Oxen housing

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  • December 9, 2009 at 10:01 pm #41157
    Rod
    Participant

    Wondering what folks in the north country are using for dairy breed housing for their ox teams? My Lowline Angus disdain the cold but my oxen are not as well equipped for cold temperatures and I have them in a three sided barn/run in shed type shelter. Also I turn them out in the day but would like to tie them in the shelter at night to control the manure and bedding requirements but hesitate because if I do their ability to move around to keep warm will be hindered.
    Any thoughts/practices you can share are appreciated.

    December 10, 2009 at 12:30 am #55935
    Tim Harrigan
    Participant

    Rod: As long as they can get out of the wind and have a dry place to lay down they do not need to move around to stay warm. Calves or small steers will lose heat faster than large animals. Mine have a three-sided run in shed facing south, prevailing winds from the west. There are times when it can be below zero and if there is no wind they will be laying outside, covered with frost, rather than inside. They like the run-in shed though, I keep it clean and bedded with waste hay that I pick up from around the round bale feeder. Bottom line, if they are clean, dry, out of the wind, have feed and water, cold alone is not an issue.

    December 10, 2009 at 12:29 pm #55937
    Nat(wasIxy)
    Participant

    What tim said!

    December 10, 2009 at 11:05 pm #55934
    bivol
    Participant

    well said!

    also, wherever they’re in, it musn’t be damp. air circulation is vital for health.

    December 11, 2009 at 2:31 am #55936
    Tim Harrigan
    Participant

    Yes, Bivol, ventilation with fresh air is critical. I would rather tie a pair of calves outside under a tree than keep them closed up in a barn with no air exchange. Closed barns have killed more calves than cold weather ever has.

    December 11, 2009 at 1:52 pm #55932
    Rod
    Participant

    I tied them last night and it worked great. The stall is just wide enough and my ties are such that the must either stand or lie down parallel to each other. This morning I found a neat row of manure which was easy to pick up and put on the pile and except for that one small area the rest my bedding is nice and clean.
    My stall has a dirt floor which I cover with some mulch hay and shaving. The dirt absorbs the urine and the hay makes picking the cow
    pies up easy. The stall is open to the east and has three double walls and a ceiling. At the end is a raised 2′ feed area with a salt/mineral box in the middle. The oxen are tied to vertical pipes with a chain and rings which allows the chain to move up and down at will. Round bale hay is fed outside in a feeder where the cows spend the day.
    I plan to install some pulleys in the ceiling so I can suspend the yoke over this tie up area. That’s today’s job.

    December 14, 2009 at 1:32 pm #55933
    Vicki
    Participant

    Sounds like a good set-up, Rod.

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