Monday 17th July - ALL19 COWS MOVED TO GELVERT

Hi All, 

There will be some bracken spraying on Ceasers Camp over the coming weeks. So we've moved all 19 over to Gelvert. They walked very well, the new four British Whites choosing to keep together at the front of the heard. 

They will probably appreciate the wood of Gelvert more in these heavy showers we've been having! 

As always thank you so much for keeping an eye on them.

Grace 

Grazing Team

Sunday 16th July - All 19 seen

A mixed group of thirteen cows were standing under the trees in the area around ///tricky.clap.trades at 10:20 this morning.  They were all resting and chewing their cud.  The cows were all nice and relaxed despite the many flies that were annoying them.

I initially met the other six, cows 20, 21, 30, 35, 72 and 940, grazing in the area around ///mend.jeep.backed at 10.55.  They were munching on grass and leaves as they made their way to the birch trees at the side of Horse Pond.  Once they got under cover, there was a lot of scratching of their heads against the trees.  They soon started to relax and chew their cud.

I wandered back to the first group of cows again just before 11:25, and they were all lying down, relaxing and chewing their cud under the same trees as before, except cow 214 and youngster 270 who were still standing.  Cow 215 got up and wandered over to say hello and to get an ear rub.

The cows were all good today.

Saturday 15th July - All 19 seen

The cows were all in the same area, grazing in little groups down in the thicket at the Royal Pavilion end of site at 10:25 this morning.   Steers 227, 228 and 230 plus yearlings 270 and 271 were grazing around ///fetch.suffice.left.  Older steers 20 and 30 plus youngsters 219 and 220 were all eating leaves close by at ///full.quarrel.badly.

Cows 33, 35, 72 and 940 plus yearling 222 were grazing around ///office.aims.doors.  Older steer 21 and youngster 217 were grazing in the trees to the south of them.

Cows 214, 215 and 234 were happily grazing around ///thick.crisp.ever at 10:55.   They had been joined by steers 227, 228, 270 and 271.

By 11:25 most of the cows had started to lie down, relax and chew their cud in the area around ///cope.rubble.fluid.  The wind was really beginning to blow.  Older cow 21 plus youngsters 217 and 222 were lying down under the cover of the trees to the east.   The four boys were still busy grazing.  

The cows were all good today.

Thursday 13th July - All 19 seen - 2-year anniversary of the youngsters arriving!

The cows were grazing in two groups at the Shell Garage end of the site this evening.  A mixed group of twelve were well spread out grazing amongst the trees and bushes around ///proves.rash.doing at 17.55.   They were all very relaxed and munching away happily.

The other seven, cows 21, 35, 72, 220, 227, 228 and 230, were also initially widely spread out in the area to the north of the first group.  They were grazing in ones and two's before they all came together in the area around ///testy.carbonate.digs at 18:35.  The cows happily grazed together as a group, slowly moving towards the path at ///hires.affirming.younger by 19:00.  They then went west and went further down into that part of the site, away from the first group.

As I was leaving the area at around 19:15, several cows from the first group had started to lie down and relax in the area around ///opts.oiled.lollipop.

It is two years to the day since the youngsters first arrived at the Ceasars and Gelvert reserves.  The six steers from the original eleven cows, Gimli (217), Gilbert (219), Gethin (220), Guiness (222), Gary (228) and Gums (230), remain on Caesar's.  The five girls left for new adventures on the Foxlease reserve.   It has been an amazing experience watching them grow up, and I hope that they will remain for many more years to come!  Under the photos of the six youngers tonight are a couple of photos of them shortly after arriving at site on the 13th July 2021.

The cows were all good this evening.

Wednesday 12th July - All 19 seen

The cows were all busy grazing in the area around ///gifts.dolly.locked at 17:55 this evening.  They were initially rather wet after a heavy rain shower, but quickly dried out in the warm sunshine.   The cows were well spread out in little groups of two or three, and were happily munching on long grass and various plants and leaves as they roamed about.

By about 18:20 some of the group, cows 215, 217, 219, 220, 227 and 270, had wandered through the thicket and the marshy land and had climbed up onto the area around ///worry.grub.swift where they continued to graze on patches of grass beside the path.  The others all continued to graze deep in the thicket.   They certainly seemed to be enjoying the variety of dinner in there and were in no rush to come out.

By 19:10 cows 33 and 940 had laid down and had started to relax and chew their cud around ///radiates.pinch.nicely.  It looked like several others were heading their direction and would be joining them soon.  A short while later, the group of six had been joined by cows 222, 234 and 271, and they continued to graze to the east of where they were initially eating.

The scratch on cow 215's lower neck area was not visible, so must have healed quickly.

The cows were all good this evening.

Tuesday 11th July - All 19 seen

All nineteen cows were together in the area around ///than.doted.purifier at 17.30 this evening.  A mixed group of eleven were all lying down together, relaxing and chewing their cud.  Cows 215, 220 and 228 were lying down a little to the west of the main group.  Older steers 20, 30 and 35 were lying down, lined up in a row a little to the east of the main group close to the path.

Older steer 21 and youngster 217 wandered off in a north-east direction to the end of the path and had a drink from some puddles.  They circled back around, grazing in the thicket as they returned to the group.   Youngster 217 lay down and tried to hide in some bracken very close to the main group.   Older steer 21 lay down beside the other three steers.

Unfortunately, cow 215 was lying down and hadn't got up for a stretch by the time I left them at 18.10, so I wasn't able to check to see if her scratch was healing OK.  She was very relaxed and was happily resting and chewing her cud.

The cows were all good this evening.

Sunday 9th July - All 19 seen - Cow 215 has a scratch on her lower neck area

A mixed group of six older cows and four youngsters were lying down resting and chewing their cud on their favourite Sandy Hill corner at 11:30 this morning.  Youngster 230 was sat on the opposite site of the path to the others and was having a little snooze.  The others were all happy and very relaxed.

After about ten minutes, yearling 271 came wandering along from the Hungry Hill direction, mooing as he came.  He wandered into the middle of the resting group, got a few head shakes telling him not to sit down next to some of his herd mates, before he found a nice spot and lay down.

The other eight, cows 33, 219, 228, 270, 214, 215, 227 and 234, were found amongst some trees and bushes around ///bids.shrub.minds on Hungry Hill at 11:55.  Steer 227 and cow 234 were initially lying down beside each other, relaxing and chewing their cud, before cow 33 decided to move them on for no reason.  The others were standing, chewing their cud.  After a short while, cow 214 went and lay down in a bush slightly away from the others, while steer 227 began grazing in the surrounding area.  I noticed that cow 215 had a bit of a scratch on the left-hand side of her lower neck area (photo below).  It didn't appear to be causing her any issues, though.  The cows remained in the bushes until 12:20 when they started wandering along to meet the others.

The cows were all good today.