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Barnyard Buddies:  So - have had chickens for three years, now bees  |
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Peacebird
True Blue Farmgirl
89 Posts
Marianne
Afton
Va
USA
89 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 13 2009 : 5:30:35 PM
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My hive has been going since spring...
The question is - what joins the family next?
I am leaning strongly towards minitaure beef cattle - the lowline sort - heritage breeds... Anyone have experience with them? Since I am a small woman I am more comfortable with the smaller beef breeds than the "full size" types...
chickens clucking, bees buzzing, flowers blooming, all is good! |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2009 : 7:05:01 PM
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I'm with Alee. Goats for sure. There are dwarf varieties. Everyone needs at least 2 goats.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2009 : 7:08:19 PM
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Goats would be nice. I agree. What about cats!!!!!!
The Cat Lover
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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homesteaderbelle
True Blue Farmgirl
391 Posts
Belle
USA
391 Posts |
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Tapestry
True Blue Farmgirl
1223 Posts
Cheryl
Wisconsin
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - Jul 14 2009 : 03:15:42 AM
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Hi Marianne. I just saw an article in Country Woman magazine about miniature cattle. They're so cute I'd probably want to make pets out of all of them. They do seem like the perfect size for a small woman to take care of without difficulty. Do you get that magazine? Here's a link in case you're interested in checking the story out. http://www.countrywomanmagazine.com/
Happy farmgirl sister #353
Look for rainbows instead of mud puddles
http://fantasm01.imagekind.com/
http://tapestrysimaginings.blogspot.com/ |
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Peacebird
True Blue Farmgirl
89 Posts
Marianne
Afton
Va
USA
89 Posts |
Posted - Jul 14 2009 : 3:37:23 PM
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Hi all!
I had forgotten to mention my two cats - Silly & Webster! I had considered goats actually, but an article on lowline cattle in Mother Earth just really caught my eye. Thank you for the link to the article in CountryWoman! Now all I have to do is convince the hubby... 
chickens clucking, bees buzzing, flowers blooming, all is good! |
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goneriding
True Blue Farmgirl
1599 Posts
Winona
Central Oregon
USA
1599 Posts |
Posted - Jul 15 2009 : 07:49:53 AM
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I'm on dial-up and can't open the link but what about Dexter cattle? They are pretty popular around the SW part of OR. Small farms that don't need huge cattle. One guy rents his bull out for $15 for a while. They have a co-op for the bull.
Winona ;-)
To read funny stories about my cooking 'skills', please visit http://lostadventuresincooking.blogspot.com/
For uber-opinionated, pleasurable horse related reading, please visit http://horseinfoperson.blogspot.com/
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Adrienne Card
Farmgirl at Heart
3 Posts
Adrienne
Billerica
MA
3 Posts |
Posted - Jul 19 2009 : 1:21:09 PM
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I worked the the Kerry breed of cattle once, and it was a very good experience. They were very petite in height, and mild mannered. What boggled my mind was after years of dealing with Holsteins and Jerseys, watching the cow deliver in a field, followed by the afterbirth, in record time without any problems. The only downsides that I found with working with this particular breed were 1) They still had some of the wilder instincts, and did not warm up to human contact the way other breeds do, definitely had an independent streak, and 2) They grazed, and the calves would hide in the fields so well that we were often unable to rotate on a proper schedule because the calves would hide for days at a time while the cows moved without issue - and this was not a big operation, it was small and in the northeast, so one would think there wasn't a large amount of space to hide. Good luck!
All the really good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow. ~Grant Wood |
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KD Earthwork
True Blue Farmgirl
210 Posts
Katie
Gualala
Calif.
USA
210 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2009 : 03:49:51 AM
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My girlfriend is doing grass fed beef.She got these beautiful,small,belted galloways.They are wonderful temperment.I helped her haul the baby bull "Julius" he's so beautiful,so small and so calm.The whole herd is calm because of him.She's been breeding to angus and a galloway heifers and is getting good crosses that are mostly small like the bull.The idea is the old breeds fatten better on just grass.The new breeds have a hard time without corn.
Katie |
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Peacebird
True Blue Farmgirl
89 Posts
Marianne
Afton
Va
USA
89 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2009 : 04:21:40 AM
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Can anyone recommend a good book on raising grass fed small breed cattle? I have 5 acres bordering a river, with at least 2 acres of pasture....
chickens clucking, bees buzzing, flowers blooming, all is good! |
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Barnyard Buddies: So - have had chickens for three years, now bees |
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So - have had chickens for three years, now bees
