My new herd - Very small herd of very small cows!

Tricky · Post by **Tricky** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 10:21 am

So sorry Saffy, would agree with Welshdexterboy, she's certainly given the calf a good start so he hould do fine.

Issy · Post by **Issy** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 12:26 pm

So sorry Stephanie what horrid news

. She looked a beautiful cow.

Anna · Post by **Anna** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:29 pm

I can´t belive this is true. I am so sorry for you. So unfair!

Few things are as frustrating and heartbreaking as problems with a new and eagerly awaited herd. I have experinced it earlier, not with the cows but with other animals. Severe setbacks seem to be most common when starting up, after a while things settle.

/Anna

welshdexterboy; is frozen grass a danger when it comes to magnesium deficiency? Magnesium deficiency is not common here, but frozen grass is and since Dexters are sensitive I get a little worried. I don´t think our minerals contain much of magnesium. Do anyone know the approximate magnesium content the a Brittish mineral block suitable for Dexters? But I have to have the soil tested before I jump to conclusions of course..

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Louisa Gidney · Post by **Louisa Gidney** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 6:37 pm

What rotten bad luck. It's one thing my cattle have never suffered from, the grass doesn't grow fast enough up here.

welshdexterboy · Post by **welshdexterboy** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 12:25 am

Anna --It's not that Dexters are anymore sensitive to Mag deficiency it is just that if you have a growth of fresh'ish grass and the weather is changeable we used to make sure we had some Mag licks out for the cattle. They know if they want it or not and will help themselves to what they need. I have not heard of any suffering from it off frozen grass- It would more likely be a first case of Blue Tongue :D

Tricky · Post by **Tricky** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 10:12 am

With changable weather and lush looking autumn grass some Straw or even Haylage on offer is often a good bet too. :;):

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 11:54 am

Tricky - I gave hay twice a day as much as they would eat and straw, which they ignored. The highest mag cake I could find. They had been in that field since the 3rd.

Stephanie

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Anna · Post by **Anna** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 1:41 pm

Lush grass will certainly not be a problem here until the middle of May

But I will check if there are magnesium licks on the market. Spring seems very distant now, but there will probably be May again and time can move quick sometimes.

My cows hardly touches their mineral block and they hate when I put granulate on their breakfast.

Ian H · Post by **Ian H** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 2:45 pm

Hi everyone
I have noticed that my dexters seem to come down to the corner of the field where the mineral blocks are tied to a post once a day and spend about 10 minutes taking it in turn to have a lick .
regards Ian Hornsby

Tricky · Post by **Tricky** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 4:22 pm

Would seem Saffy that you had everything covered, it was really bad luck. Sorry again

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 11:02 am

As you can see below. Our little bull calf is managing to go on OK without his Mum. We are giving him a few nuts which he likes alot!

I have had the test results for my grass which was actually normal to above normal for magnesium. My bought in hay was low but that is to be expected especially this year.

However the Sulphur levels are high in this field. Now my theory is that it could be because it would have been the vegetable garden etc for the "biggish" house. It was described as a small manor house in the old books - can't say I keep the standards up!!! So I assume it would have been a huge garden back then. Would sulphur have been put on a garden to keep ph down in those days? Any ideas anyone? It explains a few minor apparent/transient copper deficiency problems we saw in the past when our youngstock passed through that field, despite being correctly fed. Typically the tiny fields were never tested on the farm here only the big ones.

This picture below makes me smile every time I look at it. I haven't quite got used to the roundness of Dexters yet and Mallard is particularly round as she is in calf and in this picture had just had a good feed of grass.

Stephanie

Edited to say I know there used to be grapes grown here well over 100 years ago. I have found out that sulphur can be used to keep mildew off vines but don't know if that would have been in sufficient quantity. It would be lovely to travel back to the past and find these things out!

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Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 12:06 pm

Nice pics Saffy. I thought most people in Wales were putting lime on to increase the PH or happily growing rhododendrons and other things which like acid soil. I can't think of any vegetables that prefer acid soil but I'm a bit out of touch having not grown any for ages. Isn't sulphur a treatment for some plant pest? I expect someone else will have something more helpful to say.

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 9:11 pm

Thing is Di that one isn't actually "short legged". Or should I say she is non short.

Stephanie :D