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Author Topic: Welsh Black?  (Read 9148 times)

Sbom

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Staffordshire
Welsh Black?
« on: January 13, 2015, 08:27:31 am »
Have had this breed recommended but know nothing about them. Anyone here got any? What sort of temperament do they have?
And lastly has anyone a Welsh black cow for sale?

Thanks

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2015, 10:09:59 am »
BH used to have Welsh Blacks years ago, and still had one when I first came here.

He was loathe to give an opinion, saying that it's been such a long time since he had them, they could have changed since then.

One thing he says you used to have to watch out for was 'big teats' - they'd develop such large teats the little calves couldn't get their mouths around them.  (Swaledale ewes get a similar thing.  You have to catch them and set the lambs on, sometimes you have to milk some off for the first few days to get the teat to be less engorged.)

Hopefully they'll have bred that problem out of them by now.

When he used to have them they were quiet, hardy, milky, good mothers, long-lived.  Hopefully none of that has been bred out of them!
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Sbom

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Staffordshire
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2015, 02:48:49 pm »
Thanks, That goes with what I've been told by others, I have a ewe like that but she usually has two big lambs so only have to plug them on for a day or two.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2015, 10:17:15 am »
We used to cull our 'big teat Swaleys' but mark and keep a couple, who we'd keep track of and either lamb indoors or bring in when they lambed - we could get a couple of litres of colostrum out of them when they did lamb!  The problem didn't seem to pass to Mule offspring, so if we tupped them with the Leicester we didn't have to keep track of their daughters.
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Ladygrey

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Basingstoke
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #4 on: January 22, 2015, 05:03:20 pm »
The welsh blacks I know of are good at running off and not running back, they jump fences and like to think they are deer, walk into a field and they bounce off the fences at the back

If you ask on thefarmingforum the farmers on there will all say the same!




Sbom

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Staffordshire
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #5 on: January 22, 2015, 08:24:16 pm »
Oh heck! Definitely don't want a fence jumper.....whatever we get needs to be placid, we had a mental dexter bullock once who jumped everything in sight, he ended up breaking his leg jumping a metal fence and it took 5 of us to restrain him even then.

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2015, 08:49:03 pm »
Shetlands :innocent:

Sbom

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Staffordshire
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2015, 08:52:46 pm »
Not sure they're many round here, never seen one advertised locally anyhow....

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #8 on: January 23, 2015, 01:33:28 am »
Hereford then :)   :love: :cow:
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Ladygrey

  • Joined Jun 2012
  • Basingstoke
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #9 on: January 23, 2015, 07:33:50 am »
Hereford then :)   :love: :cow:

herefords are lovely, and they are usually readily available

My friend breeds the traditional type, not sure what the difference is apart from size, perhaps they are just the unimproved version

Tim W

  • Joined Aug 2013
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #10 on: January 25, 2015, 06:02:39 pm »
We used to keep suckler cows---120 in total, most Welsh Blacks , some Herefords and a few Shorthorns

Welsh Blacks would no be the most docile but they can overwinter on very little outdoors on top of the downs
Some (that come from milking lines--WB used to be a dual purpose cow) have big teats but we culled heavily . We also performance recorded them and only kept polled animals. Overall an economical breed to keep with a supportive breed society ---best bred to a fast growing terminal sire though IMO

Herefords were very dozy and hence easy to work with ---but needed more maintenance (larger cows)
Shorthorns I liked as they were somewhere in the middle---very milky and good mums, decent growth rates and fairly trouble free

I did visit some WB herds that were very docile ---these were animals that overwintered inside and had plenty of human contact
If I thought hard enough and knew where you were based I may be able to recommend a herd to visit?

Me

  • Joined Feb 2014
  • Wild West
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #11 on: January 25, 2015, 08:32:36 pm »
I've often got a few Welsh Black I want to sell at this time of year. They aren't mine of course....  :innocent:

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #12 on: January 26, 2015, 10:27:33 am »
Not sure they're many round here, never seen one advertised locally anyhow....

If you want Shetlands or want to see some, best thing to do is contact the breed society www.shetlandcattle.org

They are rarely advertised in the press or sold through the ring. Two for sale on TAS thsi morning though :-)

Barcud

  • Joined Jun 2009
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #13 on: January 26, 2015, 05:59:28 pm »
We keep a small herd of Welsh Black and Belted Welsh. If you put the time in with them they are quiet enough, give their rump a scratch and they love it! Problem is getting them too tame and then they don't shift when you want them to.
We outwinter ours, and they cope well with our wet rushy pastures. Produce a cracking calf to a Simmental or Charolais and they are very milky and attentive mothers. The only hassle I've had has been getting between a mother and very young calf, and we got rid of that cow
Might have a heiffer with calf at foot for sale come June  :thinking:
Mike
 

Sbom

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Staffordshire
Re: Welsh Black?
« Reply #14 on: January 26, 2015, 09:53:35 pm »
Thanks...where abouts are you Barcud? We are near Stafford, Staffordshire. Not in a rush to replace her.....June could be good :-)

 

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