Tex and Joe

So on Tim’s request I’ll post a little update about my boys Tex and Joe(Joseph in the Yoke so not to confuse them, sounds too much like whoa). They are growing like mad. The spring grass flush has been impressive this year on the ground that had chicken tractors over it last year, and everybody is loving the green stuff. I love feeding grass to cows they just eat it up. After raising milk goats for five years I am really starting to appreciate animals that graze more effectively. We also have more grass than we can stock right now so the getting it good for the boys. They get moved onto fresh grass every 12 hours right now. Lucky guys!

I still try to work them everyday but recently I have had to be on the tractor more often and have missed more workouts. I still make my living burning diesel, but maybe I can use less in the future as I incorporate draft animals into the farm. The boys haul the chicken feed and water for us and I having been using the stoneboat more to just burn off spring energy. I made a fun little sled from scrap redwood that I’ll have to post some pictures of later that they can also pull some loads of firewood on.

I still have them on halters and I have never let them off lead so far. I have a been working on them trusting me more. I have really come to see that my reaction to events can trigger reactions in them. If I get scared, frustrated, confused, or excited so do they. I guess I never thought about it before but they really do look up to me. I have started un hitching them and turning them around to unload water or feed. That way they can see what I am doing, and when there is another helper I can work on having them stand for longer with out bolting. They are definately progressing well and I can’t wait to work them more.

For me it is real nice change from listening to the drone of a tractor all day long to go and work the boys a little in the evening. It can actually change my mood and day around if it has been tiring and frustrating, which tractors always are. I am looking forward to the future and see many ways to incorporate them into the farm. Maybe y’all have some advice. Right now I farm about 10 acres a year, 8 in grain, and 2 in vegetables. We hay about 10 to 15 each summer and try to graze the rest of the 45 open acres we have. I feel like this a good sized farm for draft but how much would I need to cover the same amount of ground that I do right now with a tractor?

I chose oxen because I have no draft animal experience and they were available and cheap and the loss return was greater (beef). Is it possible to do this with oxen? I love working cattle but it seems to me more people farm with horses. I am hesitant to enter into the horse world but is it something I should consider if I want to do more of my farming with draft power? I just found out that my neighbor has a boat load of horse equipment and couple of older mares, 20 years or so, if I wanted to try a bit, but I really am drawn to oxen so I don’t know if I want to complicate things too much right now by learning all the horse stuff as well. Anyhow I would say things are going well on the farm and spring is keeping all of us busy. Happy farming!