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Two little girls are we…
…on a foggy morning. Both are about 18 months out of American Devon dams…but their English sires have had an impact! The heifer on the left is out of my personal favorite…R2…an almost after-thought purchase and a cow that was a trouble free producer of great calves for 15 years. This will be her last calf. Her sire, now sold, was an English bull Wooz called Handsome Ransom. The other heifer, against the fence, has U2 in her background…as well as two English greats…Cutcombe Jaunty and Ashott Barton Millenium Falcon. As we’ve said before, we imported English genetics because pure traditional Devon are a disappearing breed in England and here. …
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Probably ready to wean….
….the oldest of this year’s crop of Thistle Hill bull calves….THF 163…at 10 months. He’s by Traditional Devon’s™ Highwayman. The dam is one of our smaller American cows but from a top-producing line, X2a. The experts say you should expect a good cow to wean a calf half her weight. Please don’t tell X2a!
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Ma, our baby boy is all growed up!
His name is Augustine and he’s packed with Rotokawa 667 genetics. He’s also the son of one of our favorite cows. With all the attention we’ve been devoting to our English project, we didn’t want to give the impression we’ve been ignoring our breeding of Rotokawa offspring. At Thistle Hill, under the watchful eye of Ken McDowall, we’ve been interweaving our three favorite lines: 688, 974 and 667. Augustine is still shy of 2-years….imagine what he’ll be like “fully growed”!
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Where do they learn these things…
….the other day, while taking pictures of an English bull for the Red Devon USA newsletter, I turned the camera on this young “American” bull. He immediately snapped to and assumed “the position”. The minute I moved on, he returned to grazing. He’s eight months old. From the moment he was born, we felt we had another herd bull…and he’s always acted like the lord of the pasture. Stands just apart from the herd, calls for his mother when he wants milk and she come over immediately. He’s THF 126…”Augustine”…you may call him “Gus”! He’s out of R2, who has produced many of our very best animals. Sire is “THF…
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A new day….
….and a new life greets the sun at Thistle Hill. Probably the most fun of raising cattle is exactly this: going out in the crisp morning air to check the herd for new babies. With all the nonsense everywhere else, it is a life-affirming experience. So meet A126, son of R2 and THF Reality. He’s the latest in a long line of 2s here (see “A foundation cow…” below for the “2 saga”) and another sturdy and promising calf. His half-brother is one of our two herd bulls.
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A ‘foundation cow”….
….is not a designation we use in the “Devon world”. But if we did, R2 would certainly merit the honor. Purchased almost as an afterthought from Lakota Ranch seven years ago, she has been a steady star performer. R2 comes from the same Lakota family that sired a top Devon bull, “Bud”, who became a star performer for Bill Roberts. That line is almost as prevalent in our herd as Rotokawa. R2‘s daughter, T2, by Rotokawa 93, has maintained the momentum. Visitors often ask to reserve a future calf by her or pay for a flush, which we politely decline. T2‘s latest is this heifer, X2a, pictured at birth. But the next…