Highland Calves

27/06/2022

25/06/2022

24/06/2022

"For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills."- Psalm 50

We are very blessed to have the cattle on our little hill.

24/06/2022

"Let's goooo mooommm..."

What are your weekend plans? Were are you headed?

24/06/2022

Otis just left for his new farm in Delaware. We are so happy that he'll have a pasture, and eventually a group of ladies for himself. We're also feeling a little sad because we're going to miss this sweet, gentle boy! He's moooooving on!

24/06/2022

The older Otis gets the more we debate keeping him as a backup herd sire. He is non-chrondro, yet his stature is very tiny and well proportioned. He also has a super sweet temperament, while still having a healthy respect for humans. Basically, he's pretty awesome!! So if you've been eyeing Otis, you better scoop him up before we decide to keep him.

24/06/2022

Best Friends Callie & Samantha!

24/06/2022

When the boys are acting up, all the girls come out to see what the big fuss is about!

24/06/2022

Claire introducing Abby to the rest of the fold. First up, Ada Jane! Claire is an incredible mother. It is simply fascinating to watch her protect her, and always know exactly where she is, or who is around her. Truthfully, this is just the nature of Highland cattle.

24/06/2022

We have a waited a long time, had lots of disappointments, and some days felt discouraged. But, we clinged to the fact that God put us here for a reason and he would work everything out in his timing, not ours! Yesterday, we saw a glimpse of his hope shining through in the face of this little calf.

We are so excited to announce Claire had a beautiful 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 GIRL! This 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 beauty needs a name though, so comment with your favorite "A" names and we will pick one in the coming days.

24/06/2022

Without highlands our wallet would be full, our house would be clean, but our hearts would be a lot more empty. We welcomed poppy to our herd almost a week ago. She's a beautiful 100% highland, with a super sweet temperament, and good genetics. We are looking forward to watching her grow on the farm

24/06/2022

Otis is really enjoying grazing in the fields with his buddies. He loves it here, but knows this isn't his forever farm. Contact us if you feel your farm might be.

24/06/2022

Continued halter training with Otis. He is beginning to drink from the water trough, starting to eat a bit of grain and graze in the fields more. He also enjoys cattle cubes as a special treat. He is still intact and would make an excellent herd bull for the right farm.

24/06/2022

We have six different fields that we use for rotational grazing. On the weekends we rotate each section of cows to a new field, we clean out each of the barns, lay down new bedding and then spread the manure over a field to help fertilize the soil for the next rotation.

Rotational grazing allows cows to get the nutrients they need and maintains the health of the grass and soil over the long term, all while keeping carbon in the ground instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. With a rotational grazing system, there’s less need to feed cows grain or artificially fertilize the grass. Having rotational fields is more cost effective for the farmer, great for animal health, and important for soil recovery.

24/06/2022

A beautiful subtle rainbow over the farm. A gentle but bold of God's promises to us. We wish you a beautiful and gracious week.

24/06/2022

Today is National Cow Appreciation Day! Dairy cows and beef cattle produce essential foods that a lot of us eat daily. But what about cows being raised for a different purpose?

We have a lot more in common with cows than we think. According to a 2009 study in the journal "Science," we share 80% of our DNA with cows. Cows have also been known to form friendships and familial ties, as humans do. Like humans, cows also show extreme excitement after being let out into an open field, after long periods of time indoors. Cows also complain loudly when asked to wear a mask or stay 6 feet apart. We think cows are pretty amazing... 'cow' about you?

24/06/2022

Do your kids a favor. Regardless if you live in a city, or on a farm don't be afraid to demand they be responsible and capable of work. They feel so much pride when they see the fruits of their labor, even if they don't always act like it.

24/06/2022

The Scottish Highland breed is known as a foraging cattle breed. They love a nice green lawn, but also enjoy cleaning up a brushy wooded area. The horns on the Highlands allow them to work through thick brush without injury. The summer shade of a forest combined with the variety of food, will put these furry friends in a great moooood. Just make sure they have access to good water.

24/06/2022

Otis is such a handsome bull. He is starting to fill out and is starting to look more stocky these days. Let's all take a minute and admire his gorgeous eye lashes! 😍

24/06/2022

Sweet Otis! This bull calf is beautiful, walks on a lead, and enjoys hanging out in the barn. He is currently 24" tall and weighs in at around 80lbs. We anticipate he will mature out around 42". He is currently a bottle baby and would be ready for a new homestead at any point.

24/06/2022

Tag a friend who would love this.

24/06/2022

"The quality of a father can be seen in the goals, dreams, and aspirations he sets not only for himself but for his family!"‐ Read Markham

Happy Father's Day to all of the Fathers and Father Figures!! Today we celebrate you! .

24/06/2022

It has rained here for almost a week straight. We've had a few hours with sunshine but mostly, non stop rain. 😏 Which means it's nearly impossible to get decent photos of the girls. They are looking like a hot mess!
This is Jasmine. Honestly, I wish we would have named her Velvet. She has a furry little nose, and ears that remind me of soft velvet! She is a beautiful and very docile 1 year old HiPark, and is 34" tall. She is a favorite from all of our farm visitors! We are excited to watch her grow and flourish as we know her future babies are going to be simply stunning and perfect for small homesteads! .

24/06/2022

Feeding time!!! Otis is pretty excited!

24/06/2022

Of all the things we've had in our SUV, I never thought a calf would be one of them. Welcome to farm life. 😆
This is Otis. He is two weeks old today! We got him from another farm who was bottle feeding him. His mom was a first time mom and abandoned him at birth. I don't understand how, his face is so adorable!! .

24/06/2022

Our yearling Rosemary coming up to check out what treats little Z has for her today. "It's okay, I have some for you too".

24/06/2022

It's breeding season around here. What does the bull say?!

24/06/2022

"Little" Ms. Sandy is still holding onto that baby, or babies. This girl is SO big she waddles when she walks, and spends her days relaxing in the tree lines or the barns. Last night we wondered if maybe she has twins in there. How fun would that be?! We believe the vet got her EDD wrong, which is common for this breed, so we're just praying over her nightly and letting nature take it's course.

24/06/2022

Welcome home! More photos to come in the next few days. These babies were ready to get off the trailer!

24/06/2022

Any guesses what's on this trailer, headed to us right now? .

24/06/2022

A look on the bright side this beautiful Wednesday morning. Cows make everyone happy, right?! We are still waiting on calves. This is like torture for us. 🤣

24/06/2022

Fun Fact Friday. Highland cattle weigh about 500lbs less than a standard cow. The miniature and micro miniature highlands can weigh even less. This means the Highland cows tread lightly, without destroying the ground for other wildlife species and plants. They are perfect for conservation grazing because they use their tongues to pull the grass so the vegetation is not left too short, and their dung fertilises the ground. Finally, they become pollinators when wildflower seeds that stick to their long fur are dropped off in other places. Highland cattle are wonderful for small hobby farms, kids in 4H or FFA, as well as helping you connected with nature!

24/06/2022

Samantha (in the front) and Callie. These girls are part of our breeding program for our micro minis. These heifers are both 100% highlands with extreme coats. Most of our other highlands have blown the majority of their coats already, but these two still have beautiful fluffy hair. They are also so sweet and remind me of little teddy bears. .

24/06/2022

"Is there something on my nose?"

24/06/2022

Some of the girls understand this social distancing thing more than others. 😆

24/06/2022

Cow watching is totally a thing. Kinda like bird watching, but with cows of course. 😆 Right now this is our favorite pastime, watching the cows graze and hoping to caught Sandy going into labor. Enjoy your lazy sunday friends!

24/06/2022

Just a little morning cow snuggle. ❤ Every morning we feed the small animals then make rounds on brushing the cows. Brushing them helps keep them docile, without being pushy. It also allows us to check for any signs of illness, injuries, and since we are starting to except calves very soon, signs of laboring. Sometimes the cows decide they aren't getting up and we can make our rounds right where they lay. 😆🥰

24/06/2022

Remember the zoomed in photo of the boys working on something in the field? This is the structure. It's about 80 percent done here. We've been moving the shed we had to each field as we rotated the animals. That was not something we wanted to continue doing. So, Ben put together some plans and got to work. We make one more identical to this one, then trim it out, and paint the bottom black to match. Then we will have a permanent shelter in all of the rotating fields! 🙌