We have had some new arrivals to the herd, including one rent-a-bull who will hopefully be performing his duties (breeding the 2 heifers Heya and Ruby) within the next six weeks, before we return him. Besides his nasty demeanor, he’s a beautiful Belted Galloway (in the middle, with the white belly). Another new addition is Bonus, a Belted Galloway mix, with the speckled face. Poor Bonus was very homesick when he first arrived, and mooed for a week straight. But he’s a big boy–1 year old–and has since adapted really well to the herd of mostly ladies.

Below is a more recent photo of Gogo-G, our calf who was born in June, and who is now a teenager. Frightening!

And here is a nice shot of Heya, the lovely mother of Gogo-G. She’s mellowed out a lot since having a calf, which is interesting. You can tell she’s healthy by her bright, shiny coat.

We also recently added a couple Jersey bull calves to the mix, named Baby and Bozo, who are so young they need to be bottle-fed. Baby, in particular (the lighter one Sam is trying to coax out of the barn), is a world-class cutie-pie. Both are just learning how to leave their little calf-barn and mingle.

We plan on raising the Jerseys as an experiment in taste and efficiency in various breeds. For those who don’t know, Jerseys are traditionally bred for milking, so they have a bony frame and don’t keep much meat on. Dairy farms routinely sell their bull calves a week or two after birth, as they’re superfluous in a dairy operation (except to encourage milk production). But Jersey meat is exceptionally good, so we figured why not adopt some males and raise them for two years, for meat.

So far, they have pretty distinct personalities. Baby is a baby, which is why we named him Baby. Bozo is more of a ruffian. But they love each other. Makenna, in particular, is a big fan of these two. They follow her around. They follow everyone around, actually.