Plus information on the Dexter Field day!
From the moment I saw the Cows that were going to be mine, I was in love, well I thought I was, the ‘really’ part comes later in the story – keep reading! I suppose, in reality, it was not love it was excitement, wonder, and amazement that we had actually got to this point of really buying a cow. To be honest I’m not totally sure what or how it all happened but we suddenly found ourselves in a position where we had talked, over a few glasses of wine of course, about getting some stock to keep the grass down on our newly acquired acreage. There was a process here that seemed to move like that of a snowball and as the momentum grew so did our excitement. We had to get a PIC (Property Identification Code) which allowed us to keep stock on our land - filled out application to the ag dept, simple really quite the same as getting a brand registration, easy done. To start with I felt like the forms were in a foreign language and was worried that I might get it all wrong and mess up the whole process, well we didn’t – we found ourselves with all the right paperwork in no time at all, so off we went shopping.
Felt a bit like a child going to look for their first bike, the wonder of it all just bubbling up inside, gives you shivers doesn’t it! Well there we were looking straight at this beautiful cow - she just walked slowly towards the fence, straight to us, and actually stared right at us, this was immediately taken as a sign this cow wanted to be with us! I think I giggled all the way home, we weren’t just buying two cows but they would be pregnant too! It was a truly amazing feeling, trust me that first bike never felt like this! Their names were Fifi and Fanny but to make it easier for the grandchildren going to school and telling everyone their Nanna had a cow called Fanny, we changed their names to Daisy and Buttercup, original hey!! The next part of the story was so dreadful…………..waiting for them to arrive was horrendous, it was worse than being told that you would have to wait another 4 weeks for that first ever bike you had just tried and chosen and always dreamed of! Daisy and Buttercup were to come in calf so we had to wait for the deed to be done, we didn’t really have to wait very long at all as, believe it or not, the cows cycle about every 19 to 21 days for about 24 hours so not long before the job was done and the day loomed.
We picked up four cattle/horse panels plus a gate from the local stockyard supplier just so that we would have a smaller area to put them in should we ever need to. My thoughts were to feed them in here then they would always come to that spot. I’m so glad no-one was watching us trying to assemble these things, remember the first time you ever put a tent up together, anyway after what seemed like hours we very cleverly managed to put them together into a sort of circle, very proud and exhausted from one of our first achievements, but… they were ‘inside out’, how you ask, well the gate opened inwards so if you were in there and wanted to get out and a cow was in front of the gate you were stuck!! So yes we had to take them all down and start again, meanwhile, I had also decided to put them in a different place which meant carrying them over not such flat ground, at this point I guess I was probably testing the relationship somewhat – FYI, we are still married!!
I will skip about 9 months here (that’s how long they are pregnant) to the really falling in love bit – my girls as they are fondly referred to – were becoming quite rounded. We were only in the building planning stage at this point. There was plenty of feed on the ground so I really didn’t ‘need’ to travel every day to check on them, but I was definitely struggling to stay away, the rising price of fuel had been mentioned a couple of times!! It was a day I told myself not to go, but the local plumber rang me to let me know the plans were ready – I was in the car before the call had finished, no, this is not the point I fell in love though it was very close for the plumber, had he been near me I would have probably kissed him! Beaming from ear to ear at the thought of seeing my girls again, every song on the radio was one you could sing loudly and very badly too, of course. There is a point on my journey where you go up a hill which really seems to lift your spirits and make you breathe deeper and feel exhilarated and then the tree lined road with the sun coming through would make my eyes well up. I can’t remember getting the plans, don’t know if I even spoke to the plumber or even got out of the car all I could think of was doing a ‘quick drive by’ whilst I was in the area.
Fifi was laying down in what looked like a very awkward position, my hands were shaking as I fumbled with the gate that seemed to take forever to open, this was it, she was going to give birth right in front of me - what unfolded next was not only a text book birth but was one of the most exciting, wonderful and amazing moments in my life, second only to the coming into the world of my own beautiful daughters. The moment that gorgeous little red calf was born was the very moment I really well and truly fell in love with a cow!
Her name is Jaffa, she is my pride and joy and is expecting her own calf later this year, I absolutely love her to pieces, and she got a 2nd at the Royal Show – but that is another story!
Felt a bit like a child going to look for their first bike, the wonder of it all just bubbling up inside, gives you shivers doesn’t it! Well there we were looking straight at this beautiful cow - she just walked slowly towards the fence, straight to us, and actually stared right at us, this was immediately taken as a sign this cow wanted to be with us! I think I giggled all the way home, we weren’t just buying two cows but they would be pregnant too! It was a truly amazing feeling, trust me that first bike never felt like this! Their names were Fifi and Fanny but to make it easier for the grandchildren going to school and telling everyone their Nanna had a cow called Fanny, we changed their names to Daisy and Buttercup, original hey!! The next part of the story was so dreadful…………..waiting for them to arrive was horrendous, it was worse than being told that you would have to wait another 4 weeks for that first ever bike you had just tried and chosen and always dreamed of! Daisy and Buttercup were to come in calf so we had to wait for the deed to be done, we didn’t really have to wait very long at all as, believe it or not, the cows cycle about every 19 to 21 days for about 24 hours so not long before the job was done and the day loomed.
We picked up four cattle/horse panels plus a gate from the local stockyard supplier just so that we would have a smaller area to put them in should we ever need to. My thoughts were to feed them in here then they would always come to that spot. I’m so glad no-one was watching us trying to assemble these things, remember the first time you ever put a tent up together, anyway after what seemed like hours we very cleverly managed to put them together into a sort of circle, very proud and exhausted from one of our first achievements, but… they were ‘inside out’, how you ask, well the gate opened inwards so if you were in there and wanted to get out and a cow was in front of the gate you were stuck!! So yes we had to take them all down and start again, meanwhile, I had also decided to put them in a different place which meant carrying them over not such flat ground, at this point I guess I was probably testing the relationship somewhat – FYI, we are still married!!
I will skip about 9 months here (that’s how long they are pregnant) to the really falling in love bit – my girls as they are fondly referred to – were becoming quite rounded. We were only in the building planning stage at this point. There was plenty of feed on the ground so I really didn’t ‘need’ to travel every day to check on them, but I was definitely struggling to stay away, the rising price of fuel had been mentioned a couple of times!! It was a day I told myself not to go, but the local plumber rang me to let me know the plans were ready – I was in the car before the call had finished, no, this is not the point I fell in love though it was very close for the plumber, had he been near me I would have probably kissed him! Beaming from ear to ear at the thought of seeing my girls again, every song on the radio was one you could sing loudly and very badly too, of course. There is a point on my journey where you go up a hill which really seems to lift your spirits and make you breathe deeper and feel exhilarated and then the tree lined road with the sun coming through would make my eyes well up. I can’t remember getting the plans, don’t know if I even spoke to the plumber or even got out of the car all I could think of was doing a ‘quick drive by’ whilst I was in the area.
Fifi was laying down in what looked like a very awkward position, my hands were shaking as I fumbled with the gate that seemed to take forever to open, this was it, she was going to give birth right in front of me - what unfolded next was not only a text book birth but was one of the most exciting, wonderful and amazing moments in my life, second only to the coming into the world of my own beautiful daughters. The moment that gorgeous little red calf was born was the very moment I really well and truly fell in love with a cow!
Her name is Jaffa, she is my pride and joy and is expecting her own calf later this year, I absolutely love her to pieces, and she got a 2nd at the Royal Show – but that is another story!
Meanwhile we will be hosting a Dexter Field Day at our Wedgetail Ridge Dexter Stud in Bullsbrook.
Watch some animal husbandry in action.
Listen to talks from experienced people in the cattle world and learn more about how these wonderful creatures actually work.
Dexter’s are our preferred choice of cattle as Hobby Farmer’s. We are not intimidated by their size and they offer us both meat and milk. Our grandchildren quite happily hand feed them even the little 2 yr old.
We only have three cows which are all in calf and hopefully will be on the ground by the Field Day for you to see which includes Jaffa.
Come along and see where our meat was grown, how it was looked after and see what it tastes like (this is not compulsory)!!
If you are looking for something to put on your acreage that will offer you a return….
If you think you may just want a house cow to mosey around your property but not sure about how to go about it…..
Or if you would just like to come along to have a look and a listen……..
Then please come along and join us on Saturday 29th August 2015 at the Wedgetail Ridge Dexter Field Day.
$10.00 will get you something to eat and a cool drink and a chance to win a door prize.
More information will posted closer to the event...
Check out our Facebook page at Dexter group of western australia and website
Please RSVP if you would be interested in coming along so we can cater for numbers and we will send you a mud map: [email protected]
Watch some animal husbandry in action.
Listen to talks from experienced people in the cattle world and learn more about how these wonderful creatures actually work.
Dexter’s are our preferred choice of cattle as Hobby Farmer’s. We are not intimidated by their size and they offer us both meat and milk. Our grandchildren quite happily hand feed them even the little 2 yr old.
We only have three cows which are all in calf and hopefully will be on the ground by the Field Day for you to see which includes Jaffa.
Come along and see where our meat was grown, how it was looked after and see what it tastes like (this is not compulsory)!!
If you are looking for something to put on your acreage that will offer you a return….
If you think you may just want a house cow to mosey around your property but not sure about how to go about it…..
Or if you would just like to come along to have a look and a listen……..
Then please come along and join us on Saturday 29th August 2015 at the Wedgetail Ridge Dexter Field Day.
$10.00 will get you something to eat and a cool drink and a chance to win a door prize.
More information will posted closer to the event...
Check out our Facebook page at Dexter group of western australia and website
Please RSVP if you would be interested in coming along so we can cater for numbers and we will send you a mud map: [email protected]