Tuesday 25th August - All 25 seen - Steer 230 has an injury between his hind legs

At 16:15 this afternoon, the seven Sussex cattle, along with steers 33, 35, 219, and 228, were lying among the bracken on the slope west of Horse Pond, near ///folks.examine.sigh. They were all resting and chewing their cud in the sunshine, happy to be approached as I made my way around checking on them. Youngster 219 had buried himself in some dense gorse, but stood up to say hello before settling in for a long back scratch. Youngster 270 was resting in the heather at the top of the slope, enjoying the refreshing breeze as he relaxed. All twelve were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At 16:55, steers 20, 30, 230, and 271, along with cows 214 and 234, were all lying down together in the shade near ///grad.driven.beads. Cows 72 and 940 were resting a little further to the northeast on the far side of the track. While checking steer 230, I heard rustling in the bushes behind him and went around to find youngster 220 sitting in the middle of them, relaxing and chewing his cud. They were all friendly and happy to receive some attention. Cow 234 was quick to get to her feet for a neck and back scratch.

I noticed that steer 230 had an open gash on the soft pouch between his hind legs. It wasn’t bleeding and had already started to close up. I shared some close-up photos with Grace from the Grazing Team, who were reasonably happy with it, saying the heat and sun should help it close quickly. We will need to keep a careful eye on him, particularly once it scabs over, to make sure the wound doesn’t reopen. He was otherwise fine and looked very comfortable, and as I'd already had a good check of his wound, I left him to rest instead of trying to get him to his feet. The cattle had been fly sprayed yesterday, which explained why very few flies were being attracted to his wound. The other eight cattle were happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

Finally, at 17:35, steers 21, 222, and 227 were grazing among the gorse bushes further east near the fenced-off area, near ///sectors.spillage.rents. They were all very friendly and wandered down into an open area to greet me and receive plenty of strokes. Youngster 222 was especially friendly, thanking me with plenty of head rubs and a few licks. I said my goodbyes shortly after 18:00, leaving them all nibbling on gorse.

As I was leaving at 18:15, I met the seven Sussex cattle and youngster 219 grazing at the bottom of Sandy Hill near ///steer.basin.stung. Several came over to greet me again, offering gentle head rubs as I helped clear the flies from their faces. Youngster 219 was quick to come over and position himself for another back rub before I said my final goodbyes.

The cattle were all good today, apart from youngster 230's injury.