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Nat(wasIxy)
ParticipantI think anyone who thinks these cows ‘have pain’ through jumping or galloping has never tried to make an unwilling cow jump or gallop!
February 22, 2011 at 8:39 am in reply to: not with round staves, just for feeding the folks here…. #65716ParticipantIMO, very wise! I wish we could pull out 🙁
February 21, 2011 at 5:28 pm in reply to: not with round staves, just for feeding the folks here…. #65715ParticipantHow many years in ‘several’? 😉 We’ve got loads of stuff from the EU to comply with, and more all the time. They’ve just started with ‘NVZ zones’ which is causing all kinds of problems… Wish they’d all just ‘bog off’!!
ParticipantI converted Angus’ ‘chestpad harness’, that you might remember from the christmas tree collection thread, into a better arrangement for the basket panniers for Peach – she’s just about big enough to fit it and it provides a thicker band for the baskets to rest on, and stops them going forwards or backwards with the chest pad and a rope under her tail.
We then tested it to destruction, going through narrow passageways and up and down steep climbs (we have no hills, only piles of earth or rubble!) – she bucked a little and went up and down near vertical, and it stayed on! She seems absolutely fine with it, and none of the climbing phased her at all, I’m always amazed at how sure-footed they are.
February 19, 2011 at 1:28 pm in reply to: Are round staves a solution for a "bowless" country #65668ParticipantNot asking you to – but I know there’s others in europe looking.
February 19, 2011 at 11:14 am in reply to: Are round staves a solution for a "bowless" country #65667Participantif people know what sort of wood they want and what size they need – feel free to contact….Obviously neither of us know much about yokes, so you need a clear idea of what you want! Likewise yokes. pricing would depend on what you want, we’d have to give you a quote.
I have a tame harness maker and if stepdad can copy my wooden hames, we’ll be able to provide 3pad harnesses too 🙂
February 18, 2011 at 1:42 pm in reply to: Are round staves a solution for a "bowless" country #65666ParticipantWell I checked with my stepdad just now and he says he’s perfectly happy to do this for the european people 🙂
February 18, 2011 at 8:42 am in reply to: Are round staves a solution for a "bowless" country #65665ParticipantMy stepdad is a wood craftsguy, he can steam and bend things – if anybody could give him exact dimensions etc I’m sure he could do this? He’s up for carving a yoke for me one day so I’m sure the extra business would be welcome?
ParticipantI find that my cattle lead with a rope very responsively – they only need the teensiest bit of pressure to get them to follow, and I guess using reins was simply an extension of what they’ve been doing there since birth? My simmental took to the concept of driving very readily, and I’ve just upgraded my camera so I have lots of memory for film, so I’ll work on a film of what we can do for you! My next-ox-down is the yearling herefordX, I have to admit she’s never pulled a thing or been driven so far; I have a student coming to do a day course with me soon, and I’m saving the first try for that so they can see the reaction – I’ll let you know how she reacts. Likewise the younger two, who I’ll start with it now.
ParticipantHi oxnun – I got your email the other day, just been rushed off my feet! Tragic to lose an ox like that, we had the same thing happen here recently and my herefordX heifer in training was the only one to be injured in a herd of 50 🙁 she sliced her ankle, it’s healed now but I think she’ll always have a lump on it. Hopefully your remaining fella will adapt to life as a single.
ParticipantGreat! I’m absolutely desperate to get to cuba but it is a little worrying the conditions you describe – I didn’t realise the cattle were all government owned but yes, I can see why that would create cruelty issues 🙁 I would hope that if we were left no choice in this country about the use of draft animals, those that didn’t want to work them could use the services of dedicated contractors – just like the situation with tractor contractors today, forestry being a good example…i think? I’d be perfectly happy to be an ox contractor 😀 Only reason I don’t is the cost of the transport. Presumably come the day that’d be needed I’d be allowed to walk them to our location!!
For your information – oxen can be driven with lines without a nasal bit, or even any bit. I’ve never bothered with any bitting with mine, they are simply driven in a headcollar. As I work singles alone and without anything like an arena to train in, I’ve always used a lead rope/lines as a safety net.
ParticipantHave you tried (firmly) disciplining the one who starts it? He’s supposed to be getting on with his work and listening to you, not eating or trying to fight or play with his friend – that’s a cardinal sin for me and would earn them an ‘AH AH!’ and a sharp tap on the nose!
Perhaps though, they really just dislike each other! It happens, although if they’ve been brought up together…that’d be puzzling?
ParticipantI have revised my answer to this after a lot of thought recently. We had a group of jersey bulls ‘clamped’ at 15months of age. They had not been pushed with a high protein diet, and had always lived as a group and experienced other cattle. As a result, they were (and still are) remarkably well behaved, actually a joy to work with, never a hint of aggression. Now they are steered, they have broader heads and wider, wide-spaced horns which looks very good to me, I prefer them to look more masculine and perhaps it would stop a lot of the physical issues in older steers?
I think in future, I will hold off castration for a while at least, until it looks like they might be acting ‘bullish’, and then clamp. It seemed a very stress-free method for the animals, and no wound at all.
ParticipantI have the same issue with my single worked in a 3pad collar. Really, he’s way more power than we need so he doesn’t get tired and never wants to slow down….
ParticipantPersonally, I wouldn’t take the risk. I raise dairy bulls for meat, but working closely with them is another matter. I’m not sure how late castration affects them exactly, but this is your daughter we’re talking about!
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