The cows started calving two days ago, and we have two beautiful bull calves already. Keith went out to check the cows on first light yesterday morning, and fortunate he did so – he’s videoed the first steps of the white bull calf just after being born.
Keith tells me frequently that it is fortunate he became a farmer as every spring he gets to care for his sheep, cows and pigs while the babies are born – I think the implication is that were he not getting to have hands on with these babies, I would be expected to produce on a yearly basis! Let’s say we are both fortunate then! Here is a pic of the calf 12 hours after being born, and also the other calf that has been born. They quickly turn into little teddy bears 🙂
We are totally passionate about native breeds of animals – and there is good reason for this……they have instinct. When farming in a more remote area that has the pressures of high numbers of predators such as eagles and foxes, the native breed animals have an instinct that helps them avoid predation much more successfully than a commercially bred animal. It was amazing last night walking through the cows to see the calves – we appeared over the hill, and the white calf lay down still as soon as it saw us (it being white made it stand out like a sore thumb, but that is something instinct can’t determine!). The brown calf took some time to spot – it was tucked away in brash quietly while it’s mother was off feeding – it didn’t make a sound as Keith approached it, and infact did not move until its mother called on it. The Soay sheep are the same, they will hide their lambs, and the lambs will not move until they get the all clear from mum. It’s the kind of behaviour that demands instant respect…….it is primative, and makes us feel like they know alot more about survival than we ever could! The other benefit from native breeds as far as we are concerned is of course the quality of meat products that comes from their slow matured, natural life. But lets not go into that on a page that’s full of the joys of new birth and starting out – we’ll keep that for much further down the line!
The Soays are full swing into lambing now, we’re getting 4-6 new lambs every day. Last night we discovered a cracking set of twin lambs – big strong healthy and totally gorgeous! Jess tried to make out that one of them wasn’t very well…..but Keith and I know the underlying motivation – she is desperate to have a pet lamb! She had to settle for a cuddle.
Keith and Rachael Jackson's Blog 