FARM DIARY
Goscombe Farm, Gundleton
2013 comes to an end and for the third time
in 12 months I have to refer to the saying ‘It
comes in three’s’. As you may recall I have
three Charolais bulls, but unfortunately my
handsome ‘George’ and gentle giant ‘Dickie’
within a few weeks of each other had
damaged their manhood. Their sole aim in
life was to produce as many offspring as
possible without any responsibility for their
upbringing, basically love them and leave
them, a job that may be envied by some
males! But not their fate I am sure and as
they were no longer able to carry out their
manly duties there was only one place for
them to go. Once the vet had certificated
them as ‘No longer fit for purpose’ and with
the insurance company authorizing their
disposal, they went to bull heaven, all rather
sad and upsetting as both were still relatively
young.
A positive side? For the first time I had
insured all three of my bulls, although Hubby
questioned whether the high premium was
worth the investment. But when you are
talking £3,000 replacement costs for each
bull, I felt the additional cost was necessary
and it proved to be a wise decision. I could
not have anticipated losing two breeding
bulls within a year let alone a month.
Around the same time, Fitzy, the youngest of
the three bulls became poorly, losing
condition and passing blood in his dung plus
loss of his mojo. My vet diagnosed an RDA,
Right Displaced Abdomen. Basically his
12
abdomen had filled with gas causing it to
displace. Had it twisted as well he would
have been doomed, similar to colic in
horses; although it can be common in dairy
cows it is extremely rare in bulls. So a
course of treatment was prescribed and he
was given a 50/50 chance of recovery, I felt
rather embarrassed phoning the insurance
company for the third time conveying the
vet’s diagnosis. Thankfully, Fitzy responded
to the treatment very quickly and has began
to gain weight with his mojo returned; he is
now enjoying being back to work!
As my herd is all-year-round calving, several
cows came into season and with no working
bulls I phoned the next best thing, the AI
(artificial Insemination) man from Genus. On
arrival he opened his van door to reveal
giant liquid nitrogen flasks containing a large
selection of bull semen. Having already
selected a bull from their catalogue and with
the cow at her most receptive, the AI man
did his duty and so far five cows have
successfully inseminated with a Limousine
bull, so there will be a few black calves,
hopefully at least one with show potential
amongst the usual Charolais
coloured
calves next summer. The cost to have the
Genus man come to the farm and AI the cow
on a natural service starts from £30. This
cost varies depending on the bull used: for
example my bull ‘Fitzy’ was an AI calf and
his father ‘Goldies Champion’ was the musthave bull at the time and his straws were
£75 each, serious investment.