Tuesday 30th June - Staff Check and Collar Changes

All boys seen today 

Got them into the crush and changed collar batteries 

276 and 283 have had their horns trimmed. 

All looking really well. 

Monday 29th Boys in K5 10.45

 Boys deep in the bushes again. I could see 3 two black and white and Jet. Could hear the other one in the bushes.

We could not get through as one of the cows was sat on the passable bit! They looked happy in the cool shade

I am in Newcastle on Fri 3 & Sun 5 July & so will Be Unable to Check on the Cattle those Days

 I shall be back to do my regular days on Fri 10 and Sun 12.

Sunday 28 June 26. (09.00 - 09.20) All Four Cattle Seen near to the Trough in C10. All Well

 Jeans was grazing in the meadow, just outside the treeline in C10.   The other three were in the shade, not far from the trough.  All three were lying down, when I arrived, but then J'Adore, (276) stood up, but didn't go anywhere.  He and Jura were happy for neck scratches to alieviate the flies for a while.  Jeans and Jet, as usual were not bothered for any attention.

The trough was full of cool clear water.

It was nice to see them all after Friday's no-find !

 

Saturday 27th June - All 4 seen

Shortly before 14:00 this afternoon, the cattle were resting among the thicket about 85 metres south of the northernmost path, near ///best.surging.brilliant. Youngster 276 must have heard me approaching, as he appeared from the bushes to greet me and enjoy a neck scratch. I could hear the others moving around in the thicket behind him, and they soon emerged one by one to say hello and enjoy some strokes. There were many flies around, and the boys appreciated having them gently brushed away from their eyes. They were all very friendly, returning the affection with gentle head rubs or the occasional lick.

After a short while, we moved to a clearing slightly further north, where the boys gathered around me to relax and chew their cud. They took turns leaning in for long neck and back scratches. Youngster 276 was very keen to make sure he didn’t miss out, nudging his herd mates when he felt it was his turn! They clearly enjoyed the attention, particularly the back scratches. After a good while, youngsters 276 and 278 wandered out into the pasture to the west to graze on the long grass and heather, but perhaps found it a little too warm, as they soon returned. Youngsters 282 and 283 stayed with me, enjoying the extra fuss.

I said my goodbyes at 15:10, leaving them relaxing and chewing their cud. It was lovely to spend some quiet time with them today, and they appeared to enjoy the company. As I was navigating my way out through the trees and bushes, they moved back into the thicket, heading southwest towards their favourite duck pond.

The boys were all happy and relaxed, showing no obvious effects from the extreme heat over the past few days. They were all seen walking, grazing, and resting normally without any visible issues. I did feel they had lost a little condition, possibly because the hot weather has reduced the amount of time they have spent grazing in recent days. With temperatures expected to drop tomorrow, hopefully they will spend more time out grazing and begin to regain some of that condition.

Before leaving, I gave the water trough a good clean and left it topped up with water in case the boys decided to stop by for a drink later on.

The cows were all good today.

Fri 26 June 26 (12.00 - 13.00) I failed to Find/See ANY of the Cattle.

I parked my car in front of the Hawley Hard entrance gate.  As I crossed the cattle grid in J7, the NoFence app was showing the boys as being located in the trees in J5.  I made my way there via I6.   However, after entering J5 and checking the open and tree covered area, I was unable to fing any of the cattle.

I checked the NoFence again and notice that it had not updated, since I'd looked at it near the cattle grid and that was approximately 15 minutes earlier.  I continued to search the area and covered most if not all of K5 as well as large areas of K4, L5 and K6, but still no sign of the cattle.  I could not get the app to update at all, even after switching my phone off twice.

Apologies, I failed 😞😞😞 Although perhaps the App does not like to heat either.

Thursday 25th June - Not seen

8:00am This morning. The cows were in an inaccessible area. They were in the corner of i2 which looked very dense. I couldn’t see them from the path and I couldn’t see a way in through the bush & trees to get to them so I’m afraid I haven’t physically seen them.