Saturday 30 August late afternoon

Crumple on her own I10, others I12, all grazing looked OK.

visited today at 1.30

sorry i havent been able to blog for a while ive just managed to get my computer fixed ,at great expense but i have been checking the cows and they have been fine. I saw them last night in l11 and today they are in exactly the same place,laying happily under the trees. Melody has lovely lately,she has been coming right over to me as if she wants a cuddle,so a little pat has to surfice. x

Well...they were definately challenging me this morning lol. Walked round for over an hour before I spotted Melody (being white was helpful) who was on her own at 9:20 in H7 just off the gate/path. I then spent another 10 mins before I found the others together at 9:30 coming out of the bracken on the edge of F6. All 4 had heads down eating the grass.  All looked fine apart from they looked a little damp with all the rain we had but no issues that I could see.

Tuesday 26 August 1pm

All L7 Melody standing, others sitting.  The rain had finally stopped, was pouring earlier when I failed to find them.  Looked fine.

All together in L9 at 8:30 this morning.  Heads down eating grass, didn't even bother to look up at us when i said hello lol. All looked good.

All in H12 at 7:50am, eating the grass at the side of the road/track.  Got so close I could have touched them (don't worry Elliot, I didn't lol).  All looked great, no flies although it was a little chilly this morning, I expect thats why.  I didn't see any problems with eyes either.

Cattle found and gates upgraded

Hello all, The four girls were all relaxing out on the open heather heath which was lovely to see as the sun was setting. They were all good and their eyes were nice and clear. I made some repairs to the gate down near to the trough. It should help it close a bit better and latch properly. I then replaced the broken sign on the gate next to the cattle grid in the car park and also adjusted the gate so this also latches properly now. Nice to see the site again....I miss getting out there as much as I used too! Elliott

11:15am I eventually found the girls, Melody on her own in K4 head down chewing away.  I didn't get chance to see her eye although having seen it a little weepy over the last couple of days which also didn't appear to be bothering her, I was not too concerned. The others were all together in J3, Morag was just standing looking around.  Crumple standing, chewing the cud and Jericho was sitting.  There were so many flies on her face and especially around her left eye again, she seemed really bothered by them today.

Tuesday 19 August 8:30am

Crumple and Jericho in the bracken G6, Melody and Morag near gate F7.  The bracken is eye level, I nearly missed them.  Melody was helpfully eating stinging nettles on the outside of the fenced area, so I got a good look at her eye, looked OK but there is still a trace of tear mark down her cheek.  (It is amazing the way they carefully thread their heads through the barbed wire.)

Sunday 17 August 5pm

All sitting close together L12.  Melody's left eye running again but not worse than it was before, also I noticed Jericho's lump.

visited today at 3pm

all the girls standing under a tree all bunched together shoving one another in d15,seeming to be trying to stay dry,melodys eye didnt seem to bad and the little lump on jerichos back seems to have gone. All good xx

Having said I would not be going to Bramshot Heath this week, I did today.  At approx 15:10 we spotted Morag on her own in D15, head down eating the grass.  She appeared to move slowly but all looked ok with her movement.   The others were walking along eating grass now and again in H12, some way infront of Morag. All looked fine though.

Monday 12th August - Site Check (Late Post)

Did a site check of Bramshot Heath today and found the four girls grazing in the centre of the heath. They were all looking very well.

I have re-tied the self closer in the gate nearest the trough but will revisit it later this week to make another more permanent repair.

A few small branches had come down on the fence in a couple of places so I removed them and made sure the fences were all in good order.

visited yesterday at 6pm

all the girls happily chewing away in the center of the heath out in the open,melodys eye looked dry today, xx

All in I6 this morning at 10:30 amongst the tall fir trees. I didn't get a close up as it was pouring down! But at least they appeared ok from a distance.

Saturday

All in L9 at 14:25, Melody on her own one side of the track with he others all sitting the other side under the big Oak trees keeping out of the sun.  All were chewing the cud and looking quite happy. Didn't notice any issues.

visited today @12noon

all the girls were laying down peacefully in l3/4.

At 8:25am, we found the girls quite spread out (unusual) but anyway, Crumple on her own eating grass in I4, Morag on her own on the path in K4 eating grass & looking around. Jericho & Melody together deep in the woods in J3. I managed to get close to them (eventually)!  Jericho did have lots of flies on her back but were not bothering her & Melody's right eye looked ok with just some watery streaks underneath & no flies. No other issues from what I could see today.

Watering eyes update.

Just to let you all know that I had a message from the Grazier this morning: the fluid loss from the eyes is usual for this time of year and the flies are naturally drawn to it.

So for now it's nothing to worry about too much but if you do see any of the symptoms worsening then please do keep us informed.


Thanks

Rich.

Tuesday 5 August 8am

Melody and Jericho grazing.  Melody's eyes look OK this morning, not sure if she had just wiped them or there has been treatment.  Morag was licking the underside of Crumple, I can't imagine what it would be like to have all that hair in your mouth, but maybe it is not unlike eating grass.  All in L8.
NB. I am away next week.

Eyes reported to grazier

I went to Bramshot at lunchtime and checked on Melody's eyes and agree that they do look rather tear-stained. I reported back to the office and Guy gave the grazier a call to let her know. The others all looked comfortable and curious. I also put out some Looker posters and mended the self-closure on the gate which had been cut or had snapped(?).

visited today @5.30.

All the girls were happily munching away in o3/4.Jericho was scratching her self on low trees very cute. I am still worried about melodys eye as there is a large wet area down the right side of her face,altho when i saw her on saturday it didnt seem so bad but now it is worse again.I didnt call the office because it didnt seem like an emergancy and i know i moaned a bit about communication but only because i have had quite a few concerns and questions in the past that havent been answered. x

Catching up

Hello all, I am just catching up on what has been happeneing whilst I was on holiday last week. Having read your blogs I will find out tomorrow from the rest of theh go team whether anyone has read your blog on Friday about the eye. The blog is checked everyday but may have been done before you blogged in the afternoon. No one checks on weekends so this is the first time I expect it will have been read. Please could I ask that all future concerns about live stocks health or welfare be reported by phone to the office on 01256 381190. This is the best and quickest way to ensure that things like this are picked up. It will also enable us to react immediately if needed. As for Morag I recall a few weeks back hearing that Guy had spoken to the owner, Liz Miller, who said that her arthritis is getting worse which will explain why she is dragging her feet more and they are catching each other as she walks. Liz is aware of it and keeping an eye on her. She is one of Liz's special girls! Thanks all Elliott

The girls were in L9 at 9:55, sitting under the big oak tree, chewing the cud. All looked fine, they looked quite contented.

re thurs

oh and Morag is really dragging her very long hooves around lately,

visited thurs [yesterday @ 5pm]

All the girls were laying down having a snooze by the gate in c15.Jericho was covered in flys much more than the others but i was concerned about melody who had an extremely runny right eye,it had loads of flys on the stream that was all down her face.I would appreciate it if one of you guys who over look all this would just comment to show you have read my concerns as often there are no comments at all. x