01/09/2026
It’s been a tricky couple of weeks or so with our cattle, as we have had two a string of back to back calving difficulties. Very sadly we had 2 abortions, which the vets have put down to the extreme heat of summer. Luckily this run was ended by a heifer having her first calf successfully, but with some fairly major assistance from us! Pictured here we are trying to encourage the new mum to pay some attention to her calf, as she was quite traumatised and was actively attacking her calf at some points. Happily she and baby have now formed a strong bond, but it took many hours of careful cajoling from us. Lastly one of our oldest cows was having trouble with a recurring prolapse. When the vet looked it was decided that as the calf appeared to still have two months until it was ready, they put a stitch in to hold the prolapse back. Needless to say, two days later we came down to the barn to find one leg sticking out, and a very distressed looking cow!! After a rush to cut the stitches baby was born very quickly but still alive, and it was again a case of trying to get mum to bond - very unusual in an experienced cow, but understandable given another traumatic birth. Fingers crossed the rest of the calvings go smoothly.
