Red Poll Cattle: A Heritage Breed

Red Poll (Photo credit: Nick Saltmarsh)

Red Poll Cattle are one of many breeds that are known as Heritage Breeds.  Heritage Breeds are typically breeds that are declining in number because they are not the main stream commercial cattle.  Many of them have their own niche, such as grass fed beef.  Many are also dual purpose animals.  Their value is great, perhaps not measurable in dollar amounts, but more in their value for preserving genetic diversity.

Red Poll cattle are a cross between the Norfolk and Suffolk breeds of quality of its beef.  They were small, red and white, hardy and horned breed of cattle.  Suffolk cattle were a dairy breed that were Red, yellow, and brindle in color.  They were a polled breed.  Through genetic selection and cross breeding of the two breed, the Red Poll was developed.  The traits of Red Poll cattle that make them excel are many of those of the above breeds.  Perhaps obvious, but they are a smaller, red and polled breed of cattle.

According to the American Livestock Breed Conservancy, the breed was imported to North America in the 1800s.  In 1883, the American Red Poll Association was founded.  I am not certain of the numbers nor the membership, but I can state that my farm is registered herd #6500.  My herd was registered earlier this year.  (I have to laugh a bit to say herd, as we have three heifers that just calved within the past two months.)

The cross resulted in a nice dual purpose breed.  Throughout the years, Red Poll cattle have fluctuated from a dairy focus to a beef focus several times.   At one point,  Red Polls were efficient and competitive dairy cows.  This was very evident on farms that tracked total profits above and beyond the cost of feed only.  This is likely due to their ability to convert forage into production. They are also known for longevity, often producing 10,000 pounds of milk per year into their teen years.  An added benefit of this longevity is that they continue to produce calves into their later years as well.

English: Red Poll cow, Temple Newsam. Home Farm, Temple Newsam, is the largest Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) Approved Centre. Significant breeding groups of livestock from the RBST Watchlist are kept at Home Farm. This is one of a herd of Red Poll cattle, and there are 8 other breeds of cattle kept here. See http://www.leeds.gov.uk/templenewsam/farm/farm_live.html (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the highlights of the breed are their reproductive traits.  Red Poll bulls are very potent.  Their traits are predictable and easily inherited.  Red Poll females tend to be very fertile and are easy breeders.  They are known for calving ease.  Red Poll cattle produce a large amount of milk even on forage.  This results in good calf growth.  They are noted for good survivability of the calf.  I saw one study where they were the top producing breed in terms of Rate of gain to day 200.  This has to do with good rates of gain, great calving ease, and the survivability of the calf (calf vigor).
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• Red Polls prove versatile and make economic sense | Features | Farmers Guardian (heritagebreedfarms.wordpress.com)
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• http://www.bifconference.com/bif2002/bifsymposium_pdfs/jenkins_02bif.pdf
• http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1088&context=hruskareports&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dred%2520poll%2520stats%2520for%2520growth%2520rate%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D1%26ved%3D0CFsQFjAA%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fdigitalcommons.unl.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1088%2526context%253Dhruskareports%26ei%3D87DOT8XVDcvpgAfF27WVCQ%26usg%3DAFQjCNHJ3cDRcB2ZMVQfEJreYD9-Ug9sMQ#search=%22red%20poll

Homesteading Series Part 3: Animals

At this point, you may be ready to start planning for and thinking about animals.  (I probably start here rather than with plants, since animals are my profession and plants are my hobby).  You will ultimately assess your own needs, wants, desires and capabilities.  I will go through a few types common farm animals and give what I see as the pros and cons.  I will take this moment to push for heritage breed animals (see where the farm name is derived from?).  By using heritage breeds, you are able to preserve the past and also capitalize on some of their better traits, such as having dual purpose animals. Heritage breed animals may benefit you as well by being more likely to mother their young better than some of the more popular breeds on large farms nowadays.  For instance, a heritage chicken is much more likely to “go broody” than a factory leghorn would.

CHICKENS:  I have already written a post about why you should start with chickens, but I will lay out my thoughts again here.  First of all, Chickens are rather inexpensive to obtain.  We purchased our first six pullets (who were 17 weeks old and about to start laying) for $5 per bird.  So we were out about $30.  The second reason is that I feel chickens are very adaptable.  You can make a small chicken tractor or use an old outbuilding (like we did) and the chickens will do just fine.  Third, chickens are small.  This means that they don’t need a lot of space.  Fourth, chickens are easy to feed.  We feed our table scraps to the girls.  We are also fortunate to be able to purchase organic all mash at a local elevator fairly easily.  Fifth, Chickens provide a very nutritious product…..eggs.  Wait until you crack open your first farm fresh egg, especially if the chickens have access to grass and fields.   The yolk is almost orange, it is so dark.

Buff Orrpington (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The nutritional components of free range chicken eggs is incredible, nearly unbelievable in scope.  Sixth, chicken are fun to watch.  Seventh, you are unlikely to get hurt very badly by a chicken.  Eighth, a chicken that is no longer laying is still good for something……the pot.  You can make your own chicken stock, chicken foot broth, and many other stews and soups with the “retired” old girls.  (A side note:  we utilize Delaware Chickens as they are docile, go broody, produce eggs well, are dual purpose, and we think they are pretty)  (Other heritage breeds to consider are Buff Orrpingtons, Barred Plymouth Rock, Buckeyes, and many others)

Goats.  perhaps second on my list would be a dairy goat.  Though goats can be very frustrating because they do try to eat everything, goats are still rather small and readily available.

Nigerian Dwarf dairy goat, show clip, in milk (Photo credit: Wikipedia)e

A decent dairy goat will probably cost you between $75 and $200 depending on age, breed, and time of year.  A nice thing about dairy goats is that they can produce a decent amount of milk.  When allowed to go out on pasture, they are good at cleaning up brush and unwanted plants, since they are more of a foraging animal and less of a grazer.  A downside to this is that various weeds can change the flavor of the milk.  Another good reason to consider a dairy goat is that the milk tends to be easier for some people to digest.  I believe that this is because the fat droplets are smaller than that of a dairy cow (or is it the protein droplets, I can’t remember at the moment)  We do not currently have a goat, so I am uncertain of a specific breed recommendation.  (we like the San Clemente Island Goat, but simply because they are very rare and are very cute)

Pigs:  Again unchartered water for us at the moment.  We are considering pigs for their versatility.  We are looking into pastured pork, so out focus is on breeds that do well in a foraging and pasture based management system.  Once again, pigs are reasonably priced.  Another good argument for pigs is their varied diet.  These are yet another animal that you can feed table scraps.  My understanding is that fencing pigs is not to difficult.  They apparently train to electric fencing very easily.  I have read that pigs will train uickly to two hot wires.  One at about 9 inches off the ground and another at about 30 inches off the ground.  They will train so well in fact, that it is hard to get them to cross an area that previously had a fence across it.  Most articles I have found simply use polywire or another form of electrified temporary fencing like those used in rotational grazing systems.  (We like Tamworth and Gloucestershire Old Spots for pig breeds.  Red Wattles get an honorary mention)

Sheep:  I suppose sheep are in the fold here too.  Sheep are again easy to obtain and not too expensive.

High sheeps (Photo credit: Bertoz)

Uses for the sheep would be meat and wool.  We do not have sheep at the moment, as we do not see spinning our own wool.  Sheep are grazers, so now we are starting to look at more infrastructure.  They will likely need a barn, a yard and fencing.  This adds to the cost of them of course.  (We have yet to select a breed, though I am intrigued by the Romeldale breed.

Cattle:  I would recommend a good dual purpose breed, but you could have a dairy cow and beef cows.  Most true homesteads likely have a good old dairy cow on hand.  A dairy cow will likely cost about $1500 or so, depending on age, breed and quality.  Some decent cow can be purchase through sale barns for less money, but beware that the farmer is likely selling her through the sale barn for a reason.  Cattle require feed and infrastructure as well.  You will need a tie stall or other location for milking.  You will need fencing for the pasture, or else be ready to push a lot of hay and grain around.  (We think the the Red Poll cow is the perfect breed for this, as they are good foragers. grazers and they are dual purpose)  (Other breeds to consider would be Milking Devon, Shorthorn, Kerry, and Dexter)

I would once again recommend a good old farm dog.  They are great companions, good for security and even can help with some of the wound up of the critters if trained to do so.  They can also be helpful with pests, such as the infamous “whistle pig”  A.K.A. Groundhog.

Hopefully I have touched on the main animals for homesteading.  If I have left any pertinent ones out, please let me know.  I am sure that some are fond of Llamas for guard animals protecting their flock of sheep.  Some may like Alpacas for the hair production.  I suppose that I left turkeys out as well.  They have their place too, just not at the top of my list.  Their place, to me, is on the thanksgiving table.

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Red Poll Cattle (The perfect breed)

 

Why choose the Red Poll as a breed?

Red Poll cattle are a dual purpose breed.  They are noted for easy calving and great mothering ability.  A study done in the late 1980′s showed that the Red Poll breed performed the best in 200 day calf weight per live birth.  This can be attributed to the ease of calving and the survivability of the calves.  It is also a reflection on the fact that Red Poll mothers are very efficient at producing milk, supplying their calves with plenty of nutrition.

History of the Red Poll Breed

The Red Poll is a dual purpose breed developed in England.  The breed was developed in the early 1800s as a cross between the Norfolk and Suffolk breeds.  As the name implies, Red Poll are Red and color and do not have horns.  They were imported to North America in the 1880s.  Red Poll cattle have been traditionally utilized for milk production, at one time being a popular cow for this purpose.  However, they were not quite able to keep up with the Holstein in terms of volume of milk produced.  Some Red Poll lines have been bred for the purpose of being grass fed.  The breed is highly beneficial when it comes to hybrid vigor, a condition that results when two purebred of different breeds are crossbred to one another.  This resulting vigor often capitalizes on the best traits of each specific breed.

Red Poll cattle are a fine boned breed, which means that they tend to carry a little less weight than some other breeds.  This also makes them very good at feed conversion, which is one reason why they have been selected as a grass fed breed.

Uses of Red Poll Cattle:

1)  Beef production.  As noted above, Red Poll have an excellent history of production, excelling at best weight at 200 days per live birth.

2)  Milk Production.  While not producing the total amount of a Holstein, the Red Poll breed is very capable of producing milk.  They are good for a pasture based operation.  (This may be an example of a niche market)

3)  Hybrid Vigor.  Due to their positive traits, they are an excellent choice for crossing to other breeds such as Angus, or Holstein.

4)  Show Cattle.  Red Poll are not the most common cow in the world (otherwise they would not be on ALBC’s threatened list), but they can produce excellent show cattle.  They have placed well at world shows in the past.  Red Poll also have their own show circuit.

5)  Homesteading:  Red Poll are a dual purpose breed, so fitting them into a homesteading lifestyle allows the homesteader to gain both milk production and beef production (through the rearing of young).

Heritage Breed Farms

Baled Out

First off, let me appologize for the cheesy title, but I had to do it…

For those of you that have been following our blog for the past few weeks, we have been looking into buying hay.  We purchased approximately 75 bales in the fall.  These bales were all purchased via Craiglist and chosen based upon a low price.  I paid $2 per bale.

So about two weeks ago, we noted that we were going to run out of hay.  We began the search for more hay.  We took inventory and noted that we were feeding between 1/2 bale to 2/3 of a bale per cow per day.  With the 3 heifers, that means basically 2 bales per day.

In our previous post entitled “Success,” (http://heritagebreedfarms.wordpress.com/2012/02/18/success/) we proclaimed that we found more hay.  The seller had 1000 bales for sale at $2 per bale.  I called and found out that the seller was actually a client and an acquantance.  I arranged the purchase of 100 blaes, which should be enough to get us through until the grass is growing well enough to at least compensate the cows and supplement their feeding.  I left my phone number with the seller and then awaiting the timing for the pickup.  After waiting several days, I attempted to call the seller multiple times, but was unable to get ahold of him.  I was losing hope at that point.

We began to look around for more hay, with the one remaining bales rationed for the next day.  Off went some emails and texts to various people that we know so that we could buy more bales.  Thankfully in the middle of that, the seller called back and we were on our way.  We picked up the bales around 7:00 P.M.

Upon picking up the bales and then returning home, we tried to get the hay wagon into the barn.  At that point, a lesson was learned—-the wagon that we borrowed was a wagon to catch bales of hay from a kicker wagon.  The importance is that the front axle is reticulating (not fixed like a normal trailer).  My weak attempts at backing the trailer were near comical.  As soon as the wheels to the wagon began to turn, the wagon would basically jack-knife.

This began the unloading of 100 bales after the kids were in bed.  O-yeah and in a light rain, which actually let up during the unloading.  Finally at 12:30 A.M., we unloaded the last bale and headed inside.  one project done and two tired workers.   But thankfully we got “Baled Out” in the nick of time.

Soil Conference

Just letting everybody know to stay posted, as we are attending a soil conference over the weekend.  This conference is an informal meeting arranged by a local family of farmers.  These farmers practice organic, hormone-free, and natural practices.  They produce and market their own milk.  I will be able to hopefully update the soil portion of this blog soon.  The blogs will tend to be filed under soil and you are what you eat.

Sunday Surprise

Early Sunday morning, I received an emergency call to go see a cow that had managed to prolapse her uterus after calving.  I proceeded to get out of bed, dressed, took the puppy out to go to the bathroom and finally headed out to the call.  It was about 25 degrees as I pulled up to the milkhouse.  I took a quick inventory of my supplies: lidocaine for an epidural, two buckets of warm water, intravenous fluid administration set, calcium intravenous solution, Bruehner needle, umbilical tape, antibiotic flush, halter, dish soap, and rectal palpation sleeves.

Once I entered the barn, I saw a nice looking herd of Dutch Belted cattle.  Dutch Belted are a heritage breed of cattle.  I was not aware of any of our main herds being comprised of a heritage breed.  I began to ask the farmer how long they had been using the Dutch Belted cattle.  I also inquired as to why a commercial dairy would go with something other than Holstein or Jersey.  He told me that they has gone to a grazing operation in 2007 and found that the Holsteins did not perform well.  Thus began the search for an old breed that was more geared toward grazing.  Enter the Dutch Belted.  He stated that they selected not only for grazing but also for component composition.  On a dairy, they look at pounds of production and butter fat content as their two main drivers for milk economics.  He told me that the Dutch have better components than the Holsteins and also that they seem to produce better in the grazing set up.  In fact, their best producer made 80 pounds of milk per day at her highest.  That is rather good production.

http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/dutchbelt.html

So back to the story at hand.  I entered the pen to find the cow with a prolapsed uterus, and reluctance to rise.  Once she got up, she was very agitated and weak.  I administered the calcium solution via the jugular vein, yet she was unable to get up.  At this point, I proceeded to pull her back legs out behind her and administer the epidural.  I then cleaned the placental attachments from the uterus, cleaned the lining, and smeared the uterus with the liquid dish soap.  At this point, the farmer helped to elevate the uterus and I was able to manipulate it back into its normal location.  I placed two sutures with the Bruehner needle and the umbilical tape after filling the uterus with 9 liters of uterine lavage with antibiotics.  Following that, I administered a second bottle of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium via the jugular vein.  I encouraged the cow to get up and she stood immediately, much stronger than before.

So my Sunday Surprise was not only a very successful outcome on the case at hand, but the chance to discuss heritage breeds with yet another producer.

Green Patures are Ahead

Lush Green Pastures will be here soon

Since this is the first year that we have been feeding cattle, we had to make a guess at planning enough hay to feed through the winter.  Thankfully this has been a very mild winter, which allowed our cattle to graze more than they normally would be able.  As we get to mid-February, we are anxiously counting the remaining bales and longing for the lush green pastures as pictured above.  I counted this evening and the remaining 16 bales are not going to be enough to last, especially with another cold spell predicted.

We have to begin the adventure of locating extra bales to purchase.  A quick check of Craigslist revealed several possibilities for hay in the surrounding area.  Hay prices are near their seasonal high this time of year due in part to shorter supply.  Once first cutting hay is done in the area, the prices should begin to settle back into a lower price range.  This fluctuation in hay prices, may be beneficial to us later on in our production.  We may be able to sell some bales at various times of the year depending on our supply.

We are hoping that our small hay field will produce enough hay to tide us over through next winter (with maybe a few bales to sell at a later date). The fields at our farm have been certified organic for the past four growing seasons.  We are not going to certify them again this year, as we are not going the certified organic route.  The next question to answer is going to be how to get the hay put up.  We are starting with no equipment, but are able to rely on the good graces of our neighbors.  We will probably have them baled in the small square bales once again, but we could handle round bales if we can single-stack them and roll them around the storage area into a place to drop the daily ration down to the cattle below.

The sunny day today, makes us long once again for the time to plant and watch things grow.

Containing chickens

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Feeding Cows (how much to supplement)

As previously stated, we feed our cattle mainly forages.  These come in the form of grasses, clovers and legumes.  Our cows enjoy year-round access to pasture.  We also supplement with hay, especially during the dull autumn days and into winter.  This will last up until the spring, when the pastures once again begin to flourish.

During the shorter, finally colder days of February; we have been studying and planning how to bolster the nutritional content of our pasture.  This pasture will serve as the main source of food from April though September and on into October.  We are researching which plants (white clover, alfalfa, and various grasses) to add into the pasture.  We also believe (see postings about you are what you eat) that the key to the whole process is the soil.  We will begin soil testing in the early spring and then will begin the process of building the soil through natural methods.  This will likely include organic/ all natural fertilizers, increasing organic matter, and lime.  We may add manure or possibly turn the soil over and replant.

We have to recognize the Hartzler family for their help and advice as we go forward headlong.  We have learned a lot just through simple discussions with them.  The Hartzler family runs a dairy operation in Wooster, Ohio.  They supply organic, all natural, hormone free milk in traditional glass bottles.  We highly suggest stopping in to enjoy some of their famous chocolate milk and some heifer trails ice cream.  The Hartzler’s provide us with soil testing and some of the amendments, such as organic pelleted fertilizer.

We have found through this winter that our two year old bred heifers consume roughly 1/2 bale of hay per head per day.  This varies based upon the quality of the hay that we provide them.  It also fluctuated based upon the amount of grass that they eat in a given day.  We provide constant access to a mineral block.  This compensates for some of the things that our soil lacks.  Two of the main soil deficiencies are vitamin E and Selenuim.  Many farmers in the area administer vitamin E and Selenium injections within 24 hours of birth to prevent the White Muscle disease.

Prior to purchasing our cows, we read and researched information about how much hay a cow would eat in a given day.  Various places put that amount to somewhere between 1/3 of a bale to one entire bale per head per day.  This varies dependent upon the total density of the bale and the quality of the hay that is contained within that particular bale.  We plan to go on the 1/2 of a bale per head per day model from here on out.  These are of course the traditional small square bales, not the big round (like the ones in the top image) nor large square bales.  We have also discovered that we need to add straw bedding in smaller amounts as the cows seem to find the straw a delicacy for one reason or another.

Good Morning (Frost)

This morning as the sun begin to rise, we are once again awed by the wonder of creation.  We are also thankful for some frost.

It has been a very mild winter in Ohio thus far and we are in need of some deep cold for a bit.  Why would we want cold?  I am glad that you asked.  The cold is good for a number of reasons.

The first reason is to kill some of the parasites that we contend with here.  Fleas have been terrible this past year, which means that other bugs are likely thriving as well.  We need cold to help kill off some of the overwintering parasites on pasture.  The cold will also help to kill off some intermediate hosts of various internal parasites and diseases.   For instance, canine tapeworms must undergo a life stage within the flea.  Once again returning to fleas…..the killing of the fleas means the killing of some of the intermediate life stages of the tapeworm.  Likewise, slugs and snails serve as the intermediate hosts for various parasites and diseases.

Another reason that the cold is needed is to help break up the soil.  The many freezing and thawing cycles help to break up and loosen the soil.  As water freezes, it expands.  The water that is trapped in the soil does this just like any other water.  As it expands, the soil expands.  The result is a loosening of the soil and soil particles.  This is one reason why you may sometimes see people “rolling” their lawns in late winter or early spring.  The purpose is to remove the bumps that are caused by this process.

One reason at Heritage Breed Farms that we are are in need of some frozen ground is to move our propane tank.  I suppose that this can wait until the hopefully drier days of summer, but the propane tank has been sitting in the way since it was placed there in early December.  We have not been able to move it for fear of tearing up the yard.  I think the delivery guy was also afraid that he might get his truck stuck.

In the past, we have used the cold strictly to plan the garden.  This year we have more on the agenda during this winter.  We need to plan soil sampling and start to plan how to bolster the nutrient value of our pasture and forage.  That is going to be a long-term project that will need us to stick with it, but the rewards are well worth the effort.  This fuses with our theory that “You are what you eat” and what you eat is the soil.  This philosophy stems from the realization that everything we consume ultimately comes as a result of the soil.  Plants need good soil in order to grow and to thrive.  This good, natural soil gives them the macronutrients and trace minerals that are necessary for good growth.  Ultimately these plants are either directly consumed by people or are fed to animals.  Most animals then produce an end product that is consumed by humans.  If not producing an end product, these animals either provide us with work (horses, oxen, working dogs), rodent control, or companionship (as I am finding out with our 5 week old puppy).

So take this cold period to rest, relax, and to plan.  We need the cold in order for things to reset.