Helpful Hints

                                                                                                                                                                  

These pieces of information are from my own experience and some that others have suggested to me during the cycle of breeding, weaning, training, showing and so on of my Miniature Herefords.   They are also applicable to a wide range of other animals.   If anyone has something they would like added to this column for others to read please contact me on riverlets@gmail.com and I will put it in.   Photos are also welcome.

FILLING A HAY NET

Ever struggled to fill a hay net with the hay refusing to be stuffed in and the net twisting like an octopus?   Here are a couple of easy ways to deal with that.

The Plastic Bag method.

Fill a plastic bag with the amount of hay you need then pull the hay net over it upsidedown.

 
Turn the hay net right side up and slide the plastic bag out leaving the hay in the net.

The Bucket method.        

Tuck the hay net into a bucket or something similar (here I have used a feed container) then put the required amount of hay into the net.

                       
   Pull the hay net up over the hay and remove from bucket.      Now hang up the hay net securely.

                                        
For cattle we use a hay net with wider spaces in the netting than those in our horse nets.   Cattle need to use their tongues to help pick out the hay whereas horses use their teeth and lips.

INSECT REPELLENT


Horrible little beasties have been invented to plague man and animal alike particularly in the summer months.   Biting flies, ants, midges, fleas, sandflies and so on can now be given a taste of their own medicine.

Procure a bottle of Baby Oil and a bottle of Dettol (antiseptic with a strong smell) and mix equal parts together (i.e. 50/50) into another container.

                 Baby Oil                                                                         Dettol

You will notice that the oil sinks down while the Dettol floats on top of it.   Shake vigorously until the liquids blend into a cloudy mixture.   You will need to do this every time you use it.

                 Unmixed solution                                                       Mixed solution 
                                                                                    
                                                                                   
Transfer the mixture to a container with a spray nozzle.   You can then use it on yourself (arms, legs) or the animal.   We ususally spray it on the legs of our cattle or horses and under their bellies.   If horses have a day sheet on that is all that is required otherwise it can be applied anywhere avoiding, of course, eyes and nose.   The oil keeps the solution on the hair and makes it shiny while the smell of the Dettol repels insects.

                                                        Spray container with mixture.
                                                                                                             
It is wise to label the container with what the mixture is.   If your animal objects to being sprayed simply spray the solution onto a cloth and wipe that over them.

                                           
                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                             

                 

                                                                             

                                                                                                            

The Twins Grow Up

December 3rd, 2009.   A day after the due date and Grovenorth Abby calved.   She was in the same paddock as her friend who had produced an attractive heifer three days earlier.   When I saw first one calf and then the other all seemed well until - OH MY GOSH, there's a THIRD calf!   I discovered later that these were the first recorded Miniature Hereford twins in the Southern Hemisphere.   Apparently there had been another set earlier in New Zealand but they had not been registered.   The new little 'un with its mother was a bull so I hoped the other would be as well although I really wanted all heifers.   Out of luck - it was a heifer and probably a "freemartin" meaning it would be sterile (see article about this in the earlier story "Against All Odds").  In this case I found two separate placentas in the paddock so am hoping for the best.

                           

TWO not one and mum makes three.                                           Tea, with milk, for two.

I like to name my calves in some way after their mothers so the bull became Riverlets Abbot (yes, I know  there should only be one 't') and the heifer Riverlets Abbess.   These names were shortened to Abe and Bess.   Abe weighed 22 kg and Bess 23.6 kg which was within the normal range for Miniature Hereford calves in my herd.   Abby was a good mum with plenty of milk so no supplementary feed was necessary nor did we need to take one calf from her to hand rear unlike the bigger Herefords.   Beef cows are really only designed to raise one calf at a time successfully but there are exceptions.   We were already at the beginning of a drought which lasted seven months but Abby cared for her babies all through this without any setbacks to them although by the time they were weaned, at around eight months, she had lost some condition and took longer to get in calf again.

When the calves were a couple of months old I had them dehorned.   Unfortunately this was summertime so we had to watch them carefully for any infection or flystrike with the hotter weather.   Abe did suffer a bit with one side of his head but was easy to handle so came right after a while.   It was simply a matter of keeping the wound clean, applying Wound Powder (a charcoal-based compound available from vets or stock firms) and topping off with Flystrike Powder.   Bess had no such problems.   Abe was very friendly and enjoyed a good scratch or rub but Bess was quite shy.   When scampering by their mother, especially in the evening light, they looked like a couple of rabbits with their bobbing, white-tipped tails.   They thrived then by May started to grow their winter coats, probably anticipating the wet, cold, muddy conditions to come.   With the severe drought there was no grass on which to wean any of the calves so it wasn't until July that the twins could leave Mum for a "greener pasture".   By then they looked like 'woolly little mammoths' according to a not very complimentary friend whereas I thought them round, cute and cuddly!

                                                                                                              

   Hoppity, skippity off we go with mum.                        Weaned and in their winter woollies.

Eventually there came a parting of the ways with Abe going off to join the bigger weaned Hereford bull calves and Bess into the heifer calf mob.   They mingled very well with their peers, getting used to a different part of the farm and continuing to grow well.   The following October (2010) saw the arrival of two more Miniature Hereford bulls purchased from Ruzak Park Stud, Oamaru, in the South Island.   These lads were a couple of months older than the twins and a bit bigger but that didn't faze Abe in the least.   He proceeded to try and assert domination over Digger but soon gave up and decided they were no threat to him!   I kept the three young bulls together for a while before taking them out to mix with the yearling mob again.   The little guys stuck up for themselves and before long they were all grazing happily together.   All the Herefords, great and small, get virtually the same management on our farm except during the mating or calving seasons when the Miniatures have separate paddocks.   The only difference is that the earlier-maturing minis are calved as two-year-olds while the bigger Herefords wait until they are better matured at three years of age.   This works well.   

        Riverlets Abbott v. Ruzak Park Digger.                                         Three is not a crowd.

                                                                                                                                         

It was interesting to contrast the growth of the Miniature Hereford calves with those of their same age group among the conventional Herefords.   The shorter legs and necks of the minis meant that they became more compact while the bigger animals went through a leggy stage before filling out from about eighteen months.   This applied to both heifers and bulls.   Although I prefer not to use my bulls until they are around two years of age one of them went out with a group of cows at seventeen months and got all of them in calf.   He is now running with another group and I am looking forward to seeing what his progeny are like.   The heifers are left until they are about fifteen months old and they calve with little trouble at two years.   The twin heifer was an exception.   She was very small as a yearling so I left her for another year.  

                              

Abe and big Hereford - yearlings.                            Bess and big Herefords - yearlings.  

                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                

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A puzzling problem with the minis is their tendency to have very dirty tails and hind quarters.   We don't have this to the same extent with the bigger Herefords and are thinking it may be the richness of the grass on our farm.   Herefords are able to forage anywhere but maybe they, the minis in particular, do better with more roughage.   Our farm is high in ryegrass and clover - very few weeds, no kikuyu or rough pasture and the soil tests have shown it to be well nourished.   The answer could be to restrict the minis' access to fresh pasture and feed more hay but that is easier said than done on a farm of this size.   They certainly came through both the drought and the horrible winters in better shape than the bigger cattle and what condition they did lose was recovered in a very short space of time.

                                                                                                                 

 Rich pasture.                                                                  No pasture.                      

Two years have now passed and the twins are moving towards their next adventures.   Bess is with the herd running with Ruzak Park Digger in the hope that she will actually have a calf next Spring.   The two-year-old bulls Abe was with have all been sold so he has been "demoted" to the next mob of yearlings but he is still smaller than they are!   He is possibly going to take a trip to the Deep South to stand as a service bull at aother Miniature Hereford Stud for a couple of years.   He won't be sold as his genetics will be needed back home some time in the future.   Before that he will be tested for BVD (bovine viral diaorrhea) and vaccinated.   His TB clearance is C10 and he has had all other necessary vaccinations.   My cattle will only come from or go to herds which have the same protections as I cannot put either my minis or our larger Herefords at risk. 

Riverlets Abbott aged two.                                                   Riverlets Abbess aged two.

                                                                                                         

             

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TWINNIES - IT'S BEEN A DELIGHT TO WATCH YOU GROW UP.

Boomer Creek Miniature Herefords

Australia and New Zealand are separated by the Tasman Sea, affectionately known as "The Ditch" or "The Pond" although the countries are just over 1400 kms apart at the closest points.   Tasmania, a large island off the south-east corner of Australia is where Boomer Creek Farm is found.   It takes its name from the common reference to a male kangaroo as a "boomer" owing to a booming noise heard as it bounds across land at speeds of up to 70 kmph.   Joy and Colin Walters felt this to be an appropriate name for their farm which comprises 400 hectares on the East Coast of Tasmania with beautiful views over Great Oyster Bay leading out into the Tasman Sea.

Since the early 1970s the Walters have had standard sized polled Herefords then around 1994 their neighbour purchased some Lowline cattle of Angus derivation.   Colin and Joy loved the idea of having smaller sized cattle but being "red and white" breeders did some research and discovered Miniature Herefords.   Their first purchase was a recipient cow which produced Boomer Creek Atom and shortly afterwards they purchased a heifer, KT Real Roberta (imported from the USA).   This was the start of their Miniature Hereford herd.

Having always had polled Herefords it wasn't long before the Walters realised this would be a much better option than horned minis but it was a case of "do-it-yourself" as there were no polled minis outside of the States.   Starting in 1999 they followed the American system of using small standard polled Hereford females with a miniature bull.   After considerable searching they eventually found some with frame scores between 4 and 5 and later another one with a frame score of 2 - actually of Classic size.   So began the "breeding down" programme to produce polled Miniature Herefords.

For the first five years it was a very slow process with having to keep the size down as well as eliminating horns and also keeping the breed line different.   It meant using a horned mini bull across standard polls then using a different horned mini bull to establish another line then back across a standard poll to lose the horns.   This could have taken many more years except that in 2004 another Australian breeder imported polled Miniature Hereford embryos from Straitside Ranch in the States from which two heifers and one bull - all homozygous polled - were born.   Sired by SSR Micah (a small mini bull of the LS Mt Nugget 28 line) and out of SSR Miss Misty (an estimated "large" Frame Score 2 as the cows used by the Johnsons to start their breeding programme were in the frame score 1 to 2 range) the bull, Boomer Creek Felix, with a Frame Score of 1, really sped up the polled breeding programme.   With now over 40 progeny, all polled and of Frame Score 1 or less he has become the "foundation sire" of polled minis "Down Under".

                               
                                    SSR Miss Misty - dam of Boomer Creek Felix, a polled
                                    Hereford thought to be at the top end of Frame Score 2
                                       which is not considered Miniature in the States.

                             SSR Micah - a polled Miniature bull, sire of Boomer Creek Felix
                              with a Frame Score at the bottom end of 1.   Micah's sire was a
                                               very small Largent bull, LS Mt Nugget 28.

                                    Boomer Creek Felix, aged six and winner of the Sire's
                                    Progeny Class in 2010.   He has a Frame Score  of 1
                                    and qualifies as a true Miniature as in the States, where
                                    he originated, miniature means size not background.


Normally the Walters run around 50 breeding cows of which 95% would now be Miniature Herefords, mostly polled.   At least twenty of these are homozygous polled and most of them now have three, four and even five generations of Miniature Herefords on both sides of their parentage.   The demand for polled minis in Australia has really taken off as prospective owners/breeders see the big advantage in having no horns to deal with.   Half of the Boomer Creek herd was sold in the last financial year (including horned) with some animals going across Bass Strait to New South Wales and Victoria.   They could have sold more but ran out of available stock!

A big part of promoting Boomer Creek cattle is through showing and the Walters have been very successful even against standard Herefords and other breeds.   The animals are presented immaculately and well trained.

                                        

Joy Walters with Boomer Creek Mack - Junior Champion, Grand Champion
and Interbreed Champion bull in 2010.   A grandson of Boomer Creek Felix.

                           
                                     Seven of these polled Miniature Hereford heifers are
                                                          by Boomer Creek Felix.

                                         Good breeding and presentation deserves to win.
                                                Some of Boomer Creek Felix' progeny.


It is thanks to the outlook and perseverance of such Miniature Hereford Studs in the States as Straitside Ranch (Betty and the late John Johnson) and Long Creek (Susan and Ron Himmelberg) plus Boomer Creek (Colin and Joy Walters in Australia) that polled Miniature Herefords have become available for Hereford breed enthusiasts looking for smaller cattle without horns.   For those of us following in their footsteps we can only build on the foundation they have laid - the hard work has already been done.

Against All Odds

In the five years we have been on our new farm the winters of 2007 and 2008 have been the worst we've experienced so far. A wet autumn led into an even wetter winter and conditions for both man and beast were horrendous. At one stage the other half sat up in bed and cried out, "@#%&* all I can see is a sea of mud." He was still asleep!

After a particularly difficult day out on the farm he exclaimed, "Every one of those big hoofprints must hold a litre of water and there is probably now three million litres of water all over the farm."   This led to my 'tongue-in-cheek' remark, "Perhaps we should look at running some Miniature Herefords and see how they and the farm cope."   A long silence greeted this audacious uttering followed by, "That's not such a silly idea."   Thus began my investigation into what Miniature Herefords really were.

                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                      

                                         

Miniature Hereford hoofprint                                             Regular Hereford hoofprint


We have since found that the minis have less impact with their hooves on soft or muddy ground thus causing less pasture damage.   During the wettest times we have fenced off particularly susceptible areas then once conditions improve the minis go into these paddocks first to eat the pasture down.   By the time the ground has dried somewhat and the grass has freshened the bigger cattle can go into these areas without sinking to their bellies as they used to do.

During the 2008 winter we had several sets of twins born on the farm, among them heifer/bull combinations which usually means the female is a sterile "freemartin".   On August 19th we discovered a cow with a very small calf beside her and wondered whether there was another calf somewhere.   We were on top of a steep, slippery hill leading down to a swamp area and it was sheer chance that we noticed movement in the mud below.   Slithering down we discovered another even smaller calf which was so young and deeply buried in the quagmire it could not extricate itself.   A long, hard pull up the hill and we had one hypothermic little bull snuggled into hay on the trailer.   The mother was not interested in him and we then realised the calf with her was a heifer so thought, here's another passenger!

The little heifer grew up with mum while we hand reared her twin bull brother.   Even though we knew the odds were against her being fertile we always give our freemartin heifers a chance to get in calf by running them with a bull alongside their peer group.   Apparently if the placental membranes of the twins are not co-joined in utero within the first month from conception it is likely the heifer will be fertile.   If they are then the blood travelling to both twins carries male hormones which affects the sexual development of the female twin.   A theory is also posed that if the heifer is heavier than the bull then she could be fertile.   It is about a 10 percent chance either way.   In this case the heifer was 26 kgs while her brother was 24 kgs so fingers were crossed.   The following photo was taken of how a bovine chromosomal freemartin is produced in utero where both bull and heifer calves are sharing the placental membranes connecting them with their mother.

Photo reprinted with permission from Dr Robert A. Foster, Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Canada.

The following year the heifer fell victim to a particularly bad attack of facial eczema.   She had been out the back of the farm with the rest of the yearling heifers and we had not been able to get near them for weeks owing to the atrocious conditions which had washed out some crossings.   When they were accessible it was only because this heifer failed to come out of the trees that we realised something was amiss.   Unfortunately it was several more days before we could get her up to our yards and by then she was a mess.   A zinc bolus and a balling gun for administering it was obtained from the local vet and the heifer treated.   It took a long time for her to recover and she ended up with a bald nose which wasn't the best situation for our summers.   Then she started to grow hair over the patches and eventually developed a moustache which covered part of her nose.   We had no idea what internal damage the eczema might have done but kept an eye on her over the following months.   She was always on the small side but already came from a small line of Herefords so we were a bit dubious about running her with a bull at two years of age although we doubted she would either cycle or get in calf.

                         
                                                Riverlands Princess with moustache.

At the beginning of winter, 2011 to our amazement we noticed "Freebie", as we called her, was looking quite rotund and developing a noticeable udder.   On September 15th she calved with no trouble producing a 34 kg bull.   A reprieve for her and relief for us as we don't really like sending young heifers to the Works.   The little guy is doing well as mum has quite a good udder for a heifer and she certainly loves her little boy.
                                                                                       
 

                                                          Princess' little prince.
                                      

She will now join the little herd of conventional but small polled Herefords which will be mated to a Miniature Hereford bull as one of the foundation 'matrons' for a polled Miniature Hereford stud.   Hats off to you Riverlands Princess 979 for your courage and determination to make it against all odds.

Small Bull Power

The move from using Hereford bulls over all dairy cows to bringing in Angus and Jersey to use with the heifers has thrown up some interesting observations.  This is because some Herefords are becoming too big for the servicing of dairy heifers with resulting calving difficulties.  Farmers still wanted a dairy/beef calf so turned to using Angus but once again there were calving difficulties with heifers.   The bull of choice then became the Jersey.   This is an advantage if the calves are heifers, especially Friesian/Jersey cross.   Often completely black in colour this dairy cross has been named the "Kiwi" cow and can be a successful addition to the dairy herd.   On the other hand a bull calf sired by a Jersey is a different proposition.   It is usually destined to be a "bobby" calf and has little value unless sold to a calf rearer who plans to on-sell it for use over dairy heifers.  

The breeding of Hereford bulls for the dairy industry is our main "bread and butter" income.   The bulls are sold as two-year-olds to be used over mostly Friesian dairy cows which will then produce the white-faced calf so popular for the beef market.   Occasionally we have leased yearling Herefords for dairy heifers but lately have found they are being superseded by Jerseys with the comment that 'Herefords cause calving problems.'   This should be ringing alarm bells for all Hereford breeders.   The cattle in our herd tend to be slightly smaller on average than those found on most Hereford studs - we like to think of them as more "traditional" in type.   To date there have been no calving problems reported by any dairy farmers using our bulls but the concern remains where heifers are involved.

With all this in mind I began to think out a strategy which could benefit our dairy farmer clientele as well as us.   We normally transport the bulls ourselves so as we visited the different dairy farms I took along a folder of photographs of my Miniature Herefords and started talking.   My first question was, "What breed of bull are you using over your heifers?"   Every response was, "A Jersey."   Second question was "Do you think you get a reasonable return on the progeny of this cross?"   Answers were generally "No" unless heifers were being kept for the herd.   My third question was "Would you prefer a dairy/beef calf if there were no calving problems?"   Answers this time were in the affirmative so this is where I produced my folder of photos.

                 
                      Miniature Hereford bull with yearling Jersey and Friesian/Jersey heifers.

Reactions to the photos ranged from laughter to intrigue but not once were they ridiculed.   We then discussed the benefits of using a Miniature Hereford bull over dairy heifers including the fact that, especially with Friesians, the calves would be white-faced, just smaller but also chunkier and of greater value than a bobby calf.   There are now several dairy farmers considering leasing a mini bull next season to see whether they are a worthwhile option.   The bulls will, of course, be BVD (bovine viral diarrhoea) tested and vaccinated.




        Jersey cow with own calf sired by Mini Hereford bull (left) and Jersey foster bull calf.

 I did not, however, intend using these farmers as "guinea-pigs" so my idea was first carried out on my own small herd of dairy cows.   When weaned, the first dairy/beef calf from a mature Jersey cow was a solid, not-so-little steer which will be ready for the freezer at 18 months of age.

                                     Five months old Miniature Hereford/Jersey steer.

Two of my dairy heifers have calved this Spring to a mini bull.   Once is a full Jersey and she produced a bull calf weighing 29 kgs.




                   Two-year-old Jersey heifer with bull calf sired by Miniature Hereford.


The other is a Friesian/Jersey (Kiwi cow) and she produced a heifer calf weighing 31 kgs.

            Two-year-old Friesian/Jersey heifer with heifer calf sired by Miniature Hereford.

From first noting the heifers were a bit uneasy prior to calving to when the calf was born, washed, on its feet and feeding was within two hours!   This coming season I have an Ayshire/Jersey heifer which will run with a mini bull and a farmer with Friesians is considering leasing a mini bull for his heifers providing I take the calves once they are a week old as he does not wish to rear them.   That will open up another chapter in my strategic planning. 

  

                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                           

                                      

                                                                  

Snowonder

Snow in Northland?   Yes, well it has happened before, in fact, when my Dad was a lad some eighty years ago he told me it snowed at Cape Reinga which is near the northern tip of the North Island.   I wonder which is better - freezing cold winds and snow or freezing cold winds and rain.   Whichever, the Miniature Herefords take it in their short strides.   It's no wonder the little guys started growing very shaggy coats in early autumn.   Perhaps they knew something we didn't.

Plenty in the New Zealand media reports about the "Polar blast" but hey - over in South Australia they were having their own snowstorms.    There's something about a snowy picture on a fine day which leads to the comment "picture postcard" but even on days where the sun is hidden things can look "picturesque" and any of the photos in this story could be that.

The three woolly weaners in this photo belong to a Miniature Hereford  Stud near Oamaru in the South Island of New Zealand.......
               
 
while in the other very wintry scene, just north-east of Bathhurst, South Australia the minis are almost invisible under a snow duvet.                                                                         

The bleak side is one which has a wind chill factor which drives down temperatures remorselessly.   Blizzards, like the one in this photo, can really make life uncomfortable for man and beast.
                                                                               


BUT, providing quality feed and good shelter is available the animals can weather almost anything.

If the pundits are right then we are in for an early Spring and some are even saying an early Summer.    Let's

hope there is an in-between time of warmth and gentle rain which allows plenty of grass growth because      

another severe drought on top of all that has happened recently won't earn Mother Nature many friends!