Spring calving now under way. Due to weather we are calving indoors which is unusual. Calves health is paramount so we get them outside as soon as they are strong enough. The sooner it dries up and they can stay outside the better – they always seem to be healthier. Easter weekend brought lots of rain and the river meadows were under water which did help the situation. The decision not to grow potatoes helps the stress levels but there is still plenty to do.
Killerton Limousin halter training
We’ve been busy halter training young bulls for forthcoming sales –Holsworthy (Kivells) on 27 April and Brecon (McCartneys) on 14th May.
I can’t decide whether to do much showing this year due to time and costs. I do like to support my local one day shows as they will cancel the classes if breeders don’t turn up – but costs of entries and prize money do not correlate to compensate for the effort required.
Some bulls have been sold to repeat customers but it has also been good to meet/do business with fresh faces.
The next group of bulls have been semen tested and vetted . This has been a bit of a hit & miss exercise – all provided samples of various quality so decisions on their future have been made (as appropriate).
I am hoping stubble turnips will last until the second week in April but they are beginning to bolt.
It is a shame beef prices are falling when we have kept stock indoors all winter and also the weights have been brought back which means we cannot compensate the fall in price with extra weight.
Hoping for an early spring