[dominiquer60]

Carl,
Thank you for taking the time to snap some pictures, I can see what you mean now. This is indeed a nice yoke.

I am glad that the 7″ yoke that I am working on resembles your yoke more so than the others that I have on hand, and I am going largely off of the Tiller plans. My neck seats are wide and becoming deep so at least I am headed in a good direction. The belly of my yoke will not be as deep as yours, but I do have it so that I could add a block under the staple to lower the belly. My staple is one of Boytons and can slide either direction a little ways as needed.

I am feeling good about it now, but I will feel better when this yoke is done and in use, they are big enough for it already:)

I will still try to take some pics and figure out how to post them, it just may not be soon.

[dominiquer60]

In dairy judging lingo the hip bones are called the hooks and the protruding bones on either side of the tail are the pins. Here is a reference diagram, http://www.sites.ext.vt.edu/virtualfarm/dairy/dairy_cow.html. In this diagram the cow’s hooks are slightly higher than the pins and this used to be ideal. From my recollection of this weekend this configuration of the pelvis is conducive to an easier birth due a downward sloping birth canal.

Of course modern show trends have driven humans to fiddle with genetics to make the hooks and pins almost level in a quest for a straighter top line. So there are a number of animals that have started to shift the other way with pins being higher than the hooks. This uphill (from the fetuses point of view) slant of the pelvis makes birth more difficult and puts a strain on all of the tendons, ligaments and joints from there downwards toward the hooves, basically setting the rear legs off balance from the hip down.

My off steer is closer to level with a tendency to have the hooks higher and has a fairly nice steady stride, but my near steer Abe with the bad pelvis (pins tending to be higher than his hooks) really has to work at moving out, his legs twist with every stride and he is less fluid (graceful) than his brother.

The chiropractor mentioned that some cattle get a little twisted in the birth canal and just need some help to straighten out, some get out of place from trauma and some are prone to becoming misaligned from flaws in confirmation. My hopes are that it will not take more than a visit every year or two to keep Abe sound and moving as comfortably as possible.

Interestingly I learned that our chiropractor has a chiropractor friend in Iowa who works on horses and show cattle, there is never enough time in her week to get to all of the cattle, she has had to turn many customers away. These are the type of cattle farms that have air conditioned barns for show beef cattle that travel all over the country. So I guess working on cattle is nothing new, just not practiced much here in the northeast.

[dominiquer60]

This weekend I let 4 boys from Maine drive my steers in a nice enclosed area. They were thrilled and did OK considering my team is not the easiest for beginners. Afterward they asked what would happen if I switched the steers to opposite sides, I did it a few times when they were younger, but had not done so for months. So we gave it a try and they were good when they were good and bad when they were bad. If I had reason to switch for good I know I could get them to work well eventually, but we are all creatures of habit and it takes a while to develop new habits.

I have a 3 styles of yoke at hand to be inspired by and it is hard to know what will be best for a comfortable and versatile yoke, they all work good enough, but like Andy said, how does one improve the design just a little to meet current needs. I have been keeping comfort, symmetry and weight reduction in mind while shaping my 7″, I am sure it will work just fine when I am done, but better than what I am using now would be preferable.

[dominiquer60]

another good one Tom. In college we were all used to asking our horses to move over in their stalls or on cross ties by making a kissing sound. We would catch ourselves doing this to each other in the tack room when we were busy cleaning tack or even in line for lunch, sometimes it would seem normal par for course and sometimes one of us would catch what we did and have a good chuckle about our habits.

[dominiquer60]

I have been meaning to write a followup about our progress since the chiropractic visit, so here goes.

I don’t regret spending the money one bit. My near steer Abe is a whole new animal. He still lags a little on rough ground, but I think that his front feet are honestly slightly more tender than his brothers. When I get them out on sod or soil now he is the one that I have to ask to slow down.

I brought them to my county fair and to the DAPNet Annual Gathering and they did really well in both situations. At the fair we would take the stone boat all the way down to the trailer parking area to get hay and straw for the day and we generally found something new to deal with every morning.

This past weekend I had the chance to do different work with them at the gathering that I don’t have the opportunity to try at home, mostly because of the lack of this type of work or patient help at home. So we challenged them with a couple bigger logs and gave them plenty of light ones in between, they did really well for their age. We also plowed 2 furrows with my little plow, it was certainly a big pull for them, they had lots of breaks and it was a team effort to get the plow adjusted and working well. The next day they pulled a cultipacker over a patch of ground that was seeded to oats for a cover crop. We had a bratty moment or two but overall I couldn’t have asked them to have been any better. They slept a lot the next day and are happy, healthy and completely sound.

One interesting thing that I learned is that Abe’s pelvis is one of his conformational flaws and predisposes him to soundness issues as well as a less than ideal gate. A woman present at our “Ox Talk” is a former dairy cattle judge and did a really good job explaining this to the group, I certainly learned a lot.

So now they are the sound ones and I am the lame one with a heel spur, if it tames down later I am sure that they will be up to the task of moving some hay and manure.

[dominiquer60]

Sometimes while climbing a hill with my 4 cylinder half ton truck, I catch myself clucking or wishing that encouragement with a goad to the tailgate was both possible and effective.

[dominiquer60]

Robert,
Thanks, they are yearling Milking Shorthorns, working steers for now and oxen once they have matured.

[dominiquer60]

As the government attempts to “help” farmers after 2 tropical weather events in our area, farmers are skeptical that much help will be had. Listen for the 3 great lies, Larry is not afraid to tell the truth to one local news channel, he is our Soil and Crop Adviser and a good guy.

http://www.wten.com/story/15509412/usda-provides-aid-for-farmers

[dominiquer60]

Shumway has a few varieties as well. We tried Goliath with success last year, nice white ears, I have heard that this variety is closer to the 10% Crude Protein that corn used to be instead of today’s 8%. This year I tried a small plot of Hickory King, beautiful 10 row ears of huge white kernels. I got it in late so I’m not sure that it with mature soon enough to make my 6 ears to save for next year goal, but given the year I am game to try again next year.

http://www.rhshumway.com/dc.asp?c=234

[dominiquer60]

I can see them Ed great job!

Perhaps we could use a few of these in the newsletter if it is alright with you?

[dominiquer60]

Carl,

This comes at just the right time because I am finishing my 7″ yoke and would like to improve upon the 6″ that I borrowed. I am more of a visual person and though I think I understand the jist of what you have written, perhaps a picture of your 9′ yoke would clarify a lot for me.

Here is a visual of what I am currently dealing with a 6″ with a shallow belly and a rather flat neck seat. I am aiming to make my 7″ neck seat deeper and more elliptical like Tillers recommends, I can see how it will prevent a pressure point and allow it to roll better on their necks. I am having a hard time trying to finish shaping my 7″, it still seem so bulky and I would like to make it as functional as possible so we can work to our best potential as a team. If I get a moment later I will take a couple shots of my yoke in progress, I would love to get some feedback from fellow DAP members on it.

Well I seem to need a 101 in managing my pictures as well, I will have to come back to this after potato harvesting.

[dominiquer60]

Bradley,

It would be great if you could jot down some ideas and tell us more about your facility/accommodations. You can send them to Jean and we can start the ball rolling with our new BOD.

To anyone else with an idea/place for a smaller regional event, DAPNet is looking into holding more of these during the year between the larger NEAPFD events. Contact our Administrator Jean Cross with the details (jmnvt@yahoo.com), we are willing to help organize these types of events.

[dominiquer60]

I tried to look it up but only found horn flies not horn mites. Mine started to get really flaky during all of that rain from Lee. I let them dry for a couple days and took the course grit to them. They both look better now, but one still has some serious growth rings from their Easter Sunday parasite issue that has long been cleared up.

[dominiquer60]

She is a beauty, it is nice that your father bought and stowed it away for awhile, a cart like that can certainly be good to have at hand.

[dominiquer60]

Jersey can work just fine, but don’t underestimate the potential best of both worlds and hybrid vigor if you come across a pair of jersey x holstein bull calves. Crossbreds can make wonderful oxen too!

[Author]

Posts