We started calving today with the addition of this little one.
Our cattle stay outside all year round as our Stabiliser cattle are very well suited to outwintering. They are smaller than many other breeds of cattle and so don’t poach the land too badly during our wet winters. Their thick coat is also perfect for keeping out the cold.
Unlike a lot of the continental breeds our cattle have small calves, there are many benefits to this. The smaller calves are easier to birth and so our cows, on the whole calve themselves, this means very little intervention from us. Because the cow has given birth herself she isn’t sore and so is up on her feet quickly. The small calf is also up and in to get it’s first sook of colostrum not long after birth and this is the building blocks for it’s immune system for the rest of it’s life. This, as you can imagine, has a huge impact on the health of our herd and the amount (or lack of) medication we use.
Last year we realised that we calved every month except two. This is only possible with the great traits we have got from Stabilisers. In addition we selectively breed from cows that have excellent mothering skills. Nature knows best!
