we have just recently completed our fence on our place here in n texas, a pipe fence with non climb wire to keep our dogs in and most strays out....
so we are now considering buying a few cattle, mainly for pets as i dont see my family ever eating them, and also to keep our land ag exempt....
is there anything special we should know about raising cattle, such as feeding, certain breeds to stay away from, do we really need a good barn or will a 3 sided loafing shed do?
we have pretty good grass now and we are steady fertilizing/cutting it to improve it, and if we need to, the old man across the street will cut/bale it for us for $1 a bale so we hope to do that someday....
so my main question is, what is involved with the feeding process, just let em graze all summer or do we have to supplement in the summertime, and feed em hay / cattle feed in the winter?looking at 5-6 head on 15 acres we have....
Wow...so are you saying, that in general you need about 5 acres per head? Is that only if you are not supplementing with feed/hay? [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Shoot our ranch in Idaho you need 20-40 acres for a cow/calf pair.
With regard to the question on raising cattle yes just make sure they have plenty of hay or grass. If you aren't going to eat them there's no reason to grain them. Give them a good salt/mineral block and water and that's about it. You do need to worm them a couple times a year. Most of the wormers for cattle you can just pour on their backs.
NOW with that said raising cattle for market or to eat is a totally different story.
i am not trying to raise cattle for a living, so money really isn't an object.....i just want something for the kids to enjoy/take some responsibility in, and keep the rural feel to our place...
any particular breeds less troublesome/ less maintanence than others?
so we shouldnt have to buy range cubes or any other type of bagged feed if we dont care how fast they grow? is that the main reason to grain feed them, to put on body weight as quick as possible?
we have green grass 9-10 months out of the year down here..
i have about 75% coastal bermuda for them to graze on, so i can get by with just feeding them hay in the winter?
how about shelter, do they really need to be protected from anything? we dont have harsh winters, but it does get into the mid-teens sometimes in jan/feb..maybe snow once every coupla yrs....
I only have experience with two breeds, Black Angus and Herefords. Never had a Hereford get out and the only thing that would hold an Angus, was the freezer. If you want a challenge maybe Longhorns [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]
Al
Cattle can handle the snow, as far as protection for them, you do not need a barn for them in those kind of conditions, they can handle those low temperatures.
As far as breed of the cattle goes, stick with the smaller ones, you will find that cattle will get used to people and that the more that you work with them and are around them the better it would be. However they are not pets.
Twenty to fourty per pair in Idaho, now that is barren ground. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
After todays experience with the neighbors bull, I came to the realization of the whole India Brahma thing. They came to terms years ago that you can't fence for them without electric so they just let them run wild. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Listen to Richard, he has some good suggestions.
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