With trying to build cow numbers over the last few years, I have not been as ruthless with my culling policy as I should have been, especially with my autumn-calving herd.

In this herd, I have been struggling to have enough replacement heifers coming forward, which means a lot of cows have got a second and third chance to prove themselves.

I have one cow, in particular, that springs to mind. She is now rearing her third calf and probably should never have made it this length.

As a heifer she was very stubborn and always very hard to get into the crush. Then, when she was in it, she would push forward under the cow in front or would keep backing back. But I hadn’t many heifers to choose from that year, so I kept her.

Then when she calved, she was very nervous and a bit on the wild side when approached. But she calved unassisted and the calf got up and sucked itself. She didn’t have a massive amount of milk and, in the end, reared a very average calf.

Chance

Numbers were still in short supply that year, so I decided to give her another chance.

Again, her antics continued in the crush, and it was completely impossible to get her drenched down the throat, but she held to artificial insemination (AI) and was kept for another year.

She calved unaided again last year and the calf sucked without any problems. The only real issue was that she was very protective of the calf. She wouldn’t let me near it for a couple of days.

I don’t like having these sorts of animals, but she worked away herself and I soon forgot about it. This calf turned out to be very average as well. I think that it was now becoming clear that she shouldn’t hang around for the long term.

I had made up my mind not to give her any more chances. But again, I was struggling to have enough cows. I culled a few cows with mastitis, plus others had lost calves, so I was running tight for numbers last winter. So, I talked myself into giving her one more go.

Again, there was no problem getting her into calf and, so it rolled on until another calving season. This year she again calved unaided and the calf sucked by itself.

Attack

But this autumn, with the severe weather, I had to do things slightly differently.

As soon as possible, after the cows calved, I moved them to slightly drier fields.

We got this cow out on to the lane but then the calf lay down. When my son, Samuel, and I tried to get the calf to stand up, she attacked us. We got away as she didn’t want to leave the calf.

Stupidly, we went back with sticks for another go.

We had no better luck this time as we had to run as hard as we could to get away. She actually followed us for about 50 yards.

That was enough of that, and we went and got the tractor. We put the machine in between her and the calf for long enough to get the calf into the scoop, and we stayed in the tractor while she followed us.

That day was enough to seal her fate and I’m not going to keep her after that.

She has settled down now and is rearing one of my best calves this year. When I watch the calf sucking now, I do get that small voice in my head telling me she is worth another chance, even yet.

Understand

After the whole experience, I can now fully understand why some farmers end up keeping some cows that they should not.

Your memory can be so short. It’s so easy to say that you’ll be careful and watch yourself when she calves the next time.

But when you’ve got a warning you should take it. This cow is finished here, and she will be going to the factory when she has the calf reared. I’m getting too old to be running away from cows.