Any advice for hardier cattle?COUNTRYSIDE: Thank you for such an enjoyable magazine and so many delightful comments and articles from readers. I live on 300 acres in Oregon, situated on a rocky mountainside that has heavy clay, wherever there aren't rocks. It's mostly oak woodland, with soils that form a sea of mud in the winter, and solidify to a brick-like consistency in the summer. We're at 4,000 feet elevation so snow is common in winter. I have been running Herefords for the last several years as they are supposed to be good foragers and pretty hardy. For a domestic cattle breed, I guess they're pretty good, but I'd like a critter more compatible with my wild land environment. The Herefords get worms, warts, pinkeye pinkeye: see conjunctivitis. , and recently one dropped dead of Redwater redwater red urine; see hemoglobinuria, hematuria, myoglobinuria, phenothiazine, phenolphthalein, xanthorrhoea. redwater fever see babesiosis. disease (we think). We also have a lot of predators (mountain lion mountain lion: see puma. being the largest), so faint-of-heart critters will not do. The heritage breeds claim to be more parasite resistant (ticks, internal parasites, lice) and more willing to eat a greater variety of forage forage Vegetable food, including corn and hay, of wild or domestic animals. Harvested, processed, and stored forage is called silage. Forage should be harvested in early maturity to avoid a decrease in protein and fibre content as crops mature. , but I haven't found any documentation that's more specific. There are Highland, Galloway, and Dexter cattle Dexter cattle are a minority breed of cattle and until fairly recently, were in fact considered as a rare breed. They are the smallest native breed, and originated in the South of Ireland in the 1800s as an ideal "cottager's cow", producing plenty of milk for the house and a calf sprinkled around southwest Oregon. Does anyone have experience with these breeds or others that might fit the situation? I like the idea of preserving the heritage breeds, so a small breeding herd would be enjoyable. If you know of good websites on this subject that would help too! Thanks again for sharing all your exploits--homesteading sure isn't for folks that can't learn from and share their mistakes as well as their successes!--Maureen Home, Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, near Interstate 5 and the California border, and located in the south end of the Rogue Valley. It was named after Ashland County, Ohio, point of origin of Abel Helman and other founders, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where other If you raise a breed of cattle that thrives in your environment, let us know. Send your comments to: COUNTRYSIDE Editorial, 145 Industrial Dr., Medford, WI 54451; e-mail: csymag@tds.net. |
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