen so far in six years - an absolute whopper that really made you wince in sympathy pain for her when she was pushing the calf out :o . It's the first by our new pedigree BB stock bull and I hope it's not going to mean all the rest in calf to him are going to have such giants, as that is not going to make for a happy calving pattern!

Will try to remember to actually take my camera out and will post a photo on here.

Now, is this is a good omen with males of the species being born?

Probably not - Alex phoned me to say their first two mares foaled colts and last time she did that, they had four colts in total and I had four fillies..... :cry:
 
Congratulations, Songsheet. So pleased they have arrived fit, and well.

Love the Chas, name. As long as it doesn't get changed to Chav! :blink:
 
Congrats Songsheet - and like the idea of the names! Let's hope, as you say, that these boys are the first of them for you on the farm, with the equine variety following soon!

Isinglass
 
Fascinating programme about cows burping and farting methane on the telly at the moment, Songsheet. :blink:
 
And here is NewPole Chaz.....

NewPoleChaz03-02-07.jpg
 
Gorgeous - what fabulous eyes. Really lovely markings, too. Have you checked for a ding-a-ling, Jules? :huh:
 
Originally posted by Galileo@Feb 8 2007, 07:36 PM
And to think some people eat them!
Click to expand...
I know - great isn't it :P

However, for reassurance to those on here that are worried he may be on your plate one day, it's quite unlikely. He may be in your pet's food, though!

His future career should be as a stock bull on either a dairy herd or a suckler herd around here somewhere. Mind you, when he comes to the end of that life, he will go for meat but, as I said above, it would most likely be for animal consumption, rather than human.

Hopefully for Chaz, not for many years yet!


Good though, isn't it - nice life bonking and then a useful death. He'll contribute more to this world than the average human...
 
As a previous cat owner and from a family which always had dawgs, it'd be completely hypocritical to start getting misty-eyed about 'dear little calves which have to die'. I find it rather odd that vegetarians who've chosen not to eat meat on 'ethical' grounds will often own carnivorous pets. Where the hell do they think their meat comes from? By keeping such pets, they continue to boost the trade in meat, or don't they make the choice to think that? They should keep to mice and millipedes.
 
Had a bit of a move around here yesterday, which resulted in Wilma and Chaz moving barns along with Asset and AbFab, two 2yo heifers. Anyway, somebody (not me!) didn't do the chain up on their new abode last night and I thought the cattle were making a lot of noise just before I got out there this morning.

In the equine yard I found AbFab busily investigating the buckets of horse feed waiting to go into the mares' boxes, which from bitter experience are always in lidded buckets now but no sign of the others. I found then behind one of the barns in a nice area with some grass so I went back to halter up AbFab and put her with them while I sorted out a race to get them back in their barn. As AbFab and I went around the corner , there was Wilma up to her neck in the slurry pit..... At this time of the year, the pit's nearly full and level with the concrete ramp, so the surface looks solid.

Halter off AbFab in a nanosecond and on to Wilma, who was fortunately level with the concrete ramp facing me (f she'd been facing into the middle of the pit I do not know what I could have done!). This is where I am truly grateful for mobile phones, as I am hanging on to the halter for dear life (hers!) and trying to dial for help at the same time. If I'd had to go to the phone in the house, not only might she have gone under but her calf was also loose and might have gone in too. As it was, AbFab decided to see what the fuss was all about, put her two front feet into the slurry but fortunately - probably because I was screaming "No!" at her, decided against it and was able to pull herself out.

As luck would have it, with me heaving on the halter and Wils making a good effort, she was able to get one knee onto the concrete ledge and, just as the Merlo appeared, she scrabbled out. It was not a pretty sight.

Pressure washer out and Wilma cleaned up and all four of them back into their barn. Slurry pits are dangerous places at the end of the winter and ours isn't well enough fenced, so my first tel call tomorrow is to our fencing contractor...
 
Thank goodness you weren't in church as usual, Songy! :brows: What a nasty incident, and a real shock, too. Glad to hear none the worse for it, and now more expense to keep them out of it. There's never a dull moment, is there?
 
OH god - how horrible - I hate slurry pits - they are really dangerous cos like you say - the top dries out and it all appears solid.

hope they are none the worse for the fright and you - go have lots of brandy!!
 
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