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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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Our cows…
…are built around the great English cow Tilbrook Cashtiller. She won three consecutive national grand championships and a host of ribbons and silver. And to top it off three of her sons were the top selling bulls in the annual Devon breeders sale. We’re indebted to Tibrook’s Gavin Hunter…who again today is serving as president of the British Society …for permitting us to flush Cash twice! TDA 7 was out of that first flush 12 years ago and not showing her age. Her sire was another British champion, Cutcombe Jaunty. Cashtiller is gone now but we have several of her daughters and granddaughters and other descendants in our herd…and some…
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Our bulls…
…have become an increasingly important part of our operation…not only joining herds from Canada to Louisiana but as leased sires to smaller farms that can’t justify a full-time bull. Right now we have eight bulls at work for Thistle Hill…and a dozen more in the development stage. Our bull pen is still headed by Highwayman, sired by the English bull Millennium Falcon. The dam was from the Goldings herd of the legendary cattleman Ivan Rowe. Ivan gave us the pick of his herd and smiled a rare smile when we selected Norah. It was the only pedigree that he had carried in his pocket. Ivan judged many breeds in his…
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Making history postscript…
…includes selecting the “cover bull”…that’s the bull that checks for open cows…the ones that didn’t take in Artificial Insemination or Embryo Transplant. Selected for the job this year is Prince…the son of the last cow Wooz selected on our final trip to England. Prince is from Ashott Barton’s Tulip line. His sire another favorite Cutcombe Jaunty. We generally wait at least a week before bringing the bull to the herd. Many breeders release the cow right out of the chute to the bull but Church feels traces of heat can remain. Whether AI or transplant, we think it’s best to allow the embryo to firmly settle. It also provides separation in…
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Let the calving begin…
…and we start with our first-calf heifers. F21 is a Bribery embryo daughter and this is first born…a little heifer by a young Thistle Hill bull out of Goldings Norah. In fact this is a combination of the herds of many of our great English partners…Cutcombe, Ashott Barton and Goldings. It’s great fun now that our English herd is maturing to begin to paint our own history with them at Thistle Hill! Only 26 more calves to go! David