Spring has Sprung!

February has arrived and in between the showers of rain, snow, sleet and hail we can make out the first signs of spring in the air.  The days are a bit longer, the mornings are a bit brighter, the birds are a bit louder as they gather in their hundreds outside the parlour...

and of course the calves are coming thick and fast!

This is our lastest arrival, a fleckvieh heifer calf who is just 7 hours old and has already sucked her mother's milk and is jumping around the pen like a crazy thing! 

We also had twins this week:

This little lady is only just born and is trying to stand up already!  

'Nose to meet you' 

All the calves above are Fleckvieh crosses.  That is to say their mothers are Holstein-Friesian (the usual black and white milking cows you see around Ireland) and their fathers are Fleckvieh (pronounced 'fleck-vee').  Fleckvieh are a German/Austrian breed of milking cow that are part of the Simmental family.  We hope that these crosses will produce a stronger, fitter animal that lives longer while producing roughly the same amount of milk as our Holstein-Friesians.  

All the calves pictured above are out of a Fleckvieh bull called 'Waldbrand':

Waldbrand is known for producing big strong dual purpose cows with excellent udders.  He is easy calving (very important when considering a bull!) and has excellent milk production with high levels of fat and protein percentage.  

We are paid for our milk on the basis of how much fat and protein is in it i.e. the higher the quality of the milk, the higher the value of it.  So, Fleckviehs should produce an added benefit for us as their milk tends to have higher components of fat and protein.  Of course, all this is pie in the sky as yet.  Our first fleckvieh crosses were born in 2014 so it will be 2016 before we actually have any milking and can determine whether this crossbreeding experiment will work for us!

However, it is not all Fleckvieh calves.  Our first calf of 2015 was a Holstein-Friesan (HF) heifer.  All of the springers (cows having a calf for the first time) will be having HF calves as they are easier to calve down.  We are reserving our Fleckvieh use, for the time being, to the milking cows.

First calf of 2015

Nosy Parker!  The calves will suck on anything - the pocket of your jacket, your trouser leg, your fingers - whatever comes close.

Most Fleckviehs, like this bull calf here have a full white head.  However, Waldbrand doesn't always stamp his progeny with white heads so it could get interesting trying to figure out which calf belongs to who as the season progresses!

 They all lined up nicely for me here.

Thirsty work!

 The calves aren't the only ones waiting for a drop of milk!

I hope you're enjoying reading about the day-to-day activities at Caherconnell.  If there's anything you'd like to hear about or any comments you'd like to make, please feel free.  Its lovely to hear back from readers.

Until the next time