Since the BSE scare in the 1990's and the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001 one of the buzz words of Defra (previously known as MAFF, when the F stood for Farming), has been "traceability". All cows, bulls, calves etc have a Passport with a unique Tag number. You have probably seen stock in the fields with big yellow earrings. Every time an animal moves off or onto a farm, it's movement has to be logged with BCMS (British Cattle Movement Service). In theory, they can tell where any individual animal is on any day. It is said that if the BCMS were in charge of immigration, there would be no one unaccounted for.
Some cows are just recognised by their Tag numbers, but some are more than numbers
. You may not know that cows have family trees just as we do. Some of the cows in our current Dairy herd can trace their family history at Strickley as far back as we can. The Strickley Herd are Pedigree Dairy Shorthorns, with all the cows registered with the Shorthorn Society (in Coates Herdbook). So as well as their Tag numbers, they have a pedigree name. The first part is the Herd Prefix (the herd where they were bred), followed by the family name and number. As the cows are the most important members of the herd, the name follows the female line. So Strickley Goldie's calf is also called Strickley Goldie, with a different number. Goldie 3 was born in 1931 and Goldie 185 in 2007.
. You may not know that cows have family trees just as we do. Some of the cows in our current Dairy herd can trace their family history at Strickley as far back as we can. The Strickley Herd are Pedigree Dairy Shorthorns, with all the cows registered with the Shorthorn Society (in Coates Herdbook). So as well as their Tag numbers, they have a pedigree name. The first part is the Herd Prefix (the herd where they were bred), followed by the family name and number. As the cows are the most important members of the herd, the name follows the female line. So Strickley Goldie's calf is also called Strickley Goldie, with a different number. Goldie 3 was born in 1931 and Goldie 185 in 2007. Bull calves are not always registered with the Shorthorn Society, but if we keep one for breeding we get the chance to find a new name. It usually reflects the dams name, and may be inf
luenced by the sire. This week one of our show winning cows, Strickley Pansy had a bull calf which we are thinking of keeping to breed from. The sire was a bull called Crusader. So what do you think we should call the calf? Answers on a postcard please! (Or a Blog comment). Remember, the name stays with it for the rest of its life - no changing by Deed Poll!
luenced by the sire. This week one of our show winning cows, Strickley Pansy had a bull calf which we are thinking of keeping to breed from. The sire was a bull called Crusader. So what do you think we should call the calf? Answers on a postcard please! (Or a Blog comment). Remember, the name stays with it for the rest of its life - no changing by Deed Poll!
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