At 09:20 this morning, five of the Sussex cattle were resting and chewing their cud in the shade of the trees near ///firebird.nurse.love at the Shell garage end of the site, while steer 197 was grazing contentedly nearby. Steer 1626 had settled in a cool spot in the bushes on the far side of the path to the south. All of them were being bothered by numerous flies, but they were otherwise in good condition and not showing any signs of distress despite the already intense heat.
At 10:05, twelve members of the Caesar’s original herd were gathered at the Lookout. Most were resting under the trees, where a slight breeze was keeping them cool and helping to keep many of the flies away. Steers 20, 30, and 33, along with cow 214, preferred to rest out in the sunshine. They were all very friendly and happy to be approached for plenty of strokes, with several standing up for back scratches. A few also rolled over onto their sides while enjoying the attention.
Steer 220 had a small injury on his right disbudding site. It was red but not bleeding, and I suspect he may have been rubbing his head too hard against a tree to get rid of flies. He seems slightly irritated by it, with frequent head shakes, but he’s otherwise fine — moving normally, resting, and chewing his cud. I’ve made Chris at HIWWT aware, and we should keep a careful eye on him.
At 11:40, the remaining six steers were found in or around the cow shed. Older steer 35 and youngster 227 were resting under the trees just outside the shed. Youngster 270 soon came out to greet me and enjoy some scratches. Youngsters 228 and 271 were relaxing and chewing their cud inside the shed. Older steer 21 had been grazing to the southwest but soon wandered over, said hello, then crossed the wooden bridge to stand under the shade of the trees to the north. All six were happy, relaxed, and in good condition. I said my goodbyes at 12:30, leaving them all resting peacefully.
With the exception of youngster 220, the cows were all good today.
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