Oxen with my Cattle Herd

[Oldways]

Hi All,
I want to start a team of holsteins this spring, I can get some nice calfs fairly cheap around my area. My question is, can I put them in with my beef cattle herd? I have 6 Scot Highlanders. I could seperate them for winter feeding and night shelter, but it would be nice to pasture them all together in the same paddock during grass season. Any thoughts or experiences?
Thanks
Scott

[Nat(wasIxy)]

Mine run with the beef herd, but ONLY when I’m confident I can catch and handle them, so only when they are trained to my satisfaction do they get to go out and ‘play’ – until then they are kept separate, close to the yard.

[mother katherine]

Hey, oldways,
Where is Somerset, NY? We’re down here in Otego. I’m from Maine, so don’t know where a lot of places are in this state (yet). I miss the ox culture that thrives in Maine and am always on the lookout for teamsters around here.
oxnun

[Oldways]

Hello –
Somerset is near the shores of Lake Ontario, between Niagara Falls and Rochester. There are really no ox teams around here, some work horse teams. I have thought about a horse team, but it seems expensive, and cheap holstein bull calves are really plentiful around here. Having Highlanders for a few years I have some experiance with beef cattle, although I have never ventured to start a ox team. I would like to this spring, God willing of course. There are a good deal of large dairy farms around here, and they all snicker when they see my shocks of spelt, or my loose hay. I have 2 old farmalls that tote my loads (they laugh at them too) and a ox team would make them split a side I guess.
Scott

[Robin]

Have you been in touch with Howie Van Ord? He is not all that far from you.
Believe me, you will not be sorry you contacted him. He’s a wonderful ox guy.

[Howie]

Hi Scott
If you were to conact me I would be glad to help you.
You are only about three hours away.
You can run them in with your beef herd when they are young but not when they get older.:)

[Nat(wasIxy)]

Howie – why? I’m the opposite way round and don’t have a problem?

[Oldways]

Thanks Howie, I will take you up on support. Can you email me your address?
scottschotz@yahoo.com

[mother katherine]

Howie,
How far away are you from Otego? We’re near Cooperstown and not far from the Singletarys in Jefferson.
oxnun

[Howie]

I live about 8 miles south of Jamestown NY just across the PA line. I have Amish friends in Fort Plain so I am familiar with that route.

ixy
The oxen can do fine in the herd while they are growing up.
About the time they reach maturity, about 4 years they will give the herd sire problems. When they are about 5 or 6 and are a lot bigger than the bull they will give him big problems. If the pasture is any good, they are now big and very obese, They will be trying to breed the cows and will inadvertently hurt them self.:mad:

[fabian]

But Scott could use the oxen to herd the highlands from one pasture to another like the Spanish “Fight-Bullbreeders” do with their Berrendas.;)

[Nat(wasIxy)]

Howie have you actually seen that in action, with a few different oxen? I think it must depend on character etc etc – Angus is approx. three times the size of our dexters, a lot bigger than the bull and he’s pretty much bottom of the pecking order…The cows freely boss him around and the bull, well, both of them actually as he’s run with both, are like best friends with him? We also run mature steers, many of, with our bull and NEVER have any issues – the bull is top dog every time.

[Howie]

I seen one herd that the ox never let the bull breed a cow.
Seen two oxen that pulled a ligament off a hind leg by trying to breed a cow one was a 1500 lb. Dexter the other was a 3000 lb. Chianina.:eek:

[Nat(wasIxy)]

For me, I wouldn’t see that as enough of a risk to find separate accomodation for grown oxen, as cattle mount each other all the time – all my oxen mount each other at some stage; out of excitment, dominance displays or whatever so unless I kept them singly, which I’m not prepared to do, there’s always the element of risk that they will hurt themselves – heck, they might even hurt themselves kept singly! The bulls mount the oxen too, and cows are at risk when breeding, but it wouldn’t persuade me to rely on AI instead. The only time we’ve had a steer keep the bull off a cow was the one who went to slaughter where we discovered he had a retained testicle.

[Rod]

I would not want one of my 2000lb. oxen to mount one of my 700 Lb. Lowline heifers, that’s for sure.

[Author]

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