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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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The time capsule…
…F212 carries genetics from many of the milestones in the 20-year history of Thistle Hill Devon. 212 is the daughter of Lakota 180…a natural daughter who until she died recently at the age of 19, had produced some of our best bull calves. So when 212 came along we grabbed her and now have great hopes for this young cow. On the other side, her sire was Highwayman…an English cow by Ashott-Barton Millenium Falcon. And now, to top it off, she is expecting a calf by Lakota P60, one of the finest meat sires in the breed! So if there’s a legacy cow on our pastures it is 212…with an…
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Christmas morning treats…
…at a customers home. Reserve you bacon now by contacting Church. Thistle Hill bacon is above the rest…he said modestly. …and a Christmas morning treat for the venerable Highwayman. He gets a year off and his very own bale of hay while we test his younger full brother in this year’s heifers! David
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Christmas gift…
A Christmas gift for TDA 35… …his very own set of two-year old heifers! We start breeding our heifers about one month ahead of the main herd. That, and holding off until they’re 2+, makes it a little easier on young, still growing females. It also increases the percentage of successful rebreeding. TDA 35 is a full brother of our wonderful English bull Highwayman. His sire was Ashott Barton’s Millennium Falcon and his dam, Goldings Norah. David
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Our latest mama…
…is one of our favorites heifers and she’s handling motherhood like an old pro. The baby is a 70-pound bull calf…a blend of our American “2” line with the English bull Highwayman. The “2’s” were always Wooz’ favorite and Highwayman’s grandsire was England’s famed Millennium. Mama is camped out a safe distance from the herd and once she is sure Junior will behave they’ll rejoin the others. E192 has handled pregnancy and delivery and early motherhood exactly as we hoped. (And once we take away the temporary electric fence we’ll knock down the wingstem!) David
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Still in his prime…
…Highwayman was one of our first pure traditional English bulls. And he’s now pushing 10 years of age. His sire was the famed Falcon and the dam Ivan Rowe’s Norah. We did the pairing in England and it was our most successful flush ever…26 embryos! You can see one of his progeny by scrolling down to “Chip off the old block…”. Like his dam, Highwayman is a smallish animal beautifully proportioned. We’ve found him ideal for keeping the herd to the moderate size we prefer. David
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The next generation…
…and a picture of the result of mating our oldest American cow with a young British bull. The dam is 17 years old and still producing. But Church has decided it’s time to work in her replacement. This 16-month old heifer will be filling some mighty big hooves. Mom produced a string of outstanding bull calves. So it was an easy decision to set aside F212 for the main herd. The sire is Traditional Devon Highwayman…descended from the finest bull I ever saw in England…Ashott Barton Millennium. So we feel we’ve bred the best of both worlds…English and American! David
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Hanging out with the guys…
…three of our bulls doing their own version of intensive grazing. On the left Guardian, a Rotokawa-bred animal, and then two of our English bulls, Essington and Highwayman. The last two are both sired by the great Ashott-Barton bull, Millenium Falcon. My guess is they’re all favoring the grass right there because an underground stream is just beneath. David
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Surprise…
The oldest cow in our herd at 16, M180, greeted us with a bull calf. Baby is an 82 pound bull calf by an English bull, TDA Highwayman. M180 was purchased from Lakota ranch years ago and has produced a string of nice calves. She preg checked open and gave no sign she was expecting. In fact, she had been at the top of the list in our discussion of potential culls. Back to the drawing board. And did you notice the new green grass now that the snow has melted? David