We love hearing praise….

….from satisfied customers, whether it’s for our meat or our seed stock.  It’s particularly gratifying when that praise comes from experienced Devon breeders such as Linda and Rich Maurer of Madison, Virginia.  They bought a pregnant six-year old cow and a young heifer from Thistle Hill recently and the other day we received this email from Linda:

“Thought you’d like to see the new calf, Frosty!  He is a BIG boy – 87 pounds, according to Rich.  He is eating and sleeping mostly.  Our Milking Devon almost literally hit the ground running.  All the beef Devon just eat and sleep for about 4 days before really testing their legs.

“Anyway, Emma and Abbey are both treasures – thank you so much again for selling them.  They are a great addition to the herd.”

“Emma” was one of our first two Devon cows and we parted with her only because she was destined for a really good home.  The Maurers spent long hours studying our herd before deciding on Emma and she was a favorite for us all the time we had her.  In fact, we flushed her twice and both times she re-bred immediately on her next cycle.  And as you can see, she still has the body and the conditioning of a young cow.

The second animal we sold—Abbey—has a very interesting history.  She descends from an old Louisiana herd, one of the best ever.  But the breeder was African-American and felt that no one would pay much money for a Black man’s cows, so he essentially gave them away.  Today, they finally bring top dollar.

Incidentally, we want to mention that the Maurer’s own Springhaven Farm in Madison and they sell meat, too.

There’s a lesson here for those just getting started.  Most newcomers tell us they want to buy a heifer…”not a used cow.”  But we urge them to reconsider and purchase one of our experience mamas…..they all have a record of calving successfully and of being trouble-free.

There’s an old saying that “God taught successful cows all they need to know”.  And she’ll be happy to teach you.  There is nothing more rewarding than taking some time out of your day to watch a mama with her calf.  It’s home schooling at its finest.