So it’s been a week since we came home from the great Yorkshire show! Which in itself was an experience, even though it was a wet week we all managed to get a bit of sunburn! It was a good week for the north of England highland cattle club and it was nice to catch up with various people from the highland cattle world.

Friday, the last day, was a military operation of getting up before the rain started to pack down camp so we could at least have our tents packed dry and in trailer waiting for the word to be able to load up and come home (we take animals for another breeder).

Once we got home it’s all about itching to get round and see your own stock after a week away.

A few days after getting home our cattle decided to give us one of those weeks that makes you question why you work with livestock!

Charlie our highland bull decided that (as his nofence collar is off for repair), he would use his new found freedom to push through two fences and a hedgerow to get to the fattening dexters and some jersey heifers after which once he’d had his wicked way decided that a quicker route back to his own girls was through two wooden gates that had the audacity to be locked, no worries for a large highland who can just lean on said wooden gates til they make this strange cracking noise then magically open up in the middle ! Got to love cattle.

Midweek, no fence collar back on to Charlie; had a look over to the dexters and we had little Bluebelle, a heifer calf who had decided out of nowhere to become lame! A trip to the vet and a couple of X-rays later no real obvious sign as to why. After viewing her X-rays, myself and the vet seem to think she is starting to use the leg a little better; so back home with a dose of pain killers and anti-inflammatories…..Friday morning lame again! Another trip to vet and it seems a swelling has started to form in the hock; so Bluebelle is now sporting a lovely bright pink pot for the next six weeks with a suspected damaged growth plate in her hock!

Saturday morning we hoped to be in for better news as our last Dexter to calf, Lilli, gave us a lovely little heifer calf!! Alas! Lilli was not as impressed with the little heifer as we were! Queue Mr farmer spending all day popping in and haltering up Lilli to allow little one to drink! What a week!

Sunday morning, phone call sheep are out all over, one of foot path fields gate has been left open, quick out and about to find a few sheep in various places – luckily all our own fields! (Mondays job to gather them all back to one place).

Quick check if highlands Charlie’s collar is broken AGAIN! (We will boss this)…. Feeling a little deflated and ready for more bad news we sneak into shed to see Lilli stood allowing calf to drink on her own! SUCCESS !

All is right with the world!

We do love cattle.

Here’s to next week!