Sunday 18th October – All 25 seen – Steer 220 had some blood-tinged discharge coming from his urinary tract

At 10:00 this morning, the cattle were spread out on both sides of Camp 45, happily grazing in the sunshine. I initially made my way through the western pastures, with the cattle pausing their grazing to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes. Cow 234 and steer 1640 were especially friendly, both enjoying lengthy back scratches.

Youngster 220 was standing on the strip of grass just off the main path to the north of the water troughs, relaxing and chewing his cud in the sunshine. It was great to see him out in the open with other cattle grazing nearby. He stepped forward to say hello and enjoyed a few head strokes. During my check, I noticed he had some blood-tinged discharge coming from his urinary tract. He appeared otherwise fine, with no swelling or distension of his stomach or abdomen. After standing with him for a while, he wandered off to the eastern pasture to lie down beside the other cattle, who had started to settle. I immediately alerted Sam at HIWWT and shared some photos.

Later, I saw him eating on several occasions and, at other times, lying or standing while chewing his cud. I also noticed he was swishing his tail frequently, even when resting. When I checked on him again later, he was still passing discharge from his urinary tract, although it was now clear. Sam advised that they would continue monitoring his NoFence activity in case it dropped. At that point, he appeared normal, and the data showed that he had been at the water trough earlier. We should continue keeping a close eye on him and report any deterioration in his condition.

Youngster 217 was standing over the now fully empty second water trough, peacefully chewing his cud in the shade. The trough connected to the bowser was still full. Youngster 230 was happy to stand and enjoy a long neck scratch while he waited for 217 to move off before stepping forward for a drink. Cow 234 soon joined him. I noted that the cattle continued to try to drink from the empty water trough before realising there was water in the one behind it. I later returned and moved the empty trough to the side of the bowser to make the full trough more noticeable and give them more room. This appeared to work, with steers 20 and 30, along with cow 940, all heading straight to the full trough on subsequent visits.

Around 10:50, I made my way over to the eastern pasture, where the majority of the herd were now lying down, relaxing and chewing their cud. Youngster 222 spotted me approaching and immediately got up and wandered over to greet me with gentle head rubs before leaning in for a neck and back scratch. The other cattle were all happy to be approached for their checks, with most enjoying some fuss. Around 11:10, a shower passed through, causing most of the group to get to their feet and wander off to the north, keeping close to the path in case they needed to head into the trees for shelter. Fortunately, the rain didn't come to much, so they all continued grazing, with some of the group gradually crossing over into the eastern pasture.

I then spent some quiet, relaxing time with each of the cattle as they gradually settled back down to rest. Youngsters 219 and 222 thoroughly enjoyed repeated back rubs, often wandering over when I was with one of their herd mates and nudging me to signal that they wanted me to carry on. Before leaving, cow 212 and steer 228 both enjoyed long rubs while resting, stretching out on their sides to enjoy belly rubs. It was really lovely to spend so much time with the herd this weekend, with the cattle all together.

I said my goodbyes at 13:40, leaving the cattle all resting peacefully in four groups across the eastern and western pastures. Youngster 220 was resting comfortably in the western pasture alongside the other cattle.

With the exception of youngster 220, the cattle were all good today.

Saturday 17th October – All 25 seen – Steer 220 was a little out of sorts today

At 09:00 this morning, steers 21, 33, 35, 197, 217, and 219, and cows 211, 212, and 1396, were happily grazing in the southern end of the eastern pasture of Camp 45. They all had dew-covered faces from grazing in the wet grass. They were all very friendly, taking turns to come over and say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs.

The remaining cattle were all in the western pasture. Steers 30 and 220 were browsing leaves in the thicket, while the others were either grazing on the long grass or standing in the sunshine at the side of the path, relaxing and chewing their cud. Youngster 222 was especially affectionate, wandering over to greet me as soon as he saw me approaching and giving me the sweetest head rubs. He thoroughly enjoyed a neck rub before positioning himself for a lengthy back scratch. The others were all friendly too, pausing their grazing to greet me and enjoy plenty of fuss.

While in the western pasture, I took the opportunity to remove the leaves floating on the surface of the water troughs. The trough nearest the bowser was full, with the neighbouring trough just under half full. Youngster 227 accompanied me to check the troughs and, after having a drink, settled in for a long neck rub.

Youngster 220 was a little out of sorts today, preferring to keep to himself and staying within the thicket in the centre of the site. I saw him eating, wandering around, resting, and chewing his cud at various points, and he didn't appear to have any injury or anything specifically wrong with him. I checked on him several times and spent a good while with him, but he seemed a little withdrawn. He did come over to say hello and enjoyed a brief back scratch before going to stand under a tree to chew his cud. Perhaps he's just taking time to get used to his new surroundings, but he's definitely worth keeping an eye on.

I wandered around, spending some quiet time with each of the cattle, and they were all happy, relaxed, and looking well. By 10:55, many of the cattle in the eastern pasture had started to lie down and chew their cud in the sunshine. Most of the cattle from the western pasture had made their way over to join them. Steers 227, 228, 230, 270, 271, and 1640, however, remained where they were and settled down in the western pasture. Older steer 35 spent a good while at the completely bone-dry stream, obviously expecting to find drinking water there as usual. After a while, he emerged and settled down by the path.

I said my goodbyes at 12:20, leaving them all peacefully resting. Youngster 220 had settled down under a tree in the central thicket and was peacefully chewing his cud.

The cattle were all good today.

Tuesday 13th October - All 25 seen

At 16:05 this afternoon, steers 33 and 197 were resting peacefully on the hillside near ///matter.snapper.folks, southwest of Horse Pond. Cow 1396 and steer 1640 were grazing contentedly nearby, but both stopped to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes. While I spent some time with steer 197, steer 33 got to his feet and wandered over to join us, happy to stand close and chew his cud. All four were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At 16:20, cows 212 and 940, along with steers 210, 219, 222, and 227, were spread out grazing near ///gratitude.says.payer, about 230 metres to the northeast. Youngster 222 spotted me approaching and came straight over for a lengthy neck and back scratch. He had clearly been in Horse Pond shortly before, as he was still soaking wet. The others took turns coming over for strokes before returning to their grazing. They all seemed happy and healthy. After saying my goodbyes, cow 212 and steer 222 walked southeast alongside me to the next group of cattle, with youngster 219 trailing quite a distance behind. He frequently mooed to let me know he was following.

By 16:55, steers 20, 21, 30, 35, and 270, along with cows 72 and 211, were well spread out grazing in the pasture near ///lodge.ready.laughs, enjoying the last of the sunshine. Youngster 230 was a little further east, munching on sweet chestnuts beneath the tree near ///mows.labels.gradually, while Sussex steer 1626 was grazing deep in the gorse bushes in the pasture to the south, on the far side of the path. They were all friendly, wandering over to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs before returning to their grazing. The nine were all happy, relaxed, and in good condition. As I was leaving, steer 210 also arrived to join the group.

At 17:30, cow 214 and steer 228 were peacefully grazing in the pasture near ///steam.glue.tells, close to the main path. Cow 234 was grazing on the grass alongside the path, while youngster 220 was enjoying plenty of heather beyond the gorse bushes on the far side. Steer 227 and cow 940 had joined them too. The girls both enjoyed lengthy back scratches before crossing the path to graze some more.

Finally, at 18:00, steers 219 and 271 were grazing among the heather and gorse in the pasture near ///brew.shows.truck, south of the Lookout. They both seemed a little surprised to see me, but took turns coming over to say hello. Both seemed perfectly happy. Although they weren’t far from the rest of the herd, they seemed happy to carry on exploring by themselves. After I said my goodbyes at 18:15, they wandered off the other way, heading into the gorse bushes to the west.

The cattle were all good today.