South devon cattle

Cowslip

Member
Mixed Farmer
Just trying to do my bit for the breed.
The South Devon cattle sale is in Exeter livestock Market tomorrow show at 9am sale at 12noon. Sale is available on marteye and live bidding. We use the cows for sucklers, dome kept pedigree and others are crossed with saler and limousin below are some photos from my herd. They make excellent suckler cows for crossing with any bull.
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South devon cow with 1 week old lim x calf
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pure South devon heifer calf also polled
IMG-20220402-WA0002.jpg
very quiet easily managed cows.
IMG-20220306-WA0000.jpg
saler x South devon with limousin calf at foot
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
Remains a genuine mystery to me.
I wouldn't think to keep ought else on the better ground, due to centuries of culture.
But just on their own merits...live out, live cheap and easily, rear soddin great calves without effort.
Flipside, they'll respond to pretty much any level of additional inputs -if thats your bag.

Youngstock through the ring yesterday in Tavistock stood pretty much £ for £ against the conti's

Best kept secret in UK beef
 

Optimus

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North of Perth
Remains a genuine mystery to me.
I wouldn't think to keep ought else on the better ground, due to centuries of culture.
But just on their own merits...live out, live cheap and easily, rear soddin great calves without effort.
Flipside, they'll respond to pretty much any level of additional inputs -if thats your bag.

Youngstock through the ring yesterday in Tavistock stood pretty much £ for £ against the conti's

Best kept secret in UK beef
Estate next door to us used to keep some.along with Shorthorn and sims.cracking cattle,the mix of all 3 left some fantastic breeding cattle.
 

Cowslip

Member
Mixed Farmer
The breed really needs marketing more for its attributes especially in a commercial way. I think too much emphasis has been on the pedigree side for too long which is why they lost popularity. With feed prices as they are I think its about time the breed society concentrate on the commercial side of these cows for producing good size calves, can cross with any breed milk well and can multi suckle, calves can be weaned off grass the same weights and size as creep fed calves. I'm willing to show anybody around my herd, and am planning an open day latter in the year to promote them.
 

le bon paysan

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Limousin, France
The breed really needs marketing more for its attributes especially in a commercial way. I think too much emphasis has been on the pedigree side for too long which is why they lost popularity. With feed prices as they are I think its about time the breed society concentrate on the commercial side of these cows for producing good size calves, can cross with any breed milk well and can multi suckle, calves can be weaned off grass the same weights and size as creep fed calves. I'm willing to show anybody around my herd, and am planning an open day latter in the year to promote them.
Was banging that drum 20yrs ago about commercial cattle.
Or was told at a SD 'show' day, don't mix with the commercial men.
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
Nice cattle, I have considered using them to mix in with polled Simmental genetics.
Are there many polled SD's? I mainly try to avoid horns.
plenty of polled lines.
There used - arguably- be a bit of a penalty due to selection criteria chasing poll.
but there isn't much difference now.

I could keep you one back if you're not bothered about pedigree.
(herd is a LOT older than pedigree herd book, but unregistered.)
 
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egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
Quite a few bulls not sold and all the heifers were not sold which is a real shame
I don't follow ped SD sales very closely....
but in the Belted Galloways there's an assumption amongst those....er....er....'not keeping commercial scale herds', that every heifer - and god forbid nearly every bull calf- will be a 'keeper'.
In reality, a stable breed would mean 75% of heifers born being fattened straight off.
And unless there's an external market for bulls, 95% plus.

It's likely not as prevalent in SDs, but it's a thing nonetheless. (sorry, different thread @Cowslip)
 

JP1

Member
Livestock Farmer
I don't follow ped SD sales very closely....
but in the Belted Galloways there's an assumption amongst those....er....er....'not keeping commercial scale herds', that every heifer - and god forbid nearly every bull calf- will be a 'keeper'.
In reality, a stable breed would mean 75% of heifers born being fattened straight off.
And unless there's an external market for bulls, 95% plus.

It's likely not as prevalent in SDs, but it's a thing nonetheless. (sorry, different thread @Cowslip)
Is that where all the conical teats come from ?
 

Cowslip

Member
Mixed Farmer
I don't follow ped SD sales very closely....
but in the Belted Galloways there's an assumption amongst those....er....er....'not keeping commercial scale herds', that every heifer - and god forbid nearly every bull calf- will be a 'keeper'.
In reality, a stable breed would mean 75% of heifers born being fattened straight off.
And unless there's an external market for bulls, 95% plus.

It's likely not as prevalent in SDs, but it's a thing nonetheless. (sorry, different thread @Cowslip)
No I agree with you, unless a bull calf is born completely unaided, fed on its own dam consistently calving in first 3 weeks of a 9week ran with bull, never touched feet it gets a rubber ring. Then when the bull calves are weaned their jaw line, legs and feet placement etc are carefully scrutinised. Anything I don't like gets castrated so there is no way a bull bred here not upto my exact standards can end up in someone's herd.
 

Cowslip

Member
Mixed Farmer
I use SD cross steers as commercial fat cattle,do the same job as a continental but cheaper to buy and quieter,nothing not to like.
I run two south devon bulls 1 is heterozygous polled the other is homozygous polled. I believe there were some polled ones not sold in the sale.
 

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