Bison can you milk them ?

[Nyboy]

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/grd/5303767200.html

 

[majorcatfish]

for 5k heck you could start your own herd ... and once established start your line of bison meat products

 

[digitS']

I came to realize that Dad had a broad interest in dairy breeds. We had beef: Hereford and what we called a Durham but there was this small group of milk cows that Dad put his hopes on for starting a dairy. Quite a few years went by before those cows had outlived their usefulness even in fantasy.

We had 2 Guernseys, a Jersey, a Holstein, and a Milking Shorthorn. I don't think it ever occurred to him to get a Bison.

The Holstein was so stubborn during milking, she'd kick off her hobbles. Even with one front leg tied up and hobbled, she would kneel down so she could kick.

Finally, we tied up that leg and stretched out the opposite back leg, tied to the wall. Of course, she fell as soon as we touched her. Take off the ropes. Let her stand. Tie those two legs again - she decided her kicking days were through. I hate to think what jujitsu a Bison would go through to reach the same decision.

Steve

 

[catjac1975]

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/grd/5303767200.html

You have got to get off of that damned Craig's List. Then again, I would love to hear your neighbor stories regarding the nosy neighbor and her opinionated opinions when you brought that pair home. And the mating for all of the neighbors to see!

 

[catjac1975]

I have always wanted BEEFALO. Husband not interested.

 

[dickiebird]

Of course you can milk Buffalo!!!
But please have the camera running and post the video on you tube for all to watch.

THANX RICH

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I assume you can. On some thread on Chowhound I was once on, someone mentioned that the ranch near them made blue cheese from buffalo milk. Normally I'd assume they mean actual water buffalo, since those, of course are milked all the time (classically for mozzarella, nowadays for a whole lot of cheeses) But I could have sworn they specifically said American "buffalo" i.e. bison. Logically, if there is cheese, there is milk and if there is milk, someone milked it.

One warning if you are planning on breeding, beefalo apparently only work one way (he cow to she bison, I think) the other way always miscarries and or results in the death of mother and child, since the pelvis is too narrow to accommodate the head.

 

[Nyboy]

I spend to much time on CL. $2,500 a animal seemed really cheap, not that I have any idea what market price is. Sure owner doesn't want to feed though winter.

 

[Beekissed]

Do you know what kind of fences one has to have to have buffalo? Tall and very strong, especially if keeping them where you have neighbors and highways close by.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The female will be producing milk if they have been milking her or if she has a calf feeding. Otherwise her milk has dried up and she will not produce any more milk until she has a calf. I did not see any mention that she has been bred.

I don't know how long bison live or how long they remain productive. I'd think that she has several good productive breeding years left in her but I don't know that.

There is the question of how much milk she would actually produce. Our milk cows have been bred to produce a lot of milk, but most cows regulate how much milk they produce by how much milk the calf is taking. When I was milking our cow as a teenager, the calf would get half and I'd get half until the calf hit prime veal size, just a bit over 200 pounds. Then it would go to market and I'd get it all. Ours were not purebred milk cows but normally had some Jersey or Guernsey in them so they tended to produce a fair amount of rich butterfat milk. One of the keys to a good milk cow was that her udder was big enough so they she could be trained to produce a fair amount of milk by increasing demand. Up to a point the more you take the more she produces. I don't know how big that bison's udder is or how much milk she is capable of producing.

The ad says they are farm raised. To me that implies they are probably fairly wild, have not been handled a lot or treated as pets. That means if you try to milk her, she may violently and with great strength resist.

If the going price is $6000 and you can get them for $5000 you can look at it as you have saved $1000. My wife has saved me all kinds of money with that kind of thinking, especially when she goes shopping with her sister-in-law. But if it is something not needed I'd look at is as spending $5000. I know the women on here think I'm nuts with that kind of thinking, but maybe some (not all, but some) of the men will understand.

Then there is the other issue, housing and maintenance. I'm not just talking about food, you'll probably have to do some serious fencing. Barbed wire won't cut it with bison, even if you electrify it. The will just walk or run right through it. You are talking about something extremely strong an extremely expensive to keep them contained.