[MajorFordson]

Well I ain’t dead, and this place isn’t either! My old man is finally talking about buying some AI straws to use with his sisters angus/charlois herd in the next year or so!

[MajorFordson]

So how did you go with this? One of your other posts makes it sound like you’ve given up and decided to start over with other animals.

[MajorFordson]

That’s some crazy wives-tales sounding advice there Crabapple, but sounds like there certainly is something to it! Something every person selecting animals should know!

[MajorFordson]

This is the video that got me thinking hard about getting into it with my old man here in Western Aus, though sadly I can’t find any way to contact that eastern states bullocky club!

[MajorFordson]

As far as trying to make a quality product is concerned Have you looked into biochar? I tried to cook some pine resin out of pine branches yesterday, ended up making proper charcoal, which my uncle commented was being used (at least here in Aus) as a legit improvement for soil health, water and nutrient retention as well as assisting the soil microbes over out dry summer. Apparently a great way of doing is sweetening up biochar for cattle to consume, who then fix it to the soil via their rear ends.

As far as oxen go, I simply imported a copy of the Teamsters Guide, which is packed with great info that even a beginner can consume, in terms of animal care and rearing as well as training. (some very basic farm knowlegde is assumed, so it’s not a commplete For Dummies package) And even though a lot of it is aimed at the North US, most of it is very useful for us in Aus!

(things like stabling over winter and the types of fodder aren’t very handy to Australians, where our beasts simply graze on pasture year round, supplemented with hay as required!)

[MajorFordson]

Thanks for the welcome 😀

(Apparently those pulling animals were Meuse-Rhine-Issel)

Draft animal hobby power in the part of Aus I’m in, south west, isn’t that prevalent. Oxen almost nonexistent, horses are extremely popular in AUstralia for riding and racing, but ploughing very much less. As I said, the nearby ploughing day (which is the only one within an area of 300km, in the heart of farming country) only attracted two teams of ploughing horses. Australia has a very deep history for animal power, but given the size of the country and the size of farms, machinery became king and animals haven’t seem to have stuck as a hobby like I see in the US (especially northeast US, I understand)

Over in Eastern Australia I understand there is a lot more (more population, more farming area, more history) animal power, and the “federal” farming TV program recently had a feature on a bloke with a team of 8 bullocks hauling timber and for shows and things. There’s even a club over there, but no online presence (understandable given the probably average age of members)

My great great grandfather was a bullocky in Victoria from the age of 14, where they were hauling timber comparable to the large conifers hauled in north america (not conifers though, eucalyptus trees!)

My grandfather used ex-sawmill horses to clear his land here in Pemberton. Aussie hardwood is hard clearing, especially when there are trees more than 40m tall with trunks 2 or 3 meters at the base. Burning it all then clearing was the go. With all the nearby sawmills in this tall timber country grandad found a good source for horses, the problem being that the animals would down tools as soon as they heard the end-of-shift whistle from the mill in the next valley. Unionised horses?

Anyway I’ve waffled on enough!

[Author]

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