Designed & Maintained by

Brettles South Devon Cattle

The Brettles herd is about 20 breeding cows and one stock bull Z Eyton Trusty 3, plus the calves and young stock.

Calving is planned for March / April with calves being weaned at housing in early November. With heavy soil that cuts up quickly the South Devons spend nearly 6 months indoors, sometimes not being turned out until the very end of April.

Cows graze on grass all summer and autumn and in the winter have only silage, interspersed with barley straw in increasing proportions as they approach calving. Hi Mag Rumevite blocks are available from January onwards. The aim is to use the South Devons ability to thrive on grass to keep costs to a minimum.

Young heifer calves, after weaning, are reared on ad lib silage with 2kg per day of bought in feed. Yearling heifers are fed on silage only unless they are being sparkled up for a forthcoming sale.

Bull calves are kept entire and finished as fast as possible on an ad-lib ration. Only the best are selected for sale as breeding bulls while the rest are finished at 12-13 months weighing 600 to 700 kilos. Growth rates of over 2kilos per day are regularly achieved.

The herd is committed to “Performance Recording”.
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The Brettles Herd has high health status and is a member of the BIOBEST scheme. Currently it is tested clear of IBR, BVD and Johnes disease.