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Post by stephanie on Nov 21, 2013 13:22:49 GMT -5
Not sure how to post a pic on here...but I'm going to give it a try, hopefully this is my bull Woodmagic Hedgehog 4th, he is a half brother to Woodmagic Petrel. Stephanie Powell Duffryn Herd Wales UK
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Post by stephanie on Nov 21, 2013 13:27:45 GMT -5
Brilliant - it worked so I'm going to add a pic of when I first saw him with his Mum Woodmagic Palmchat. He belonged to Beryl Rutherford and was at her farm Bunksland in Devon, England UK. This is Palmchat, she is the dun cow with Hedgehog 4th at Bunksland, he is just two days old. Stephanie Powell Duffryn Herd Wales UK
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Post by dexterfarm on Nov 21, 2013 14:06:44 GMT -5
I did not know there was a 4th. Sounds like you have a few woodmagic animals? Are you keeping them as a closed herd?
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Post by stephanie on Nov 21, 2013 14:18:31 GMT -5
Yes - I have a Nutlin cow that is almost entirely Woodmagic breeding but apart from that all my animals are fully Woodmagic and I am breeding them back to Woodmagic for as long as I possibly can, they are lovely cattle.
Stephanie
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Post by carragheendexters on Nov 21, 2013 17:39:22 GMT -5
Thankyou for the photos Stephanie. How old is he in the first photo? He doesn't look very tall, how high would he be? Do you have any photos of him side-on? Very nice!
Palmchat is a lovely looking cow, from the photo she looks to have nice dual purpose charaacterisitcs.
regards Louise
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Post by dexterfarm on Nov 21, 2013 21:29:04 GMT -5
great to hear that you are keeping the woodmagic line going. My bull is a hedgehog 3rd son he is about 90% woodmagic but that is probably as close as we will ever get to having a full woodmagic. Keep posting more pics. We would all like to see them.
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Post by stephanie on Nov 22, 2013 5:08:42 GMT -5
Hello, Thank you for the replies, he is nearly 18 months in the pic. Its interesting that someone - other than in the UK has dexters that are 90% Woodmagic, that is amazing, takes a bit of dedication! Here is a pic of him just over a year old side on but I am just being lazy and taking them from my Photobucket, so I shall have to find some more recent ones! He is now 6 years old. A little younger in the bottom pic where he was at a show, 13 months, we took him to Monmouth and Chepstow he won the bull class at both and got a Championship, I was so proud but haven't taken him since, I don't feel greatly confident about having a bull out in a public place!!! He is very placid, its not him just the thought of what if? Oh...I've never measured him, he isn't a tall bull but would be within the "allowed" height. Stephanie
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Post by ladena on Nov 22, 2013 6:53:11 GMT -5
He sure was a handsome boy and I bet he is something now. I hope you post a current picture of him. LaDena
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Post by stephanie on Nov 25, 2013 7:57:07 GMT -5
Hello Ladena, Thank you for saying he was handsome. One of my cows gave him a huge roughing up just after the above pics were taken and it did him no good!!! To be on the safe side I have kept him in hobbles, I worry that if he has to go on wet concrete he may do the splits but he has been like it nearly 5 years now and no real ill effects. I have to renew them every so often. Here is a pic taken this morning.
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Post by cddexter on Nov 25, 2013 12:11:55 GMT -5
Hi Steph...I sure wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers. One really gorgeous bull. Congrats. Carol D.
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zephyrhillsusan
member
Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502
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Post by zephyrhillsusan on Nov 25, 2013 17:07:09 GMT -5
Okay, this is going to show how naïve I am and how much of a newbie, but could you please explain what you mean by "a cow gave him a huge roughing up?" I'm asking because we're getting a young bull and I want to be aware of what to watch out for. Thanks!
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Post by stephanie on Nov 26, 2013 4:14:54 GMT -5
Thanks Carol!!!
Zephyrhillsusan you ask about the beating he got from my cow, well I think it was quite an unusual thing. She was a new cow and I didn't know that the moment she went off season that if the young bull still showed any interest she would take it so badly! What she did was beat him high under the back legs, into the muscle at the top of the legs with her poll. He was young and not really strong enough to handle it and I couldn't separate them. I've never heard of a similar incident so please don't panic...just a strange cow, she also shows bulling, stands as well, right up until she calves! Maybe she had cystic ovaries as she doesn't seem be doing either of those things this year but then she is 17 years old....mellowing perhaps?
Stephanie
Oh just remembered - a few months later, although she was in calf, when a heifer was bulling she mounted the bull and flattened him out like a rivet on wet slippery ground, back legs went out sideways, that was when I first put the chains on.
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Post by carragheendexters on Nov 26, 2013 6:40:58 GMT -5
Hi Stephanie, thankyou for putting a more recent photo of him up. It's nice to see how young bulls mature. What an ingenius idea to use hobbles. I've heard of dairy cows slipping on mud or concrete, and doing the splits, apparently they often fracture their pelvis from the splits. I've never even thought about you poor guys when your cattle have to come in and are on concrete in the yards and that icky, slippery mud.
Hmmmm, have you thought about collecting semen on him for export overseas, maybe for somewhere like Australia? hint hint. He would be a wonderful asset for the Australian herd.
regards Louise
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zephyrhillsusan
member
Caught Dexteritis in Dec. 2009. Member of this forum since Oct. 2013.
Posts: 1,502
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Post by zephyrhillsusan on Nov 26, 2013 12:22:41 GMT -5
Thank you, Stephanie. I really appreciate the explanation, and it's helpful because we're getting a young bull so I will be sure not to turn him in to meet the girls when it's wet and slippery! The only one of our animals that I'm at all worried about getting aggressive is our 20-month old steer who has decided he's the boss of the herd. He butted heads for 5 minutes with our new cow when they met, and they decided he is No. 1 and she is No. 2! He completely ignores our little steer and all three share a round bale peacefully (while my milk cow & heifer are up at the barn). However, I have no idea how he'll react around a young bull, even though he'll only be 7 months. On the breeder's advice, we plan to keep little bull and little steer together while we get to know the little bull. Once our young bull is ready to join the herd, we will definitely be careful how we do it. I'd rather keep the big steer through spring grass, but I won't hesitate to send him to the butcher early if it looks like he needs to leave! I like your Woodmagic 4th's curly hair. I've read that's a sign of virility. I see he loves a guy-wire as much as our first cow did!
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Post by stephanie on Nov 27, 2013 9:32:40 GMT -5
Hello Louise,
I'm glad you like my bull, I have often thought about collecting him for AI, including overseas but I do wonder if enough people would want to use him to make it worthwhile.
Stephanie
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