Archive Article: 2001/02/02
Giles Henry
Giles Henry rents 105ha
(260 acres) on a 10-year
lease and 114ha (280
acres) of heather moorland
near Selkirk in the Scottish
Borders which is in organic
conversion. Cropping is
mainly grass with 14ha (36
acres) of spring barley. The
farm is stocked with 450
breeding ewes, 85 hoggs
and 50 Luing cows with
followers and finishers
WE have had some fine but frosty weather this New Year; at least I am able to travel on the land surface and everything is much cleaner.
Hard frosts between Christmas and New Year meant a few frozen pipes which took some thawing. One day I let cattle out of their pens for a drink at the river; much easier than hot water and blow torches.
The hard weather means ewes are on a full silage ration two to three weeks earlier than planned, but I hope stocks will last. Tups were brought in from May lambing ewes on Jan 12, having run with them for 35 days. Ewes seemed to tup well and are in good fettle.
We will start our May lambing about two weeks earlier than usual, which I hope will help lift lambing percentage and allow us to have a good number of lambs ready to market when we become fully organic on Nov 1.
After the sudden rise in temperature in early January, Luing calves took exception to the climate change and rapidly became victims of a sub-clinical respiratory virus which we had to deal with using antibiotics. While we were
Giles Henry rents 105ha
(260 acres) on a 10-year
lease and 114ha (280
acres) of heather moorland
near Selkirk in the Scottish
Borders which is in organic
conversion. Cropping is
mainly grass with 14ha (36
acres) of spring barley. The
farm is stocked with 450
breeding ewes, 85 hoggs
and 50 Luing cows with
followers and finishers
WE have had some fine but frosty weather this New Year; at least I am able to travel on the land surface and everything is much cleaner.
Hard frosts between Christmas and New Year meant a few frozen pipes which took some thawing. One day I let cattle out of their pens for a drink at the river; much easier than hot water and blow torches.
The hard weather means ewes are on a full silage ration two to three weeks earlier than planned, but I hope stocks will last. Tups were brought in from May lambing ewes on Jan 12, having run with them for 35 days. Ewes seemed to tup well and are in good fettle.
We will start our May lambing about two weeks earlier than usual, which I hope will help lift lambing percentage and allow us to have a good number of lambs ready to market when we become fully organic on Nov 1.
After the sudden rise in temperature in early January, Luing calves took exception to the climate change and rapidly became victims of a sub-clinical respiratory virus which we had to deal with using antibiotics. While we were handling calves, I also treated them with Spot-on for lice.
I have also treated bulling heifers for the same and at some stage in the next couple of weeks will treat cows on the hill.
Bulling heifers are looking better than they did during all the wet weather at the end of last year. I have seven entered for the Luing pedigree sale at Castle Douglas on Feb 16 and am having my usual worries about whether they will be strong enough for it.
It is always difficult to judge your own cattle at home and it is not until they are standing in a pen next to others that I can satisfy myself that they are as good as they should be. Here is hoping that they will be okay. *
End of the itch… Giles Henry has been doing the rounds treating cattle for lice recently. But some indoor cattle succumbed to respiratory problems.