The new coos

Hamish the bull was lonely. He'd gotten to know us a bit, was happy to let us hand-feed him carrots, but he was a lone bovine in a big paddock and he needed company.

Two weeks ago, it arrived.

The story of how Hamish's new family finally got here is something of an epic in itself. Suffice it to say, it took four days to take the animals by road from their original home in Southland (bottom of the South Island) to Muntanui (near the top of the South Island) and one of the cows died in the process. I should stress that this wasn't the supplier's fault. There were three different transport companies involved and one of them messed up.

It was 9:30pm and pitch black when the truck eventually rolled up our driveway. Farmer Wan directed the driver to the appropriate paddock and, because we don't yet have a loading ramp, the animals either leapt (sheep) or lurched (cows) out accordingly.

We were now the proud owners of the following certified organic livestock:

• one cow and her steer calf plus one heifer calf, orphaned when her mother died in transit -- all Highland.
• 10 ewes and one ram -- all Wiltshire.

We introduced the new arrivals to Hamish the next day. We'd moved him into an adjoining paddock to make the unloading easier and I don't think he was aware they were even there. We lured him to the gate with carrots. His eyes almost fell out of his big, hairy head when they registered what was waiting in the next field. He ran. He frolicked. He frisked. Yep, that's right. He's a bull and he frisked. Ya don't see that every day.

We've named the cow Senga, the heifer calf Sonsie and the steer calf -- who's destined for the freezer -- Stew.
They've settled in well. Unlike Hamish, the newbies aren't very interested in making friends with us. They seem immune to the seductive allure of carrots. And last week, we got the first inkling that the honeymoon could be over for young Hamish and he might be craving some extra-marital excitement. He spent an entire day at the fence, bawling forlornly at a solitary cow in the neighbour's paddock over the road.

Posted by Farmer Nik