Jacqueline P Vincent

A Shocking New Arrival

Yesterday evening, IG burst through the door in a flurry of excitement, cheeks flushed, boots still muddy.
“There’s a small black creature in the paddock with the cows—come quick!”

Well, that got our hearts racing. As we hurried to pull on jackets, our minds ran through every possible culprit. A predator? A male possum out far too early? They usually stick to nighttime raids and prefer eggs, not cows. A wild boar, perhaps? That would mean a broken fence and a very irate mother boar lurking somewhere nearby. Or maybe a stray dog from a neighbouring farm—never ideal, especially with the pregnant ewes recently moved in with the cattle.

With no time to waste (and no thought of taking anything defensive, because the animals’ safety came first), we charged up the hill. By the time we reached the paddock, the herd was calm, grazing peacefully in a loose circle around the two miniature white Highland cows.

Although, DG, a year old Hereford, of course, demanded neck scratches before allowing anyone to pass, and the resident ram tried his usual trick of butting his way into the action. Once those formalities were dealt with, they finally spotted the mysterious black creature.

A calf.
A tiny, dayold, black Highland calf.

Black?
But both parents are white. Not pale, not cream—officially white. (Though the photo doesn’t give they colour justice) It made no sense.

Rachael immediately whipped out her phone, and the clicking began. A hundred photos later, she turned to Google for answers.
“Okay, it says here…” she began, launching into an enthusiastic explanation involving recessive genes, colour throwbacks, and ancestral traits.

Somewhere around “dominant dilution factors,” my brain quietly clocked out. I’m still none the wiser as to how two white Highlands produced a calf as black as midnight from nose to tail.

But what I do know is this: he’s absolutely gorgeous.

And he won’t just be raised by his mum and dad. He’ll grow up surrounded by doting aunties, uncles, and the rest of the farm family who already adore him.

Another unexpected arrival on the Baby Animal Farm—and what a beauty he is.

I hope you enjoyed reading about the latest births at Elliott’s Farm in New Zealand and I’ve loved staying here and writing about every new arrival. Though if you love animals, especially horses, check out my books.