Getting into it! [Western Australia]

[MajorFordson]

G’day guys, and congratulations on being the only really relevant result that a google of “oxen forums” will bring up!

This place doesn’t look super active, but I thought I’d jump on in!

I’m in the beautiful south western Australia, where the trees are massive and the soil is loamy, makes a difference from the normal for around here, which is sandy coastal plains!

Looking into having a pair of working oxen, or bullocks as they’re known here, with my old man in the near future. A lot of material (including that great book The Teamsters Guide) is aimed at North America, but I feel confident that on day we’ll have a great “hobby” team!

No concrete plans yet, but as our family has a beef farm nearby we’ll no doubt be picking the best looking animals from the usual angus/Charolais cross and going from there.

You’ll be sure to see me here sometime in the future!

(And here is a photo of a local animal team at the only annual ploughing match we have in the south west. I’d wager there’s less than a dozen hobby bullock teams in all of Western Australia, as much as a part of our farming, wool and big timber history it is, horses and vintage tractors get a much bigger following!)

[dlskidmore]

Welcome. I’m still in the planning phases myself.

Tiller’s International is less focused on the US, but they based in the US and I don’t think they have an Australian branch. They do have plans available to buy, which should be a bit easier to have shipped than yokes: http://www.tillersinternational.org/tillers/store_toolsandequipment.html

[daniel grover]

Welcome! I do believe you may be the only Aussie I’ve seen post on the forum.

If you have a minute, please do tell us about the draft animal scene in your part of the world. Is there a growing small, sustainable farming movement in Australia? Are draft animals a part of the scene?

Best of luck with your plans for a team, hope you find what you need through the forums and site!

Daniel

[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!

[dlskidmore]

Our northeast as the “advantage” of rocky and hilly terrain, so the guys with big tractors are not so interested in it, and small farmers have the big market in tech communities surrounding Boston to sell their fresh local goods.

[Kevin Cunningham]

Welcome, the forum isn’t as active as it used to be, but hopefully it will kick back up again soon. There is a wealth of knowledge archived here however. You can read about many different topics oxen related. I don’t know much about Australia but our climate here in California is probably more similar than that of the northeast. Good luck with the bullocks.

[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!

[Baystatetom]

You are right, the forum has been kind of slow lately. I think we all waist our time on facebook now rather than here. You can however search through topics and find a wealth of knowledge unequaled anywhere else, especially facebook! While there is more horse people than ox people here, a lot of the same techniques can be applied to either. Moving a log is moving a log weather its a horse or ox in front of it.
Best of Luck,
~Tom

[JaredWoodcock]

Im not a facebooker so this is where I get my info. The slowness is a funny pattern, people who are cutting hay and growing veggies disappear during the summer and the loggers seem to get back on the computer???

[CharlyBonifaz]

>> There’s even a club over there, but no online presence <<
they have a magazin though:
http://www.zugrinder.de/files/zugrinder/deutsch/literatur/bullockiesbell/Bell%20March%202015-1.pdf
http://www.zugrinder.de/files/zugrinder/deutsch/literatur/bullockiesbell/Bell%20June%202015.pdf
http://www.zugrinder.de/files/zugrinder/deutsch/literatur/bullockiesbell/BellAutumn%202016.pdf
and you may want to contact the Morris:
http://www.glenedenorganicfarm.com.au/
have fun!

[mathuranatha]

G,day we are on the East Coast of Ozzie

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[Author]

Posts