Hi there ,its been a very difficult, anxious time the last 2 months.Its that time of year when we are getting calves ready for the sales . We sell most of our calves as " busk calves" which means we sell them straight off of their mothers.2 months before the sale we creep feed them , this is a big metal feeder that the calves can get in and the mothers cant. The calves get sugar beet & protein nuts which gives their coats a nice bloom & gets their hindquarters looking large & rounded which the busk calf buyers like.
Thats the easy bit , before we can sell the calves we have to T.B. TEST them,we have never had T.B.before, to our shock we had 2 reactors.Movement restrictions have been placed on the farm & a slaughter man came on farm & put down the 2 calves. Very upsetting to witness what you have worked so hard for.
Since.the whole herd has been tested, 2 cows have tested as reactors(1 has a young calve).
We have to retest in 60 days , we are crossing more than our fingers!