With the mild February, it seemed a shame to keep everything cooped up inside, so we fired two cows and calves outdoors to make the most of the grass in one of the more sheltered fields.

Of course, this didn’t last very long, with the cold snap arriving to put a halt to grazing. As the calves are still quite young – and with sleet and snow forecast – the decision was made to return them to the shed before we ended up with sickly calves.

However, the cows did not want to play ball; they decided they didn’t feel like going back indoors, so they planted their feet firmly on the wrong side of the gate. It’s not often we have to drive stock, as the magic bucket of feed usually entices them enough to follow. But this time, we had no choice but to herd them out the gate. While many people say Limousin cattle are headstrong, I’ve found any cow on the farm with Salers breeding to be twice as stubborn, and they seem to take exception to being thwarted. Consequently, the first thing one cow decided to do after being forced out of the field was to take off in the wrong direction with her calf in tow. Knowing well that chasing her was futile, all we could do was hold the more sensible cow on the road and wait for the Salers to turn back, which she thankfully did after realising the second cow wasn’t making the escape with her.

Out of curiosity, we borrowed a scales in order to weigh the two pedigree weanlings. As the bull is to be sold next month, it was also a good way to gauge what sort of price we’d have in mind for him. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bull weighed 582kg at 11.5 months and the heifer was 409kg at 10.5 months. Neither are being heavily fed, with just a small mixed bucket of a rolled oat nut (17% protein) being fed between them daily.

Present weather conditions seem to be causing issues across the country, with cows calving and sheep lambing all needing a bit of extra space. In hindsight, an extra bay being erected on any new shed would be beneficial to both man and beast. Even if it wasn’t used on an annual basis, it would provide a Plan B in case of adverse weather conditions. With four cows now overdue – and cranky cows at that, which can’t be moved from pen to pen – and a hormonal bull roaring at everything, we’re currently playing musical chairs with the stock every few days to try and find a workable solution.

True to form, as mentioned in last month’s bit of writing, the first calving cow in March decided to do it on the coldest night possible, with sleet and snow making the usual night treks to the shed a chilly prospect.

Thankfully, she must have skipped the bit where I mentioned needing a calving jack, as the calf popped out and was up and sucking in less than an hour. Exactly what you want to see when a hot cup of tea and warm bed is calling.

As we approach St Patrick’s Day, let’s hope that things improve and that the shamrock can be found above the snow before long. Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit.