What breeds make the best oxen?

You’ll want to wear your sneakers if you have Jersey steers. I tried to raise a couple of pairs, but they are slow to grow big enough to perform meaningful work, and they MOVE.

Holsteins are well mannered, and grow to working size quickly, although they get very big, 2500+ each, which may be too much for some, good in the woods.

Short horns are definitely a preferred breed. Not too big, but big enough, and not so dairy that the body type is excellent for working. They are in high demand in New England so I have yet the get any.

Currently I have Holstein x Normandy steers. They are a nice thick, short legged version of my old Holsteins. I’ll be surprised if they top 2000 a piece. The attitude is pretty good too.

You can make oxen out of any breed. I really depends on what you can get a hold of, and what you expect to do with them. I tried to mow hay with the Holsteins, but they were too slow. They were excellent for logging and plowing, or moving sleds, same speed loaded or empty. I often thought the Jerseys would make a quick little farm team, but they ended up as well behaved grass fed beef.

I can’t find it now, but I once saw a picture of a farmer, circa 1940, spreading manure with a Jersey hitched with a Morgan, moving right out.

Good luck, some Ox people are very specific about breed, and hopefully some one can chime in with other comments.

Carl

we had a pair of chianina’s for around the farm, later we trained a pair of highlands because we where working in the forest there a lot smalller easy to control in tight areas, but if thats all you have available out there is dairy breeds they will work out fine for you to.

Hello, You mentioned you used Highlands. I raise Highlands for beef and often wondered how they would do as oxen. How are they to work in the heat? When did you start training them?
Thanks

so far, I have had milking shorthorns, jerseys and american lineback cattle. overall my favorite breed has been the milking shorthorn. They are medium in size and temperament (not too sluggish but not too hyper either). i think they are pretty too.

i believe the roan color is more common in the beef shorthorn type than it is in the milking shorthorn but the beef shorthorns are often polled (no horns).
apparently there are some milking shorthorn breeders in new england that select for a high percentage of roan ones… Colonial williamsburg has a nice team of roan milking shorthorn oxen for sale at a reasonable price just now.

I have heard of oxen going for around $1.00 per pound which is a bit more than they would bring for meat. i guess all that training has to be worth something!

I have sold oxen for less than 20 cents a pound but the pair I have now I would not even consider less than 3 dollars a pound.

We have Senepol beef cattle on the ranch surrounding our farm, and my father in law owns eight cow/calf pairs in that herd. I am a complete newbie to the draft animal world and am wondering if the breed would work as oxen.

Senepol are a polled Bos Taurus cross of Senegalese longhorns (N’Dama) and Red Poll, developed in the Caribbean in the early 1900s. Senepol are selected for docile temperament, heat tolerance and low maintenance. Grown bulls can be over five feet at the shoulder and 1800+ lb. There has been some attempt at a Senestein – a Senepol/Holstein cross, to help the Holsteins tolerate our 85 degree year round weather in the Caribbean, but the local dairy business has mostly dissolved in the last few years.

The ranch here has always been a genetic breeding farm, not production, so I don’t know much of anything about steers. Will keep reading this forum, but wondered if anyone had feedback on this breed or other heat tolerant breeds, and any tips on judging how trainable an animal might be.