New Oxen Owner

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone, I am in the process of purchasing two oxen for use in youth working steer compititions (iam in 4-h) as there are not any 4h groups in my area that have any members in this program i have had to gain most of my knowledge through reading books. So I think I have a good foundation and I am ready to purchase my steers but I still have a few questions:

1. I have read MANY books but are there any that you reccomend?
2. Yokes??? My intended sterrs are young (1 year next feb.) so do I have to keep purchasing different size yokes throughout their lives? (they are not cheep!)

Thanks all for now but im sure I will come up with more! Thanks in advance for your help!

– m

[Carl Russell]

Welcome!

Sounds like you’re on your way.

Ray Ludwig wrote a great book, as did Les Barden (a short and concise booklet), both of which you can get from New England Ox Supply http://www.newenglandoxsupply.com/

I know very few people who have all size yokes, unless they intend to raise a lot of cattle. Try to find someone to share with.

Carl

[bivol]

hi loring, welcome!

books about training steers… Oxen; a teamster’s guide (by Drew Conroy) is warmly reccomended, about other books… well, i don’t know of any other books about training steers… maybe The oxen handbook (also Conroy), or Bullock driver’s handbook, but if you know about other books , please let me know…

your steers are about eight months now, right? well, that’s not so young. are they tame, or halter-broken?
anyway, stick to what the book says, and DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE WHEN HALTERED!

yokes-

in the Oxen; a teamster’s guide you also have instructions on making a yoke.
some say one needs lots of yoke sizes for a growing team. on this site is a story of a couple who had raised oxen from little few-day calves, and they used only three yoke shapes. and the oxen were holstein, so don’t sweat about lots of sizes!

after, say, three years, oxen stop growing (or, fill-up really slow until they are seven). sometimes they may need a bigger yoke when older and fill up, but i’ve red somewhere (on this forum) that you can simply make new yoke bows, if you don’t shape the bow holes exactly parallel, as in letter “U”, but make them (the bow holes) in an angle to each other, to accomodate bows that are more shaped like a falling drop. anyway, the bows i mean are in attachments.

if all that is too complicated, you can try harnesses, especially for growing oxen. harnesses for oxen, that is, you can see them here.

good luck!

[Anonymous]

thanks for your help! I have read a lot of books on just general bovine care ummm.. let me think, “Stores guide to cattle care” my grandfather used to own a dary farm so he had a few books (ancient lol) that had a lot of info on feeding, and like first arid and such. So I thought of a few more questions if you dont mind 🙂

1. Oxen shoes? are they a requirement and if so can a regular cow trimmer apply them?
2. Do the oxen have to have horns or can I have the vet remove them? I would perfer them to not have horns but again i didnt know if it was a requirement.

Thanks again for all your help guys! 🙂

[bivol]

hi!

well, you’ll have to focus on books about training oxen in particular.

oxen can have light coloured hooves (simmental, holstein) or dark hooves (jersey, devon, brown swiss). darker hooves are stronger than light hooves, and wear down slower.

the question about ox shoes is related to where you work oxen. if worked regulary on paved roads, rocky ground, and hard surfaces oxen need shoes. if they’re pulling on dirt roads, soil, grass, and such, they tend not to need shoes, esp. if they have dark hooves. oxen need shoeing every six weeks or so, but it’s hard to find someone who’s willing to do it. shoeing oxen is a different procedure from sh. horses.

dark hooves are always desired.

honestly, i don’t know why you want to de-horn them…:confused:
oxen can be worked without horns in harness or bow yoke, but they need britchen when they want to stop the wagon.

[Anonymous]

i just thought it would be safer to have them dehorned but your right I always see them with horns. I feel really silly asking this but will the horns just keep growing or will they stop at a reasonable length? Thanks again

[Howie]

The horns will keep growing, but you can train them to grow the way you like.:)

[mother katherine]

I agree, yokes aren’t cheap, but there are ways around buying new ones.
If you have Drew Conroy’s book, there is a chapter on making yokes. He also put out a video available from Rural Heritage.
Depending on where you live, you might get an older teamster to help you make yokes. It might fit in well with your 4 H program.
Also, check around someone may have a used yoke for sale. Check out New England Ox Supply website; Alyson deals in used yokes when she can get them.
Oxnun

[Vicki]

Hi loring; welcome to the wonderful world of working steers. If you are near Ohio, let me know; I could possibly visit. I may also be able to loan you smaller yokes while your steers grow (unless I get those new claves I’m considering.) You should keep the horns on your working cattle, but you can use britchens if they’re hornless.

Is there any way you can take a class on oxen basics at Tillers in MI or Sanborn Mills in NH? Both have upcoming classes in Oct.

As Carl suggested, do get Les Barden’s “Training the Teamster” and Ray Ludwig’s “Pride and Joy of Working Cattle”. The video on training working steers by Huppe and Conroy would be great if you’re brand spankin’ new at this.

You don’t need ox shoes unless you have to work them on icy ground. Probably not any dairy hoof trimmers who’d know how to do it anyway.

[near horse]

Hi Loring,

I don’t see where you are from – if you’re anywhere near Michigan, Tiller’s International does a class on making your own yoke(s) as well as an ox driving/training course – Howie would know much more about what they offer because, if I recall, he teaches the ox driving stuff (Is that right Howie?). And I’ve heard from many that he’s one of the best.

OOPS – I didn’t notice Vicki’s post re:Tillers

[ivy]

I think that if your cattle respect you and you are aware of them, their horns are not dangerous. You can also train the horns to curve into a less brutal position. There have been a few good threads about this on the board (I asked the same question when I started)

http://www.draftanimalpower.com/showthread.php?t=209

http://www.draftanimalpower.com/showthread.php?t=369

However, I dehorned my steer because he lives with dairy cows that have all been dehorned (not my decision). If one animal has horns and others do not, it is much easier for that one to be dominant. If he ever hurt one of the cows, he would be on the truck (to the auction). I think they look great with horns. But mine is a single so he uses a britchen anyway, and we have not had a problem (yet 🙂 )

I feel that horns or no horns are both fine for their own reasons. If you are showing however, there may be some preference for horns.

[Nat(wasIxy)]

My current one is dehorned but that’s not my choice and I would certainly have kept them but he was kept with other de-horned cattle for a while too. If they are well trained and respectful they are no more likely to stick you than do anything else nasty to you. Also, NOT having horns doesn’t mean they can’t do a great deal of damage if they want to. A polled animal could easily smush you into the ground with it’s head alone! 😀

[Vicki]

Yes, near horse, Howie is one of the best. He and the kids in his 4H club were my mentors. Howie is presenting workshops on working cattle at NEAPFD. See the link on this site. loring, if you’re near Tunbridge, VT, why not plan on attending NEAPFD? I want to go, but may not be able to get away those days.

[Anonymous]

thanks everyone for the great advice. I have put in an oder to amazon.com for some books to read! I would like to talk horns like how to “train them to grow the way you like” thanks again!

[Anonymous]

So Selecting my first Pair of Oxen. In my area I have the option for three breeds (Holstien, Jersey, and Brown Swiss) I was hoping for some idea of the best breed for a very novice first time teamster. Also when I go to select my calves what qualties should I look for specifically conformation wise. Thanks so much

[Author]

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