By Judy Barnet, Ag Columnist
I was despairing about getting my Shorthorn heifers in calf, thinking it was all too hard and wondering if I should sell them, when I received an email from my friend Pam at Heritage Livestock Canada. Pam had earlier sent me copies of their quarterly publication ‘Genesis’, the equivalent to the Rare Breeds Trust’s magazine ‘Paddocks and Perches.’
The first one I opened contained an article and some photos of Shorthorn beef cattle by a breeder who only recently joined their association. I emailed Pam noting the cattle were very similar to mine, compared to a lot of the modern Australian Shorthorns that are thinner skinned and leggier than mine. Yesterday’s email contained some more photos I thought you might enjoy seeing. I guess I will just need to persevere with the heifers a bit longer. I really don’t want to put them in calf to just any old bull.
Richie was unable to get to work on Friday due to the rain so he yarded the cows. When I arrived home from work we vaccinated and applied the Hot Cow heat detector tags. I will endeavour to check them twice a day diligently now, getting them into a regular feeding routine. Even though they don’t need feeding it may be the easiest way. Richie yarded the sheep as well and we drafted off the wether lambs and some old cull sheep to sell this week. I am a bit soft these days and don’t cull as many of the old girls as I said I would. I received $215 for the wether lambs which were actually hoggets, not lambs. They weighed in at 65kg. Hogget is by far tastier than lamb in my opinion. I am always mystified why it sells for less than lamb. It takes much longer to grow as well. Lambs are traditionally sold at five to eight months old but my hoggets were around 17 months old. The old ewes realised $184 per head. Six old girls that really had had their day got to stay on the farm another year!
I was reminded this week how much pleasure animals can give, how they can brighten your day and uplift your mental health even if you might not even notice it. The sheer pleasure of seeing chooks scratch in the garden and taking a dust bath and the sound of a rooster calling his hens when he finds a tasty insect to share with them is guaranteed to make you smile. Richie’s brother, Peter and his wife Heidi live in Toowoomba and keep a few chickens in their suburban backyard. They had let one of their hens sit on a few eggs which resulted in two roosters. Heidi adores her poultry and puts in a lot of time to ensure they are quiet and well handled. Her poultry live an idyllic life, allowed to scratch in their backyard during the day and safely tucked in a coop at night. Treats such as watermelon and dried mealworms are also fed. Of course, the roosters created a bit of a problem as they can’t be kept in suburbia. Hence we received a phone call asking if we were able to take Ebony and Ivory. Peter brought them out the very next day. On arrival I automatically went around to the back of his car expecting them to be in a box in the boot but alas they were in a custom made laundry basket cage on the floor of the front seat. Travelling in style, in their laundry basket was bedding straw, a quarter watermelon, grain and water. They were as calm as calm can be! The roosters may not have been in the boot but instead, there were five 20kg bags of best quality grain, two bags of mealworms, a new feeder and a new waterer.
Peter and I relocated them to the back garden and I swear they looked quite alarmed when they realised their quarters were not quite the chook Hilton they were used to! I was advised that their breeding was Araucana x Silky however they look very much like bantam Araucanas, the only clue to their Silky heritage being a fifth toe on both of them. They have settled in nicely and I said to Richie last night that we would have to build a more suitable housing arrangement for them before winter.
I have long admired Dorset Down sheep for their reputation as the ultimate in prime lambs and their ability to rear lambs that reach 40kg in only twelve to sixteen weeks. Unfortunately, when the new Flockbook arrived in the mail yesterday, it indicated there were only four flocks registered in Australia, two of which are in Queensland (belonging to the Brennand family from Queensland and the Vernon family near Gatton). These flocks have a combined total of 120 breeding ewes, 90 from one flock I don’t know if any of you remember but there also used to be a breed called the South Dorset Down. I do remember when there were a few around but it was maybe fifteen or more years ago It is a breed that could be recreated though. Of course, as I have South Downs and the Brennands have Dorset Downs, there would be no better place to start. However, since the Dorset Downs are struggling to find breeders with sheep that are rated one of the best Terminal sires of New Zealand, I wonder whether it would in fact be worthwhile recreating the South Dorset Down. I guess like everything these days success is often defined by how much money and effort is put into the marketing. Food for thought – pardon the pun!
The dam reached 103.86 per cent of capacity on 6 February after areas closer to Stanthorpe such as the Broadwater received falls of around 120mm in less than 48 hours. A fair bit of timber and debris lodged in our fences from that flow. I haven’t been out in the kayak since then but the water is starting to clear now so there are no excuses for me not to get out and start exploring again! Just before all that rain I had been out swimming and the water was fairly murky. For some reason, I felt a bit nervous so I didn’t go out really far, maybe about fifty metres when all of a sudden my leg touched something, something quite large. Well, that was it. I moved pretty quickly back to the shore and decided I wasn’t going back in until the water cleared a bit. No fish had been caught up our end for a while but this week one of our guests caught a good size yellow belly, so maybe the fish are on the bite again!
Hope you all have a lovely week and enjoy the cool change coming across at the moment.
