Elvetham Heath village fete

Ranger Duke and apprentice ranger Will had a great time at the Elvetham Heath Village Fete at the weekend the virtual pond dipping game was really popular

Fleet Pond cattle

The cattle at Fleet Pond on Wood Lane Heath have been taken off to be put on Elvetham Heath, with 2 other cows, so don't be worried if you are walking past Wood Lane and can't see them! They will be replaced tomorrow with 2 others from the farm, so keep an eye out for our new arrivals.

Year 2 of the Grazing Trial

Hello all,

Firstly thank you for all your help and efforts last summer. There were a few hiccups with the trial but I feel the first year over all was a success.

We are now entering the second summer of grazing. You may have noticed that us rangers have put the electric fencing back up on to the heath. We were hoping to put the cattle on to the heath at the start of May but it will very much depend on the weather. At the moment it is too dry, the fire risk is too large and the heath has not really greened up enough for there to be enough food for the cattle to eat. If we get some rain over this coming weekend then I think we will try and get the cattle on sometime next week. The grazier is going to go up to the heath next week anyway and assess whether he thinks there is enough forage.

We are using the same grazier that we used last summer. There will be 4 Friesian steers on the Hart side of the heath and 6 on the Timpany Trust side.

We would still like people to use the blog to tell us when they have checked on the cattle and any little other bits of info such as wildlife sightings or problems. We have a new grazing trial ranger, Laura, who will be in contact shortly.

Lets hope we have another good year of grazing! And wish for rain this weekend. :)

The Cows have left

Hi guys

Just to make you all aware that the 6 Friesian cattle which were grazing the Timpany site have been completely removed from the Grazing Trial. There will be no cattle grazing on the Hart or Timpany site until spring 2011, either April or May.

All the fencing material (except for the wooden and metal posts) has been removed from the Hart site. I will be dismantling the Timpany fence this week.

Thanks for all your work and time volunteered, I hope to be returning as Grazing Ranger for next seasons grazing trial beginning mid April.

Regards

Craig

Moving cattle

Hi Craig,
I will come over on Monday to help.
Do you want me there at midday (? and where to meet) or will you text me when you get there?
Hilary

The Cows are leaving!

This coming Monday (4th October) the 6 Friesians on the Hart site will be taken off the heath as the grazing trial comes to an end for this year : ( . The plan is to herd them up into the corral on Monday afternoon and either

a) take them back to the graziers farm, or

b) move them up on to the Timpany site for a couple of weeks as long as issues with the grazing agreement are sorted by Monday.

Either way, it would be extremely useful if we could get a few extra bodies on the heath to help herd the cattle up the hill towards the corral (last time I believe Lynda and the grazier had a bit of a challenge herding the belted Galloways by themselves!).

If anyone is available Monday afternoon between 12:00 and 16:00 and wouldn't mind giving a hand, please let me know either on this blog, via text to the grazing phone or simply call me! The number is 07774263889 if you haven't already got it.

Cheers guys

Craig

Weekend 25/26th September

Cows checked and all fine.

It is planned that the cattle will be taken off a week Monday/Tuesday after speaking with the grazier. It seems the cows may be running out of palatable things to eat as the season comes to an end.

I will keep you updated

Craig

Cattle check - Friday 24 Sept.

Cows too busy to say hello to me as they were squabbling over a new salt lick, up near the corral. All look well.
Hilary

Weekend 18/19th September

Hi all,

Good weekend on Hazeley, the cattle have been fit and healthy. Three rectangular sheets of roofing felt have been placed on the slope next to the bottom field gate with the aim to improve the colony of silver studded blue butterfly for next summer. I placed them today and the cows were already kicking and moving them. If you do happen to see them from the path as a result of this, just reposition them slightly so they aren't so visible making them flat to the ground.

Cheers

Craig

Cattle check - Friday 17 Sept

Cows checked yesterday afternoon and this morning at 9am. All grazing on the small hill near the big gate at the bottom of the pasture. All look fit and well, and seem to be moving around the heath quite a lot.

Hilary

Cattle check - Monday 13 Sept.

Cows all look fit and well. This morning they were down by the boardwalk and by 3pm have moved over to the right of the path down from the tank ramp. They are certainly covering the ground.

Hilary

This week 6/9/10 - 12/9/10

Hi guys

All is well on the Hart site, the 6 friesens have been moving and eating well this week and weekend. They seem to be preferring the north/north-eastern area of the site most, and in particularly, in amongst the area of small birch trees found virtually in the centre of the grazing plot (make sure you have a good look in there if you can’t see them as they get right in amongst the birch and are very hard to see despite being black and white!).

As for the Timpany plot, every effort is being made to return cattle to the grazing plot before the end of the season (end of October) so fingers crossed legal and paperwork issues are resolved soon. I will let you know ASAP on this blog whether we get the go ahead or not.

Please keep up your great work watching the cattle and keep in touch.

Cheers

Craig

Cattle check - 2pm, Friday 10 Sept.

Cows at bottom of slope from tank rank. All look fit and well.

Hilary

Cattle Check: 3pm Thursday 9 Sept

Woke the cows from their afternoon siesta up by the corrall. All look fit and well, despite being made to get up!
Had a good look for sheep ticks as follows:
91,94,78 and 76 (Bullseye) all look clear to me.
95 (mini horn) has several small lumps, most of which I saw some time ago. 3 on his right eyelid and 2 on his right nostril. They all look like warts to me, but unfortunately he would not let me touch him (and the horns put me off attempting to grab him!) .
106(twiggy, who has now put on weight) has several new lumps, all of which I think are sheep ticks. 1 on top of right ear, 1 on right nostril and 2 on right side of neck.

As long as they have been vaccinated against lymes, there is probably nothing to worry about and I am sure the grazier is aware by now.

Hilary

I have had a good look at the cows and I'm fairly sure that the lumps are sheep ticks. The sort of vegetation at Hazeley would make their appearance fairly common, and they tend to get them around the head as they graze with their heads in the grass. The grazier should have had them vaccinated against lymes disease and other illnesses associated with ticks, but when he checks on them I'm sure he will let me know whether he thinks it is a problem. The ticks should just drop off when they are full, and the cows don't seem bothered by them.

Having said this I'm not 100% sure they are sheep ticks, so Hilary when your next down there could you have a quick look please?

Thanks, Leigh

Thanks Colin. I will check the cows today and see if I can make out what these lumps are.

Leigh

Cattle check - Sat 4th, 08:30

No sign of any Friday night parties. Cattle grazing and paddling on and just to the right of the middle path. Bull 30116 has a lot small round lumps on his face, as does 40099 to a lesser extent. 40099 also has some strange shaped lumps around his top left eyelid. Difficult to see whether or not these are ticks because, unlike the other bulls, these 2 wouldn't let me touch their faces.

Afraid I won't be able to make any checks for the next couple of weeks now.

Cattle check - Friday 2 Sept. 08:30

Cattle grazing happily across top of the path near the tank ramp.
Hilary

Cattle check - Thurs 2nd, 13.00

All happily grazing to the right of the tank winch entrance and looking fit and well.

The buzzards were very vocal!

Cattle check - Wednesday 1 Sept

Cattle checked at 3pm, all grazing contentedly by main slope down from tank ramp.
They seem to be making a good effort to eat as much grass as poss.
Hilary