Bison can you milk them ?

[Beekissed]

Good to know other males don't have that disgusting trait. If I ever have a small milk animal again (move out of town) I too would chose hair sheep, I'd chose a grazer over a browser every day.

The beauty of the hair sheep are they are both grazers and browsers and stay healthier if they have good browse on hand in their pasture. I used to save my corn shucks for them each year and even some low quality, thistlely hay for them to sample, as they seemed to need it.

And they don't smell like woolly breeds...hair sheep smell like horses. Sweet, like hay.

I miss my sheeples...

 

[baymule]

We have been building fence so we can get sheep. Have two small pastures now, need to build shelter for them. It just takes time, wanted to have a three sided shed by now....... I want Dorpers.

Bison? @Nyboy you really gotta stay off Craigslist...... Milking Bison???? Ummmm....not to hurt your feelings, but please Nyboy, just go BUY some milk!!!

 

[thistlebloom]

@Kassaundra you're thinking of Lamanchas. They are a typically quiet breed with tiny ear nubs.

Buck goats smell during their rut, about 5 months of the year, but you don't have to keep your own buck for breeding unless you live on the far side of the middle of nowhere.

No, goats aren't for everyone, and there are some strong opinions voiced here. I'm just glad we are not all made in the same mold.
There are different horses for different courses and I will always like goats.

 

[thistlebloom]

If you have shrubs or small trees that you want to keep goats will eat them.

Sheep will also bark trees and kill them, as long as we're keeping score.

 

[Kassaundra]

@Kassaundra you're thinking of Lamanchas. They are a typically quiet breed with tiny ear nubs.

Buck goats smell during their rut, about 5 months of the year, but you don't have to keep your own buck for breeding unless you live on the far side of the middle of nowhere.

No, goats aren't for everyone, and there are some strong opinions voiced here. I'm just glad we are not all made in the same mold.
There are different horses for different courses and I will always like goats.

There are things I adore about goats, ours were all bottle raised by us so extremely friendly (females and kids). We had a small herd so hand milked, easy to handle, inquisitive and smart. Helga was devious, you could see the wheels turning in that one. Barebottom could breech any fence, Sweedy was always getting into things, like the fermented grapes, a drunk goat is quite funny to watch. Any time we did anything in their pasture we always had lots of company and lots of help. We kept a male, but not w/ the herd when I was growing up, I would not keep a male ever. But I doubt I would keep a male sheep either. We had really bad experiences w/ our buck, I don't think I would ever trust one again or risk harm. I was a teen and not making the decisions when they kept the male(s)

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think Kassaundra nailed it on the males. Whether sheep, goats, cattle, horses, basically any large mammal, you don't need to keep a male unless you have a large enough herd that a male is the best way, then you properly manage the male. With male goats especially that can be challenging, but any large male can require some knowledge of what to do and is potentially dangerous.

You do need to know someone with a male that can be used, probably for a stud fee, and know when to take a female for a visit. Or you use Artificial Insemination.

 

[so lucky]

I know almost nothing about sheep, cows and horses, but I wanted to contribute this observance to this conversation: There was a beautiful patch of woods, just about 3 acres, on my way to work. I even inquired about buying it at one time. Huge old oak and maple trees, other kinds too. It had been protected over the years, not logged, which is unusual for this area.
Someone did buy it, fenced it, and put horses in there. For a while it looked...fair....but then apparently the money ran out, and the food supply must have dwindled. The ground turned into a quagmire, and the trees were stripped of lower leaves and bark. The horses looked bony and morose.
Of course, eventually the trees all died. The horses were removed. I don't know where they went. Maybe they were sold for slaughter? That beautiful acreage now looks like a boneyard, dry grey dead trees sticking up to the sky.
Just sad, all around.

 

[digitS']

Too many animals, wrong choice of animals ...

I'm out and about in the local exurbs almost daily during the growing season and try to take different routes. Things seem to be changing for the better in terms of over-grazing. I think it's mostly because of the aging of the boomers and they are giving up on livestock. And, by livestock, I mean 90% of the time - horses. I saw 2 young women riding last week. Seeing someone riding happens about once a month ... maybe.

Three horses on an acre and a half results in manure and thistles. Of course, I have one neighbor out there who allows nothing to grow by using herbicide ...

I talked a little about another neighbor and his sheep (link). I really should take a closer look but it sure looks like a properly mowed little pasture.

It isn't just us moderns who have changed the environment. Historic drawings of this valley shows far fewer trees. The Indians had a ready market for their horses on the buffalo ranges of Montana where wintering a horse was difficult. During hostilities, the US military found about 1,000 horses here (& killed them). Burning the trees in the Spokane valley had provided them with grass for grazing.

Military roadbuilders complained to the Coeur d'Alene about the trees across the trail upriver from the lake. Why would they want more access to their valley? They were not so geared to the horse culture there and got around by canoe.

As we drive our highways and byways and stop in our parking lots, think how many trees were cut and the acres of soil that lie beneath asphalt and concrete.

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

When we were looking for a house when we moved up here, the place we wound up with was advertised as "great for horses". That's not what we were looking for but our agent convinced us to come look at it. She was right because it's what we bought.

The "great for horses" part was not great however. They were keeping five horses in a lot less than 3/4 acres. There was not a blade of green in that entire area, just a sea of mud when it rained. They did have a 12' x 60' loafing shed on it which became a shed and chicken coop on one end after we moved in. The owner, a minister if that is worth anything, considered himself to be a great horse person. Sorry, I don't treat animals that way.

 

[canesisters]

@Nyboy ,I'll let you know about my backyard dairy experience. Eva is 11months old & will go to meet Junior the bull in Jan/Feb. My goal is to raise a 3/4 beef calf & provide milk for the house. i have already learned that there is MUCH more to having a dairy cow than i first thought