The Ultrasound, sheep lick and a new calf

On Monday we had the vet to see the cattle at Houghton. We need to find out how many of the cows are in calf and at least six of them should be. So we have separated them from Jeremiah the bull and into the pens. The vet has some rather extraordinary looking equipment, a small backpack with a wire and sensor and a pair of very futuristic looking glasses; the ultrasound. She also has very long plastic gloves… after some cajoling and quite a lot of mooing we discover we are six for six, very good news. The vet, still shoulder deep in cow, let us have a little look at the scan from Cypress, at three months her calf is the size of a mouse, but I think I could see ribs. Another piece of good news is that Yolanda is in calf which means Jeremiah the new bull is doing his job right!

At Willowford we have got to the bottom of the field drain problem. After a lovely hot weekend the trench had dried out but of course it threw it down on Monday and filled it back up again. With a bit of ingenious thinking, and a pipe, we managed to siphon the water out enough to see where it was broken. After pulling out quite a number of rocks from the pipe there was the woosh-gurgle we had been waiting for. Pipe unblocked. Now a replacement bit is needed.
We give the sheep a lick which contains all sorts of vitamins useful to sheep, it also contains garlic which helps ward off flies, and this is suspended in molasses in a big tub. When it rains a kind of garlic molasses soup forms in the top of the tub. Smells faintly appetising. Of course if you pick this up and accidentally slop it down yourself then not only do you smell wonderfully garlicky all day but the pet lambs spend most of the day licking you. Well licking you more than usual at any rate.

We have a new calf at Houghton. During the night little Jacob was born to Cedar, one of the very pregnant cows we brought back from Aglionby the other week. Good timing indeed. We have given him his first tags, which he was not impressed with and castrated him which he didn’t seem to care about. All in a little shed whilst his mother mooed outside. With a job like that the quicker the better so the calf can get back to the field, even at 2 days old he is pretty strong and it took two of us to hold him still. He is a wonderful shade of brown all down the sides with the Longhorn white stripe down his back and runs in that hilarious/adorable amble that calves have, as if they are not sure what to do with so many legs. Now how long before the other arrives?