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Nat(wasIxy)
ParticipantI don’t think you can do sums on it – you just have to judge it as you go along: you know the animal best – is she looking tired? is she geting thin? etc. Adjust workload accordingly.
Two human women can be the same race, height, weight, build etc. but one could work right through her pregnancy and the other one be bedridden the whole time – it’s purely down to the individual I reckon!
ParticipantYep I reckon it can be done. I will try one day. I’m busy training oxen and sheep right now but I’ll tackle a pig when i have time. The French train them to walk on leads and sniff out truffles, I’ve seen pigs trained to do doglike things…
ParticipantHey, I’d love to but I’m sure Angus would object to being made to swim the Atlantic first… 😉 Sadly here in England we can’t take our oxen out on the road. 🙁 fight NAIS! That’s the next step…
Participant@goodcompanion 2264 wrote:
Too bad. I’ve always wanted a skidder/loader combo in a draft animal. Maybe one that could pull a harrow while simultaneously operating a broadcast seeder with the trunk, or pick rocks and lob them out of the field.
Yes, but on the other hand they can also store up and shoot that water. Which would have great application in watering-in veggie transplants or retaliating to disgruntled motorists when on public roads.
Eleven or twelve square bales a day seems a very modest upkeep for such a majestic beast. Who isn’t inspired by the two-tone trumpet blasts of a team of draft elephants lurching into motion as their teamster expertly guides the 16-bottom plow into the rich earth? Working horses are much too pedestrian.
I agree, but if they can pick out weeds and rocks, plough, harrow, broadcast and water their own crops…aren’t THEY the farmer then???:confused:
ParticipantHaha! WOW! Just watched it, it’s fantastic!
Participantaw, I can’t watch it as my internet connection isn’t good enough here – next time I get near a decent connection I will!
ParticipantI like ’em snipped ASAP – can’t be bothered with the slightest bullish behaviour. Our bulls are well behaved, but when it comes down to it they think with their balls, whereas with my steers that’s never an issue.
ParticipantCalves/cattle are VERY expensive here right now – two years ago my simmX was £53 at 10days old. He’d probably be easily £250 now at the same age! I was quoted nearly £400 for a dairyXhereford heifer a few months ago!!!???!!!
However, dairy bull calves are still affordable even though they have gone up now too. I have a dairy shorthorn on the way and have been quoted £80-150. For a first try I don’t think you can go wrong, at least if they don’t turn out right you haven’t lost too much. I would then go on to something more expensive or unusual once I’d got the basics down.
ParticipantI wouldn’t ever recommend dexters to a newcomer, we have 40 of the things and they’re nutters. Luckily the bulls are good-tempered though, but we specifically breed for that. We have one yong bull right now who is a bit pushy – he’ll be burgers come december.
My SimmentalX has a kind nature, and our Herefords over here are very docile – I can’t wait to try one as an ox.
Everybody says brown swiss are a bit dopey, but mine was very quick, mind and body! A bit too quick…hence the burger decision…
Participantsadly the deal fell through so I don’t think I will get chance to have a go with buffalo, at least for a while! oh well…
ParticipantI rode Angus without being led for the first time today – he was excellent. I decided to walk him to the far end of the farmyard and then ride him back to his friends in the fields. The steering wasn’t too accurate, so he waded straight through a big area of mud I was trying to avoid….he was in up to his knees and I knew he wasn’t used to my weight so I thought I was going to have to dismount in the mud! But he just waded through and pulled us out the far side. He almost trotted to the field then but to be honest it’s so smooth staying on wasn’t a problem, despite my being out of practise. I am soooo proud of that little calf i took on!
ParticipantHow old are they? 1300lbs sounds a lot so maybe quite mature…tend to measure beasts in Kgs over here in the UK.
I’d give it a try and see if they seem comfortable – doing mathematical formulas doesn’t always work out in real life. I know that if Angus was a horse I would be too big and him too young, but steers are different. I still don’t want to ride him a lot until he’s at least 2 but he can take my weight – many people have remarked at how relaxed he looks with me on him. After a handful of rides he now stands quietly and doesn’t attempt to move away when I mount which is excellent and all good signs. ‘zeburider’ on the rural heritage forum says that if they can’t take your weight, they’ll fall over/lie down and protest rather than attempt to carry you so you should be able to tell easily…
ParticipantI don’t think so? Ours don’t anyway – even the bull. I dried my hair with a blood red towel less than 8ft away from him the other day….
ParticipantThanks for that people – i believe the problem is solved anyway as the main herd is going to be completely fenced off from the area after today, but I would ideally like to build up to the point where Angus at least is able to work and behave himself with other cattle he might not know closeby.
ParticipantI question the speed thing – we have accounts in this country of oxen working alongside horses in harness and keeping pace from 300 years ago, also of oxen ploughing as fast as horses and trotting in harness. Also in my own experience I don’t find them to be slower at all. There’s less jumping and prancing around (which is a good thing for me) and you wouldnt be able to hop on and jog all the way to market…but you don’t do that in logging anyway. Also, I believe in keeping my overheads down in order to increase my margin, oxen do that nicely in all areas so I would question the ‘economically viable’ thing too. Maybe horses do work faster, but at what cost? Does the time saved = enough extra money on the end price paid for the product to justify the use of something more expensive to obtain it?
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