News on the livestock front
In September we welcomed the arrival of our first cattle from a small herd of pedigree Dexters in Surlingham, Norfolk. Our grandson named the cows Betty and Daisy and the steer Dave.
The Dexters from Norfolk, feeding on a cover crop of clovers, vetches and chicory
Dave - our Dexter steer
Late October saw the arrival of 5 new Dexter cows from a herd over in Newmarket. All female, they had recently been serviced by a bull and we hope to see our first calves come spring. The new girls are darker in colour and heavier in build. The oldest, Demeter, soon established herself as head cow. These ones came ready named: Demeter, Iris, Brahmin, Gaia and little Storm.
They were initially all wary of each other but gradually are beginning to integrate, although Daisy remains shy and tends to get a bit pushed around by the newer heavier girls.
They had many happy days grazing the cover crops in the top fields when not seen train spotting up by the railway line. They handled storm Babette and Ciaran but now the colder weather is with us they have moved to the barn for the winter. In the coming months we will hopefully be able to announce when and if we expect any new arrivals
The flock of sheep which joined us in early August have now eaten their fill of our grass pasture and gone off to winter quarters elsewhere. Before they left us, they were separated into two groups defined by age and whether they had been bred before. Two rams (Tupps) were introduced mid-October and nature was left to take its course. Some people walking on the permissive path may have noticed the red markings the sheep acquired following a visit from the ram. We are hoping this has all been a success and the shepherd, Lewis, will be reporting a good crop of lambs in spring.
