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The waiting game…
…seems to be a subtitle for much of the year at Thistle Hill. Right now we’ve confirmed the pregnancy of the cows we artificially inseminated(AI). A2a is one of the AI recipients. She’s one of two carrying calves by Grantland Granite of John Forelle’s Folly Farm. That herd was dispersed several years ago. Grantland was the name of Bob Grant’s herd and Bob was an important figure and treasurer of the American Devon Association. Gearld Fry bought his herd and Granite wound up with John Forelle. I saw him at Folly Farm in about 2005 at the very first meeting of the North American Devon Association in Albany, New York. …
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The spring green-up…
…is well underway at Thistle Hill! And Nala seems appreciative of the work we’ve done to improve the pastures. The over-seeding we did a year ago has really taken hold. Perennial rye and and cereal rye and several clovers have all thickened our sward significantly. Not apparent but a big contributing factor we feel certain was the conditioning of the soil with the work of turnips, radish and cow peas. The cover in the area pictured here was very thin and the soil quite sandy. Our hope is that continued rotational grazing and the addition of more cover crops will put this pasture on a par with our very best.…
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One percenters…
…these pigs are in the one percent of pigs raised outside in pastures. They were out exploring and foraging today. Carolyn
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A Star is born…
…we’ve seen unusual activity around the picture we posted recently of our guard donkey Jenny. She and her partner Jack have been faithful servants of the Thistle Hill herd for about 20 years…and all they ever get is a hug and a scratch. Well Jenny demands them and here Mackenzie Mason is happy to oblige. David
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Hi-tech preg check…
…Dr Kiel Hausler of Rose Hill Vets using ultrasound to preg check one of our young cows. It’s a little more reliable predicting calving days and it has the added benefit of revealing the sex of the embryo. The wranglers are son Church to the left and son-in-law Curt to the right. Putting more than 50 cows and calves through the chute can leave you pretty wiped out. David
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Three little maids are we…
…enjoying a snack while their Moms are being preg checked. Actually they’re not entirely in the clear. They’ll also being getting their shots tho that’s not the trauma their male counterparts have to endure. This is also steering day! David
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Two young bulls…
…pictured at just over a year old…that we held back to monitor development. H242 (nearer the camera) and H243 were chosen to grow out here at Thistle Hill…selected from a class of about a dozen bulls. H242 in the foreground doing well in the early stages. We’re particularly pleased with his heart girth. He and his herdmate, H243, were both sired by a pure English bull in our inventory, Essington. H243 is descended from the Champson Tulip line, one of the most renowned in England. Tulip has been a little elusive for us so we are keeping an eye on this young bull. David
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Just friends…
…we hope. Our cover bull Prince…who is causing something of a stir in Devon circles…and is our cover bull this year. Prince is on the left…sharing some unrolled hay with a cow we hope he doesn’t get to friendly with. WMD2 is the female…a cow we hope is carrying a Potheridge President embryo. The job of the cover bull is to find any cow that is open…that is where the embryo hasn’t taken…and finish the job. By the calendar two cycles should have passed without heat…so we’re hoping this Tête-à-tête-is just a coincidence.; that she is indeed carrying the Potheridge embryo. We won’t know for sure until there’s a pregnancy…