[Rosemary]

I had Blizzard down for today and Breeze for Monday - I wonder if I've got my dates mixed up

Anyway, Breeze had her second calf today at lunchtime. It's a heifer, currently dun and white (Annie was dun and white too but turned black and white) and she will be registered as Rosedean Tempest. Not decided on a pet name for her yet. Her sire is Glachbeg The Laird.

Lovely calf, up and sucking within half an hour - Breeze is a lovely mum. Annie is VERY interested. Blizz has had a look but has seen it all before.

Will post photos soon.

[Dan]

[jaykay]

What a little sweetheart 

[kaz]

How lovely, they seem to calf so easily if left alone. Well done to Mum.
I really miss my Shetlands, so its nice to see pictures of these two.

[FiB]

Georgous!   Congratualtions.  I have been seriously thinking about cows for the last few weeks and I think will have to try when we have our barn build!  If read all your stuff and shetlands sound fab - do you think they'd do Ok in the welsh hills?  Welsh Black is the native cow around here but everyone keeps them in all winter  - I much prefer your approach but worry if local Welsh Blacks will have lost some of their hardiness...   Anyway, off thread sorry....  so lovely F xx

[Torrin37]

beautiful 

[Rosemary]

do you think they'd do Ok in the welsh hills?  Welsh Black is the native cow around here but everyone keeps them in all winter  - I much prefer your approach but worry if local Welsh Blacks will have lost some of their hardiness...   Anyway, off thread sorry....  so lovely F xx

Um, sorry to disappoint but we housed ours this winter and will again. Maybe just the females this year. It's to protect our limited grazing. If you are interested in Shetlands, the SCBA Wales rep is Gaynor Morris. She's in Powys [email protected]. She's lovely and will advise and help you any way she can.

[Bionic]

Lovely pics. Well done 

[kaz]

Georgous!   Congratualtions.  I have been seriously thinking about cows for the last few weeks and I think will have to try when we have our barn build!  If read all your stuff and shetlands sound fab - do you think they'd do Ok in the welsh hills?  Welsh Black is the native cow around here but everyone keeps them in all winter  - I much prefer your approach but worry if local Welsh Blacks will have lost some of their hardiness...   Anyway, off thread sorry....  so lovely F xx

We over wintered our Shetlands when we had them and we are in Mid Wales. It is mainly to protect your grazing and they can poach the fields quite badly if it's wet., but saying that they are a gentle breed and well worth considering.

[SallyintNorth]

Awwww... she looks lovely  .  Well done Breeze, and congratulations to Rosemary & Dan.

We've had Welsh Blacks, here, FiB, and they've been as hardy as most.  Most of our sucklers are housed over winter, but we outwinter a few of the hardier souls, taking them hay and sometimes silage when there's no goodness in the grass, and giving them high energy /mineral tubs to go at.  We find hay best to feed as you can just put out enough for a feed at a time, and move around where you are feeding it, so you don't get the ground poached like you would with a ring feeder.  Some people feed straw; barley straw is best.  Straw costs as much as hay here, and we can make hay, so that's what we feed.

I should mention however, that we have 90 acres of very rough ground on which we outwinter 8 cows and their calves.  You do need them to have a lot of ground or it will get poached.  We also sometimes outwinter a few on a 20-acre better field that we have; we can manage 3 or 4 on that as long as it isn't too wet.

It's always good to support your local breed... The Welsh Black BH had when I first came was a sweetie  , and outwintered as above.

[FiB]

Thanks all - and deffo would not get until we COULD overwinter indoors - but like the idea that they could could go in and out if conditions allowed. A year or two away but a few cows are coming! 

[Susannah]

Congratulations, she is gorgeous! Interesting that the colour may change as she gets older. I do really like the dun colour though.

[little blue]

congratulations, beautiful 

[Factotum]

I thought the calf was black and white at first but now he is a rich maghogany colour.

They change colour after birth - the black & white ones come out B&W but turn a dark brown colour within a few weeks - they change back to B&W a few months later.

Grey ones come out Black - don't go brown, look a bit 'pepper & salt' , and go properly grey after a few months.

One of our cows, bred elsewhere, is registered with the herd book as brown & white - she's definitely black & white as an adult, so it can be easy to get the colour wrong when they're young.

At least the red ones come out red & stay that way, much easier.

Congrats on the new calf Rosemary, looks a good'un

Sue

[Rosemary]

Breeze's calf from last year was born dun and has stayed a beautiful silvery dun. Make a lovely rug 

I hope Bonny stays dun - it's such an attractive colour. Although Annie is lovely too 

I don't think Blizz is far away - restless, tailhead dropped, full udder.