The Rural Voice, 1993-12, Page 36Ceadrebrae Retreat
Farming exotic animals for profit -- and fun.
by Corinne Robertson -Brown
people often stop their cars
for a closer look when
they drive past Randy and
Chris Baker's farm on the
"B" line road north of
Kincardine. Placidly staring back at
curious travellers are several yak -
like creatures with long shaggy coats
and even longer horns.
These are Scottish Highland cattle,
part of thc collection of rather
unusual animals that the Bakers
raise on their farm, Ceadrebrae, near
thc Lake Huron shoreline, 10
minutes outside of Kincardine.
A visitor to the farm would find a
menagerie of exotic animals,
including two unusual breeds of
sheep: Jacobs sheep and Barbados
Black Belly. Randy, Chris, and
their three young children live on the
property along with their stock,
which includes a llama, Nubian
goats, geese, chickens, an Irish
Wolfhound, a Neapolitan Mastiff,
and a donkey named Buelah who is
the boss of them all. The animals
arc not merely curiosities, but are
there to turn a profit.
We walk down the hills until we
find the hcrd of Scottish Highland
Cattle, unquestionably the star
attraction of the farm. Today, they
arc grazing under the shade of the
trees. Randy has 18 in the herd,
including the calves. "They are beef
cattle, but can be used for milk as
well," he says. "They are really a
dual-purpose breed, but most seem
to be going for pets. They are
extremely hardy and easy to care
for. There is seldom ever any kind
of problem with them, which makes
it nice to raise them."
Randy belongs to the Scottish
Highland Cattle Society, which
publishes a list of breeders. "They
are rare, and not yet a commercially
successful breed. They are smaller,
take longer to mature, and don't gain
32 THE RURAL VOICE
as quickly. There is a fellow in
Quebec who markets the Highland
beef. The meat is a little lower in
cholesterol, a little leaner than
standard beef. I have tasted the
hamburger, and it was really good."
Randy has a bull calf who must
go this fall, and he is undecided
whether to keep him for his own
freezer or sell him at the exotic
animal sale in Markham. Usually he
only takes one or two bull calves a
year to the sale, since he is trying to
increase his herd.
"They are an ancient breed,
founded about 2000 years ago, and
one of the original world breeds of
cattle. These animals are true to the
original breed. One advantage to
that is that they can be kept outside,
because they are very hardy, and
winter out. They eat hay. I grow
some hay for them myself, but have
to buy some as well. They are very
easy to care for."
Highland cattle have about eight
registered colours, although Randy
finds that most herds are pre-
dominantly red. He has tried to get
some of the more unusual colours,
and has white, silver dun, and black
cattle among his herd.
Randy is aware of some herds of
the cattle living near London, some
north of Toronto, and a herd near
Paisley.
The cattle are shorter than
expected on seeing them
from the road. They
make up for their lack of
stature both in bulk, and
in the long, shaggy, silky -looking
coat. (This long hair sheds in the
spring, leaving a shorter coat
underneath.) Magnificent long
horns give the beasts an imposing
presence, although they are gentle
animals. Their horns begin to sprout
at about six months of age.
The calves don't let a stranger
approach too closely before they run
to the safety of their mothers.
Randy still has his first Highland, a
12 -year-old cow who allows him to
Scottish Highland cattle graze on the Bakers' farm in Bruce County.