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NorthernMonkeyGirl
Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 4630 Location: Peeping over your shoulder
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46219 Location: yes
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46219 Location: yes
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Ty Gwyn
Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Posts: 4613 Location: Lampeter
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46219 Location: yes
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Posted: Fri Jan 20, 23 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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umm angus and angus cross are tasty
not too frisky from reports of them, as a way to see how cattle work with the land and facilities they might be a good start
naturally polled is an advantage for handling
thinking of handling, infrastructure etc
two people is good even if it should only take one, stuff happens with moos, especially in a mixed role herd
even with two people, a crush would be very useful
plenty of physical barriers etc to direct them as required
decent leccy fencing to contain them or to strip graze, strip grazing is good if you do not have a bronze age field system
transport, that depends, but it needs to be safe and easy
water supplies, fodder supply for winter, fodder store, winter quarters etc
electric fencing, umm ask, i got quite good at it with tuition and developed a few neat tricks for unusual situations and common problems,
useful stuff and essential for strip grazing
oh, holiday and jolly or working days away, emergency or sick for a week needs potential cover, possibly at short notice
moos need a fair bit of regular attention even if they were all being nice and cooperatively munching salad when you last looked.
preparing for moos is more complex than preparing for a first child , at least i had experts showing me while we found out how "amusing" each can be
oh, they are all very different in personality even among half siblings
mostly they are delightful to be with, i miss the smell of moo in the morning, i cant "nudge", run or jump well enough any more to get personal with them, for all their real and dangeroos/expensive faults they are rather nice |
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NorthernMonkeyGirl
Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 4630 Location: Peeping over your shoulder
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Ty Gwyn
Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Posts: 4613 Location: Lampeter
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NorthernMonkeyGirl
Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 4630 Location: Peeping over your shoulder
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Ty Gwyn
Joined: 22 Sep 2010 Posts: 4613 Location: Lampeter
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gz
Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 8924 Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46219 Location: yes
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NorthernMonkeyGirl
Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 4630 Location: Peeping over your shoulder
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 23 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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dpack wrote: |
nice moos, showing my ignorance and trying to mend it
are the different colours, conformation, horns etc related to the personality type of the individual ?
ie can you pick for "robust" and fairly independent or "domestic" but needing an easier life by looking at them?
robust even if not aggressive can be rather too exciting if you have a different plan to theirs, robust upset and angry is more efficient than domestic upset and angry, but for some regimes robust is a primary requirement.
if you can use domestic ones, it does make life easier and perhaps longer but the most benign and happy moo can accidentally squash you so never get careless
second question, they seem to have different regional origins, which might be best suited to red cheshire? |
Good questions!
Character doesn't seem to depend on physicality but I do try to pick out relaxed cows - both for my sake but also if they are highly strung they will spend time on high alert instead of grazing. They don't have to fight off wolves, in fact they are on public access sites so ideally they need to ignore dogs entirely. They are also now fine with main roads, train tracks, and military aircraft practising overhead
Robust I choose by physical type - I like a deep body on short legs - and by the type of land they have come from. I probably wouldn't buy from a nice farm in the south with green grass and sunshine! Younger ones have thrived on grazing and browsing only all year, older cows had a harder adjustment from a "normal" paddock plus daily sugar beet. As/when I get more animals, I plan to select harder for good feet, udders, etc. My older cows have some compromises there. Maybe in future older breeding cows could be coddled a bit but weanlings and in-calf heifers sent up the hills to be "tested"?
The website has broken in a few spots but there is a bit about the regions https://ancientcattleofwales.org/about-2/the-cattle/colours/
I've heard it said that horned animals are more secure because they know they could defend themselves, not sure if there is any truth to that, I couldn't pick out a general difference between Longhorns and Shorthorns in character.
I looked up Creuddyn Bridge, I don't know a herd there but there is one nearby on the A487. I bet there are plenty that aren't on facebook etc. |
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46219 Location: yes
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 23 12:00 pm Post subject: |
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thanks, moo lore is fascinating, the subtleties of breed and type can be the difference between just about managing and death or bankruptcy.
public access is a consideration, i had a few passing ramblers that had met the herd and the herd were a herd. once they had calmed a little ,hearing what upset them usually led straight to them not knowing moos and not understanding curiosity
they were more upset by me explaining being upset by a bull was daft and he only wanted a neck massage, and that the steers and nursing mothers are the defensive ones
one of them complained there were moos where the footpath line was, a few feet off the map path but protected by the electric back line was a very good path between the same gates
i spose we have a duty of care, but so do those who ramble etc, and they usually do not know the moo rules ie be sensible and adapt to or manipulate moo mood, and certainly cannot "read the mood" of the moos
the herd mix is worth consideration, steers or moo and heel or bull and cows or natural mix herd with all of those sorting the social stuff between themselves?
all have different dynamics which need matching to the land, regime and human/moo interactions
moos and footpaths can be fine or very dangeroos, some of the public are predictably "difficult", if you do have public access /footpaths as a minimum make sure you have taken reasonable steps to prevent problems, if you can separate the public from the moos without mentioning it helps
i would wade a ditch or wriggle through thorn to be a safe rambler, most ramblers don't, some seem to assume farmers should adjust a business to suit them taking little bonzo for a stroll across a herd's dining table |
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Old-Chads-Orchard
Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 394 Location: Malpas, Cheshire
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 46219 Location: yes
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