Friday 16 February 2018

The Ladies return to the farm


During the Winter months, the Devon Ruby Red cattle spend their time munching around the Dunes @Woolacombe.  It is nice to visit for a walk and see how they are.  

However, last week they were going back to the farm and although I didn't see them loaded up
the trailer was ready for them...







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11 comments:

Eileen H said...

That is very interesting Ann, I had no idea that cattle grazed in the Devon dunes. I was intrigued about the invisible fencing and I think I'm right in saying these are some sort of shock collars. I know they have to be contained and do a grand job on the vegetation. What an interesting read.

Shammickite said...

Lucky ladies, spending so much time by the seaside.

Christine said...

Nice photos!

ann @ studiohyde said...

They started putting the cows on the dunes last year, now this has been the second season of them. Hopefully they will help the plants and wildlife, but I don’t think we will see a difference for another year. Yes, they do have shock collars, and are trained to them at the farm, before they are down on the dunes. It works that when they approach the hidden ground wire, they hear a buzzing noise first, so in fact they avoid going further as they would have learned they get a quick zap. Not something to hurt but warn. I read last year an article about them being used on cattle in Epping Forest, and it has proved very successful, both the collars and the fact the land had been grazed.

ann @ studiohyde said...

They seem to enjoy it. We have walked close by and they either just look at us, or they wander off πŸ™‚

ann @ studiohyde said...

Thanks Christine!

ann @ studiohyde said...

πŸ™‚

Down by the sea said...

I was only a reading an article about this yesterday and I thought of you. It is lovely to see, such an unusual sight which will hopefully help with the dune management.

The Bunburyist said...

Do you know the name of the farm that owns the cattle? I am looking to do something similar on my farm!

ann @ studiohyde said...

Hi, sorry for delay in answering. It would be best to contact the National Trust, as they were involved in this scheme. The South West region. I think the NT were also involved with setting up a similar idea at Epping Forest, but not completely sure of that...I happened to see a program about it where the collars were used on cattle to great success.

ann @ studiohyde said...

It did look strange when we had been on the beach and there were cattle so near πŸ˜†