Saturday 10th May - All 4 seen

The yearlings were happily grazing in the pasture near ///gong.flap.drives at 15:00 this afternoon. They were enjoying a good mix of fresh grass, heather, and leaves from the silver birch trees in the warm sunshine. Despite the pleasant breeze, there were still many flies around, but they weren't causing the boys too many problems.

The yearlings were all very friendly, coming over one by one to say hello and enjoy some strokes. Yearlings 276 and 282 were especially affectionate, both relishing long neck and back rubs, and rewarding me with gentle head rubs and licks. The group gradually grazed their way northwest, almost reaching the tank pits before turning and heading back the way they'd come. They would regularly return for more strokes and rubs, which also gave them a bit of welcome relief from the flies. They were all happy, relaxed, and looking well.

By 16:30, they'd moved out of the warm sunshine and into the shade, settling under a large tree near ///cuddling.save.perky. Yearling 282 continued to enjoy strokes and rubs, despite yearling 283 lying down right beside him. Yearling 276 was the last to wander over, coming straight to see me for more strokes and rubs, while contentedly chewing his cud. Around 17:00, he lay down right in front of me, continuing to enjoy a gentle back scratch. I said my goodbyes around ten minutes later, leaving them all resting peacefully in the shade.

It was lovely to spend some quiet, relaxing time with the yearlings this afternoon. They’re all looking really well and continuing to put on condition. I did notice that yearling 282 has some thinning of the hair on both sides of his neck, and all four yearlings have rough white patches under their chins, possibly where the base units of their collars have been rubbing.

The water trough was full but had quite a bit of algae and leaves floating on the surface, so I gave it a good clean.

The cows were all good today.