[Oxhill]

You don’t really need to have a yoke until you want to pull with her. We train with just a bent conduit bow over their neck as a cue that it is time to behave and work/learn. Once you want to pull then of course you require a yoke and proper fit is extremely important so you will require more as she grows. Most makers make them in one inch increments from 4″ to 12″. The good news is that if taken care of they can be used over and over for decades or even centuries. You will also need a singletree and a pair of traces. It is nice to have a small singletree for a calf but a full sized one will work just fine and again will last forever if taken care of. Trace chains for a calf can be made up of rope and four rings from the hardware or you can make up a set using chain and Quicklinks. If you want you can double them up with Quicklinks to fit her now and let them out as she grows. A britchen isn’t required but once you use one you won’t want to be without it. They are adjustable as well.

Here is a well outfitted heifer.

[Oxhill]

@Rod 31090 wrote:

http://www.dayspringfarm.com

This is great Rod!

[Oxhill]

How did I miss this for so long? I will have to look you all up.

Here is my little piece of the cyber world.

[Oxhill]

If Fabian’s link is correct then maybe you are referring to “hauling out”.

If so it can be caused by several things like poor footing, being to close in the yoke, not willing to working together as a team, or just a fun way to annoy the teamster and get out of work!

[Oxhill]

Here are some ways to protect your gate!

http://www.themysteryworld.com/2012/01/booby-traps-of-vietnam-war.html

[Oxhill]

Also I don’t think you will get red cattle with anything crossed to a black and white Holstein.

[Oxhill]

If the visitors or students will be driving them at all I don’t think you want full Devons or full Chianina.

What would you improve on a Holstein to make it the perfect breed for you?

[Oxhill]

Funny you mention a Shorthorn Devon Ayrshire cross as that is exactly what Countrymouse has and the cows they came from looked like great multipurpose cows.

I would look for a breed to be your base. Something you like and could be crossed with most anything. To me that would rule out Jerseys. Holsteins would work well as would Brown Swiss but I think I would prefer horned Herfords. Herfords would be shorter, tend to have better feet, and feed out better for beef. Normandys would also be interesting if you happen to be able to get them.

What crosses are good depends on what you want your cattle to be. Some popular crosses are Holstein/Devon, Holstein/Herford, Herford/Shorthorn, Holstein/Chianina.

I am sure some of the other folks here can give more ideas.

[Oxhill]

Here is the shipping website I mentioned earlier.

If your main goal is to produce working cattle for yourself. What about breeding Kevin’s Custom Cattle? Start with a breed that will make a good base and is more available to you and then use AI to cross whatever you want into it. Over the years you could breed your cattle into exactly what YOU want.

[Oxhill]

Chris makes a good point about getting a breed that your heart and soul are in love with. While the two you have picked are the best two in my opinion maybe you shouldn’t limit yourself just yet. How will you make an informed decision on them? It will be a big investment on a mail order bride. For me it was Devons or nothing. Not because they are the best oxen just because I like the breed and wanted to support it.

Both Devons and Shorthorns make great oxen and the differences in them as oxen can all be pros or cons depending on how you look at them.

An old teamster and mentor to my father used to say that Devons are some of the hardest to match. They may look alike as calves but not as adults. Also a long time Devon breeder told me that Devons vary. It is just part of the breed. Some are dark some are light some lean more to the beef and some dairy. Unless you are going for best matched team in a New England fair how important is this. Consistency is a goal but it is much more important that they work well together.

As far as the ratio of bulls to heifers: if it is a hobby why not break your heifers? If not all the time you could at least for the year that you didn’t get enough bulls.

[Oxhill]

I think the decision is spot on and command you for doing so. You are standing by your animals and doing the responsible and difficult task of seeing them through. We have and you can walk them through the process to ensure they are treated properly.

“This is an especially cruel decision given that a reputable organization, VINE Sanctuary, has offered to provide sanctuary to both of them, for the rest of their lives, at our own expense,” Jones wrote in an email.

An especially cruel decision would be to let them needlessly suffer out their remaining days at a sanctuary.

[Oxhill]

We have about 18 acres in pasture/hay here at the house and another eight just down the road that could be fenced and pastured. I am trying to get a sense of what is possible too. Also do I want to pasture everything and buy my hay or continue to contract my own hay baled? I am trying to learn about rotational grazing and stockpiling grass for winter as well and find a system that works with my scheduled. Only time will tell. Keeping up with the farm family and work all takes a lot of time and I haven’t worked my heifers nearly as much as I should but I am still having the time of my life.

Finding horned Milking Devons won’t be a problem. It is kind of rare to have them dehorned and it is in the bylaws that they can’t be shown without horns. Dehorning a Devon is like dehorning a Texas Longhorn in my opinion.

[Oxhill]

It would be great to see another Devon breeder. There are Devon breeders closer than 3000 miles but it would probably add value to your animals if you imported fresh blood from the east. Here is the breeder list from the association. There are others but the list is who is current with their dues.

If you do go with shorthorns I think Native Shorthorns would be the best comparison with Devons.
http://www.nativeshorthorns.com/shorthorn-history/
http://www.milkingshorthorn.com/dualpurpose.html
http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/milkingshorthorn.html

[Oxhill]

If you are committed and your motives are correct I don’t think you are crazy but I think you have a lot to plan and consider. Are you going to keep a bull or AI? How are you going to manage a bull? How are you going to AI effectively? Are you going to buy young stock and wait for them to mature or buy older animals? How many? How are you going to ship them? How are you going to market them? Do you have the time and capital for all of this? What breed? You mention Devon and Duhram two of the best in my opinion. I don’t know much about them but I would consider Piney Woods as well. They are a traditional ox breed in the south and are also rare.

I bought the family farm a year ago and gave a lot of thought about if I wanted to just have a few steers or raise Devons. I had no interest in raising any other breed. Today we have six Devon heifers a, cross heifer, a Devon bull and four steers. I am learning there is a lot more to keeping breeding stock than just keeping steers and I don’t even have anything bread yet! I am somewhat flying by the seat of my pants. I don’t know how many I want to keep. How many will fit on the farm and into my life? I chose to start with young stock but it takes two to three years before you have any calves.

Dad has bought calves all over the east cost and hauled most of them in the back of an S-10 pick up without any issues. As has been said buying healthy cattle and a shipping fever shot are a good idea. Also plan ahead so they are not too hot or too cold. There is also a website that you can post what you want shipped and people will place bids against each other for your business. I can’t remember the name now but it worked well for the person who posted about it.

[Oxhill]

Congratulations! You are blessed!

[Author]

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