Buffalo in the Pasture...

[B&L Longhorn Ranch]

I mentioned owning a buffalo in a previous post and wanted to establish a new post strictly for buffalo...

We raise high-end Longhorn Cattle who share the pasture with our lone Buffalo heifer +/- 13 mos old. My wife & I had wanted a buffalo simply due to the fact they once roamed free on the land here 200 years ago and their majestic beauty. Though warned by many concerning fences, we purchased our little heifer who mixed in perfectly with our cattle. My wife named her "Ashoini" (sho-nee) which means beautiful in American Native language. I will state, she is rambunctious but no more so than other cattle her age. (Cutting wood last week around the pond and saw her get a running start and hit one heifer, who was drinking, in the rear-end knocking her in the pond.) She is ALWAYS full of energy, trying to "play" with her other buddies, and "grunting" (which is the sound they make which was also a surprise to me), she does keep us laughing but likewise I don't mean to insinuate she's troublesome in the least.

As for Fences... EVERYONE told me to be prepared for fence work. We have the standard 5-strand barbwire and nothing bad to report. (A few people around have either a few or a herd with old fences. Close to our place there is a small ranch with +/- 15 Buffalo (many full grown) with some of the worst looking fences in the area, yet they remain in the pasture.

As for Breeding... We definitely plan to allow our Longhorn bull to breed with her. (1) That first male offspring will be "steered" just so I can see how his horns will develop. A Buffalo bred with a Longhorn bull; that has to be interesting! (2) All others; I told the wife when we bought her that her off-spring ("beefalo") would be freezer bound; longhorn beef is very lean and buffalo meat is also quite tasty meaning I expect some really good beef. In time though, I would like to breed her via AI with actual Buffalo semen and hope for another little heifer.

HIGHLY recommend a buffalo to all as a pasture buddy; she is absolutely gorgeous, nostalgic, reminiscent of our fore-fathers.

 

[showing71]

I've always wanted a buffalo, but got shot down because we don't operate a "funny farm" as the family put it. Now I have ammo . Thanks for the post!

 

[Northern Rancher]

I had a buffalo bull got in my calving field-he was running cows when I found him-after the second slipped calf I resolved the issue with a .270 and a skinning knife.

 

[aussie_cowgirl]

Aww. I wouldn't mind a water buffalo. There are a few in the Northern Territory but no where near where I am. One day maybe :roll:

 

[3waycross]

Now for the flip side of the story. We just had a case adjudicated near Hartsel Colo where a rancher who could not get his neighbor to take responsibility for his wandering buffalo shot a great number of them. It ended up costing him a fortune and possibly some jail time. As Northern Rancher said when they have caused your neighbors enuf trouble they end up being a rug. The fact that we are a FENCE OUTstate does not make it ok to let an animal that is that dangerous and destructive to roam (no pun intended) at will.

Do not kid yourself, that heifer is there because she WANTS to be there. the minute she doesn't , that 5 strand will be like tissue paper to her. They are NOT cattle, and with or without romantic sounding Native American names, they can and will under the right circumstances kill you.

 

[alacattleman]

I mentioned owning a buffalo in a previous post and wanted to establish a new post strictly for buffalo...

We raise high-end Longhorn Cattle who share the pasture with our lone Buffalo heifer +/- 13 mos old. My wife & I had wanted a buffalo simply due to the fact they once roamed free on the land here 200 years ago and their majestic beauty. Though warned by many concerning fences, we purchased our little heifer who mixed in perfectly with our cattle. My wife named her "Ashoini" (sho-nee) which means beautiful in American Native language. I will state, she is rambunctious but no more so than other cattle her age. (Cutting wood last week around the pond and saw her get a running start and hit one heifer, who was drinking, in the rear-end knocking her in the pond.) She is ALWAYS full of energy, trying to "play" with her other buddies, and "grunting" (which is the sound they make which was also a surprise to me), she does keep us laughing but likewise I don't mean to insinuate she's troublesome in the least.

As for Fences... EVERYONE told me to be prepared for fence work. We have the standard 5-strand barbwire and nothing bad to report. (A few people around have either a few or a herd with old fences. Close to our place there is a small ranch with +/- 15 Buffalo (many full grown) with some of the worst looking fences in the area, yet they remain in the pasture.

As for Breeding... We definitely plan to allow our Longhorn bull to breed with her. (1) That first male offspring will be "steered" just so I can see how his horns will develop. A Buffalo bred with a Longhorn bull; that has to be interesting! (2) All others; I told the wife when we bought her that her off-spring ("beefalo") would be freezer bound; longhorn beef is very lean and buffalo meat is also quite tasty meaning I expect some really good beef. In time though, I would like to breed her via AI with actual Buffalo semen and hope for another little heifer.

HIGHLY recommend a buffalo to all as a pasture buddy; she is absolutely gorgeous, nostalgic, reminiscent of our fore-fathers.

i hope my fore fathers did'nt look like that.. ;-)

 

[herefordchick]

Question for those of you that have some buffalo knowledge -

I am a Hereford breeder and I have a potential customer that has been buying steers from me to feed out. He is a hobby farmer 200% he also has a couple buffalo cows - or a cow and a heifer to be exact. He asked me about buying a yearling hereford bull calf to breed his buffalo cows. One person told me that those buffalo cows would beat the heck out of a beef bull. Is this a concern or will they more likely all get along in a pasture? He is a bull calf that didn't make the grade as a registered bull so this would be better for me than sending him to the sale barn - but I don't want to hear that he got the tar beat out of him by a couple of cows either.

Like I said I know NOTHING about buffalo so any advice is welcome.

Thanks!

 

[TexasBred]

I had a buffalo bull got in my calving field-he was running cows when I found him-after the second slipped calf I resolved the issue with a .270 and a skinning knife.

Yep..like the guy said "everybody needs a pet buffalo" for a pasture buddy...Personally I prefer my wife.

 

[cross_7]

I mentioned owning a buffalo in a previous post and wanted to establish a new post strictly for buffalo...

We raise high-end Longhorn Cattle who share the pasture with our lone Buffalo heifer +/- 13 mos old. My wife & I had wanted a buffalo simply due to the fact they once roamed free on the land here 200 years ago and their majestic beauty. Though warned by many concerning fences, we purchased our little heifer who mixed in perfectly with our cattle. My wife named her "Ashoini" (sho-nee) which means beautiful in American Native language. I will state, she is rambunctious but no more so than other cattle her age. (Cutting wood last week around the pond and saw her get a running start and hit one heifer, who was drinking, in the rear-end knocking her in the pond.) She is ALWAYS full of energy, trying to "play" with her other buddies, and "grunting" (which is the sound they make which was also a surprise to me), she does keep us laughing but likewise I don't mean to insinuate she's troublesome in the least.

As for Fences... EVERYONE told me to be prepared for fence work. We have the standard 5-strand barbwire and nothing bad to report. (A few people around have either a few or a herd with old fences. Close to our place there is a small ranch with +/- 15 Buffalo (many full grown) with some of the worst looking fences in the area, yet they remain in the pasture.

As for Breeding... We definitely plan to allow our Longhorn bull to breed with her. (1) That first male offspring will be "steered" just so I can see how his horns will develop. A Buffalo bred with a Longhorn bull; that has to be interesting! (2) All others; I told the wife when we bought her that her off-spring ("beefalo") would be freezer bound; longhorn beef is very lean and buffalo meat is also quite tasty meaning I expect some really good beef. In time though, I would like to breed her via AI with actual Buffalo semen and hope for another little heifer.

HIGHLY recommend a buffalo to all as a pasture buddy; she is absolutely gorgeous, nostalgic, reminiscent of our fore-fathers.

which end is higher

 

[GRTiger85]

haha high end longhorns, thats funny

 

[B&L Longhorn Ranch]

Question for those of you that have some buffalo knowledge -

I am a Hereford breeder and I have a potential customer that has been buying steers from me to feed out. He is a hobby farmer 200% he also has a couple buffalo cows - or a cow and a heifer to be exact. He asked me about buying a yearling hereford bull calf to breed his buffalo cows. One person told me that those buffalo cows would beat the heck out of a beef bull. Is this a concern or will they more likely all get along in a pasture? He is a bull calf that didn't make the grade as a registered bull so this would be better for me than sending him to the sale barn - but I don't want to hear that he got the tar beat out of him by a couple of cows either.

Like I said I know NOTHING about buffalo so any advice is welcome.

Thanks!

Obviously my opinion may mean very little due to the negative feelings concerning Longhorn Cattle and Buffalo in general.
Within close proximity to me, there is cattle rancher who also has a few Buffalo cows and I'm not aware of any issues.
Likewise, I plan to allow my herd bull to breed her in due time.
Sure, some Buffalo are mean spirited, a neighbor across the street has a Brahman cow that won't allow anyone in the pasture, and I even know a man personally who bought one of those "Mini Brahman" bulls that's the meanest thing I've ever seen. If his Buffalo cows are tame, why not?

 

[cross_7]

[/quote]
Obviously my opinion may mean very little due to the negative feelings concerning Longhorn Cattle and Buffalo in general.
Within close proximity to me, there is cattle rancher who also has a few Buffalo cows and I'm not aware of any issues.
Likewise, I plan to allow my herd bull to breed her in due time.
Sure, some Buffalo are mean spirited, a neighbor across the street has a Brahman cow that won't allow anyone in the pasture, and I even know a man personally who bought one of those "Mini Brahman" bulls that's the meanest thing I've ever seen. If his Buffalo cows are tame, why not?[/quote]


no negative feeling towards longhorns
if you have found a niche market, concrats to you.(your doing better than i am)
it's all about making money, whether it be cattle, buffalo or whatever
the term high-end jumped out at me
never heard the term when referring to cattle (just overpriced auto's and etc.)

 

[Brandonm22]

Yep..like the guy said "everybody needs a pet buffalo" for a pasture buddy...Personally I prefer my wife.

The buffalo would probably be cheaper. Though hopefully, the wife is prettier.

 

[Aero]

my inner keeney forces me to ask: what is a "high-end" longhorn?

 

[GRTiger85]

Doesn't exist, they are all pasture decorations.

 

[ga. prime]

If that buffalo heifer is anything like the ones my brother in law has, you don't want to be in the pasture with her when she has a young calf. Not in a truck or on a tractor or anything else because she'll try to flip it.

 

[hillrancher]

I had a buffalo ranch close to me, I know when they would get out it was after the river got a rise or someone running through the fence he would round them up with a winch truck and a shot gun, tranquilizer gun. His fences were tall and double Webb wire. His feed truck had rails on it like a dirt track car. This made me believe they were not tame.

 

[mnmtranching]

Longhorns and Buffalo are neat and fun. That's it, nothing to do with the beef industry. Pasture ornaments is saying it accurately. :nod:

 

[Frankie]

Here's a link to a picture of the sale facility at the Wichita Mtns Wildlife Refuge where they sell excess Longhorns and buffalo. It's quite a set of pens. Nobody gets on the ground with the buffalo. And they're pretty cautious with the Longhorns.

http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/ok ... tions.html

 

[T-Bro]

Longhorns? Pasture ornaments?
Yes, they are pretty to look at.
But, you do realize that they are made of beef and people really do eat them.

That's ok. Continue in your smugness.