Techniques for limiting feed to mature oxen

Turning the oxen out overnight is certainly feasible. As is small paddock sizes. If you are worried about turning them out on lush pasture in the spring, just give them a small paddock at a time, after feeding hay. If they are only on it for a day (or night) there isn’t much danger of them damaging the pasture from overgrazing (though if it’s wet they can plug it up quickly). In the fall, they are used to grass, so the lushness isn’t really an issue (in my opinion).
It is definately something to consider when buying a team, as some breeds are much more likely to “put on condition” than others.
One trick about limiting feed during the summer months is that it is going to make them really want to sneak some grass anytime you are trying to work them in the field. Muzzles can help, but it can be a real pain getting them to stand in a lush field if they are on short rations. A bit over a week ago I was trying to cart some wheat straw out of the field by myself, and I had to stop loading the cart every couple minutes to tell them to back up – I had undersown the wheat with clover, which at this point has well overgrown the stubble, is really lush and way too tempting. Eventually I quit and decided that I needed to leave that task for a time when I could have an assistant so someone could stand at their heads and keep their minds on the job. And they’re pastured with the milk cows and have more condition than they ought, so they certainly aren’t starving.
The best way to keep them from getting fat is to work them. It will really only be an issue if you are going to use them only occasionally, but want them to work hard on those occasions. If they get overweight, it just means that you will need to work up to difficult tasks, as they will be out of shape. If they are skinny but haven’t worked much, they aren’t necessarily going to be any more able to do serious work. Unless you’re going to be in pulling competitions at the fair (trying to be in a certain weight class), I wouldn’t worry about them putting on a few extra pounds during the summer in their old age.

On the cattle as tillage question, compaction is certainly a serious concern. It depends a bit on your soil type how big of an issue this is. Last fall and into the winter I fed our beef herd hay in a field section that I was planning on plowing this spring. We had some thaws turning it to mud, so there was some pretty serious compaction. I used a chisel plow on that section, as deep as I could with the tractor. With that loosening, we had a real nice crop of winter squash. I don’t think the squash would have done nearly as well if I hadn’t been able to loosen the soil up after the cows plugged it.
Cow plugged soil doesn’t seem to erode much here – with all the little holes to puddle in I think the water can’t work up much velocity. But we’ve got a heavy soil, which in the cattle yard is a pretty sticky muck – in a lighter soil erosion might be more of an issue than the compaction that I worry about.
-Tevis

Not sure what putting them out overnight would accomplish. I put bells on my daughters team and the neighbors asked me to take them off because they evidently walked around all night long, I would assume grazing.
In my opinion even the most nervous cattle breeds are still more even keeled then the average horse. If you are used to working with horses you should have a easy transition. I have always wanted ayrshires myself mostly because I like the way they look. When I had 4H oxen as a kid somebody had a mature pair they brought around to all the fairs and I always loved them. I just thought with my little kids always running around I shouldn’t get a breed known for being jumpy, maybe the next ones though.

I did keep a pair of herford/holsiens until they were 6, other then that I never had a pair above age 4. The smaller younger teams were better for the 4H stuff. I can say however that my teams are always well fed. Like you I want to do real work with them as soon as possible so I am hoping good pasture and high protein grain will make them bigger faster. My pasture is a mile from my barn so once they are out, they are out for the summer. Guys who are into pulling definitely limit feed to try and stay in the lowest weight class possible. Those oxen look like professional athletes with a very low fat percentage (then again they are athletes). I only grain mine in the winter, when the pasture looks good that’s all they get. Just work them hard and they will stay in shape. I know a guy that bought a 4000 pound team of shorthorns and got them done to 3200 in two months just by dragging a tractor tire around his field everyday. Not sure but he might have lost a couple pounds too.
I know very little about horses but if you hand me the reins I can drive better then somebody who has never had draft animals for sure. The demeanor of the teamster and the sound of your voice are the most important things if you ask me, and that should be the same.

I weighed in fifty pounds high one time and just brought my steers for a mile long jog, when I hit the scales a half hour later they were 100 pounds lighter. I hate buying a bag a week! Never mind a bag a day.

@mitchmaine 29378 wrote:

i remember thirty five years ago, one fella driving clear to michigan to buy a horse, gave $16,000. to match another horse so he could win a blue ribbon and the forty dollar premium that went with it. never made sense to me, but entertainment comes at a cost up here in the winter.

We all have our vices, some drink, some smoke or gamble, and some of us have draft animals.

Andy, I use movable polywire and give them a small piece of new pasture each day. Right now the grass is just kicking in so they get about 60 ft x 60 ft per day for about 5000-6000 lbs of steers. Other than that they have some lanes and sacrifice pasture that they have access to, but they keep it grazed down and they have to work for it. The polywire is nice because you can adjust paddock size daily based on how the grass is growing, and with this lush grass they do not need to be full to meet their nutrient requirements. I generally do not leave them in a big area for a few days if I can help it. If I do that they will eat in one day what I would give them in 3-4 days with small paddocks. And you are right, they don’t care for dry hay when they have been on lush pasture.

As far as timing, I advance the polywire in a line 30-60 feet wide, and I like to get them off it at the end so they do not have more than 10 days on an area from the start of the first paddock to the end. Generally, I like to leave 5-6 weeks regrowth before re-pasturing, but that floats because the growth rate changes quite a bit. Fast now, slow in July on, slower in June that May, depends on rainfall as well. Also depends on the nitrogen and fertility status of the crop. Now is a good time to let some go to hay, then pasture the regrowth probably starting in July.

So basically, with steers the age of yours, I would recommend feeding with pasture to satisfy their nutrient requirement and dry lot or sacrifice lot them for the rest of the day. If you just let the grass get old and rank it will get unpalatable and pretty much stop growing. I don’t like doing that, it does not seem like the best way to improve the pasture. A lot of it is just try some things and observe your pasture and see how it responds.