Will Watusi make good Oxen?

[houstonmule]

Hi, I’m new to the forum. I have 2 teams of draft mules and raise purebred Watusi. My calves will grow huge horns, some lateral and some up. Is there anyone that would take 2 calves and train them to pull? If so, how much would it cost and how long would it take to get them broke enough to pull a wagon through town?

[Berta]

I worked with a Watusi x lineback that was a really attractive cow. Never trained her to pull but she had a good attitude.
I figure any bovine can learn to pull, up horns would be much less likely to cause trouble when hitched. I broke a team of jerseys for nothing more than the cost of equipment (made my own baby yokes) and feed. at 3 my boys are close enough to full size that they are good for a long workout and strong.
So, time to grow and regular handling. plus a few days a week for focused training. I started my team with a good bit of horse experience and a few years working around cattle so I was familiar with how they think. You probably have everything you need around the farm already.

Go for it!

[clayfoot-sandyman]

Apparently they’re commonly used as oxen in Africa, got this bit from the ‘Orlando Sentinel’ on-line, an excerpt from an article about a Florida Watusi Breeder;

….’Rarely slaughtered for meat except in special ceremonies, Watusi cows were frequently milked and then bled to produce a yogurtlike high-protein drink……Even so, Watusi cattle have begun to lose their significance in their homeland. Prized as beasts of burden for thousands of years, they have been replaced by tractors and other farm equipment.
“Watusi were used as oxen in their native Africa,” Strimenos said. “They weren’t eaten for meat — the cattle were seen as sacred.”

Hmm, not sure about that high protein blood/milk yoghurt drink.:confused:

[Nat(wasIxy)]

I was just reading this morning about various old tribes in africa that used oxen rather than horses – they had a big part to play in funerals apparently.

[OldKat]

@houstonmule 23004 wrote:

Hi, I’m new to the forum. I have 2 teams of draft mules and raise purebred Watusi. My calves will grow huge horns, some lateral and some up. Is there anyone that would take 2 calves and train them to pull? If so, how much would it cost and how long would it take to get them broke enough to pull a wagon through town?

Where are you located?

[houstonmule]

We are in Alberta

[Roscoe]

@houstonmule 23303 wrote:

We are in Alberta

How do they like the Albertan winter?
Do you keep them in a barn?

[houstonmule]

@Roscoe 23395 wrote:

How do they like the Albertan winter?
Do you keep them in a barn?

So far so good. They were fine last winter. They have access to a quanst with lots of straw to get out of the wind. I was instructed that the need to be out of the wind at -20.

[OldKat]

@houstonmule 23544 wrote:

So far so good. They were fine last winter. They have access to a quanst with lots of straw to get out of the wind. I was instructed that the need to be out of the wind at -20.

Aren’t they from fairly far south in Africa? I would think that they could take some cold weather, but this kind of surprises me.

[houstonmule]

@OldKat 23549 wrote:

Aren’t they from fairly far south in Africa? I would think that they could take some cold weather, but this kind of surprises me.

Their horns are a radiator. Their heart pumps blood up through their horns to cool them in the hot African summers. Their horns are not as heavy as everyone thinks. Quite honeycombed, so it workes against them in the winter. I do know of a guy in Manitoba that had some and he didn’t give them any special treatment and they did fine.

[Dick Roosenberg]

I have trained a couple pair of Watusi cattle. In their home territory of Eastern Uganda they are known as Ankole and have been bred and selected to be mild tempered despite the big horns. They are much longer legged than the local zebu of Uganda but less fiesty. In Uganda they were thought to be less appropriate for draft purposes than dairy because they had no hump of sibnificance. A well-fitted neck yoke can resolve that problem. You should give it a try!

I’ll attach a team that one of Tillers volunteers trained at a vocational school near Maska Uganda.

[houstonmule]

That is an awsome picture. Thanks for sharing that.

[CharlyBonifaz]

beautiful animals! man, would I be proud with a team like that……

[Author]

Posts