List your ideas of things to do with your cows on Lock Down

[Saffy]

I will start with. Just spend time with them making them quieter and easier to handle.

By just walking around them more, talking to them, giving them a few extra treats.

Ideas please, with pics if possible...

Stephanie

[SteveM]

Trying to get them the right side of the electic fence you are putting up to split the field to get a hay crop some of it.

[Saffy]

Decided to take some pics in the buttercups.

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[Saffy]

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Tried and tried but will only allow me to put one pic on at a time...

[Saffy]

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[Duncan MacIntyre]

I really wish someone would order me to stay at home and spend more time with my cows. Instead I am spending twice as long doing half as much which does not even begin to cover the costs of the practice. I hope you are all treating your vets sympathetically.

Duncan

[Saffy]

Really sorry to hear that Duncan!

[Louisa Gidney]

Halter training is continuing with last year's heifers. Paul bought a sack of carrots before lockdown and has been coming a couple of times a week as his permitted hour of exercise. The field is next to the road so he can visit them at a safe distance from me.

[Saffy]

What a lovely informative pic Louisa, so much going on...worth a thousand words....!

[Louisa Gidney]

It's been a rush to get ahead of things before lockdown 2. Steer has gone for beef, freezer full now. Cows home early from summer keep and possibility of some autumn grazing is now on hold. It would have been the Calf Show shortly, so have been taking snaps of the potential entries. Not looking their best as the ground is already a quagmire.
Red heifer Lucerne

[Louisa Gidney]

Looks like photos will have to be one at a time
Red heifer Coraline

[Louisa Gidney]

Black bull Herr Mannelig. Once he's registered, he will be available to hire in mid 2021.

[Louisa Gidney]

Black heifer Pattypan. If there are any show classes next year, Coraline and Pattypan will hopefully go in Pairs.
All three heifers will be for sale in 2021, enquiries welcome.

[Louisa Gidney]

Another job to do is to get the senior bull, Baranduin Delta, handled again. He has been out on loan for nearly two years and has been allowed to forgot his manners. He will now stand to have his tail head scratched and flanks stroked again but will only allow his forehead to be touched when his nose is in a bucket. Disappointing as he used to be really good to halter. Delta is available for hire and should be good to load again. It took a while for him to remember what a bucket was for but he's got that sorted now.
Updated to add that Delta is settling in again nicely. Had the fence between his field and the next replaced, so he was free to roam on the better grass on the other side. Once the new fence was up, he just followed me to the gate in the evening and went straight through for his normal slice of hay. No effort at all required on my part.
Another task for the winter is to introduce the herd to the concept of the cattle crush. My old vet was quite happy with Heath Robinson contraptions of halters and hurdles for TB testing but he's now retired and the new people require a crush and handlers. I've got a good second hand crush, delivered just before the October deluge turned everything to mud, but we now all need to learn how to use it.
Also making progress with this. By the third time through, one heifer and I had worked out the gates and she got the hang of walking through for a carrot when the gates shut. Only another 14 to go!

[Louisa Gidney]

None of us are in the same league as these chaps in lockdown. Put
farmers tiger king cow
into Google to see what I mean. Even better if someone with more computer skills than me could post an image or a link. (Rob - are you reading!).
While it's not a Dexter, it is a small cow and I think that this could make a wonderful photo competition for those of us with short-leg red Dexters. Anyone else up for it?