Conservation calves in a field of their own
GUERNSEY'S newest additions to the Conservation Herd are celebrating their two-month birthdays and have moved onto the solid food and are enjoying the freedom of an entire field.
The herd of steers is used by La Societe Guernesiaise to naturally manage coastal land and encourage local plant species.
Most local male bovines are not kept by farmers, who focus on dairy cows, but Nine and Ten were saved to join the local herd.
They are now two months old and have grown to almost a metre tall.
The pair were kept in a calf hutch in a small enclosure until last Saturday, when they were given a field to run around in.
La Societe herd section leader Julia Henney said the calves were coming on nicely
'They've been growing really well and they've now been learning how to graze grass,' she said.
'When we let them out on Saturday, they started running around. They love it.
'When they were first let out, they were not sure what to do with themselves, but then they realised they were running on their food.'
However, there was another lesson they had to learn. Once they join the mature herd, the calves will be enclosed by an electric fence. Being let loose in the field was their first experience of electric fences.
'It was difficult, but they have to learn,' Miss Henney said.
While they are being kept in a private field, they are near a school and busy road. It is important they are used to people for when they are grazed on common land.
'They have got used to the traffic and when the school children are making a racket,' Miss Henney said.
The calves were initially hand-fed milk by bottle using bottles.
But now they have coarse mix and grass, as well as milk in a bucket.
They still have coats on at night, but during the day it is now warm enough for them to go without.
The rest of the herd is in a field near Perelle.
Miss Henney said animals were not bothered by the cold weather, and added that the dry weather was good for the animals.
It is hoped the new calves will be introduced to the herd in the late summer.
The steers are kept on a rolling basis, with two going to the abattoir each autumn to make way for two new calves. This helps raise funds to keep the herd going.
It is also why the animals are not given names.
n The calves are currently being kept in a private field at the moment, so cannot be visited without prior arrangement.
Anyone wanting to visit them calves should contact Miss Henney via the La Societe Conservation Herd Facebook page.
