Its late this year, but that special day comes at last and we are all mighty relieved once it happens.
Summer really has begun when the young cattle are turned out into the fields after having spent the first months of life inside the cattle sheds. We have a regular supply of six week old Holstein X Danish Red bull calves that arrive from Brackenbrugh Estates dairy unit throughout the year.
They stay in small groups of similar size , but naturally more calves are born in autumn and winter, so we have a few big groups of 30 or so ready to go out at the beginning of June. They have had their T.B. test at 1 month and need no more medication until they are sold …..in two ways:-
Selling through the Fat Ring at auction or direct to an abattoir means the bulls are sold deadweight
Selling through the Store Ring at auction means selling live weight to go on to another farmer
Young bulls are sold deadweight at about 11 – 14 months of age
Young bulls sold live weight are usually 6 – 8 months of age
Last summer’s calves would be too big to turn out, as after about 8 months they really cannot be trusted in open spaces. Folks walking or even us feeding them would not be safe.
As they grow and mature the bulls become very much creatures of habit and do not relish any excitement. A change of diet, a different person feeding them, or a change of habitat will upset them, meaning bloat, pneumonia or a spate of group bullying .
Once , many years ago a whole pen full of 10 month old bulls escaped at Meaburn Hill during the night , by morning they had rampaged through the fields routing up fences and lifting gates from hinges , we found them all laid exhausted only too glad to be herded back to the sheds.
The whole ‘turning out’ procedure needs patience and perseverance to get the job done without a catastrophe. The youngsters need pushing into the trailer as they view the black hole and the noisy ramp with terror and are frozen until a few adventurous bulls make the mighty leap up the ramp. But once we drive into the field and carefully let down the back door they all explode from the trailer into the sunlight with bucking and snorting , and skinny legs going in every direction .
It takes a few minutes for the bulls to get their limbs co-ordinated…..then there’s no stopping them , they are off, full tilt to the far end of the field with that glorious sense of freedom that summer will promise.
