Red Poll Semen Choices

I am basically cataloging here, but this will serve to give me something to look back upon as I make decisions.

I am in the process of selecting Red Poll semen to build the genetics of the herd.  I have the three adult cows to breed back.  I also have the one heifer calf, but she will be too young to breed this season.  I have done some research and I think I have located a good source of semen.  The herd is grass fed in its basics and has some top producers in the show ring and in terms of meat.  I am also looking to bring new genetics into the area.

FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE, PLEASE GO TO OUR WEBPAGE http://heritagebreedsfarm.com  or click here for the shortlink directly to the article itself.

Until Next Time!

Red Poll Journal is here

I am excited to see the newest Red Poll journal included in mu post vacation stack of mail!  Good times ahead reading all of the articles.  I will try to pass on tidbits as I learn them.

We are still researching and building our foundation herd, so gathering as much information as we can is vital.  The National Red Poll meeting appears to be slated for Louisville, Kentucky this year.  I think the date is set for sometime in November.

Until next time!

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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• 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

Hay has arrived

cattle_07 (Photo credit: NDSU Ag Comm)

Last night we were able to put up 38 round bales of hay.  This is a great start to next winter’s feed supply. Our neighbor cut, raked, tettered and baled the hay over the weekend and brought them up into the barn last night.  We are excited to have a great jump start for next season.  Now the challenge is to get some of the pasture eaten down by the cows that we have.  We may be in the market for a few more adult animals or steers that need to finish.  There is a total of about 12 acres that needs to be eaten, well more than our three adult cows will be able to eat.

We do not supplement our cattle at this time, featuring a grass fed beef program.  We hope to provide good, flavorful and nutritional meat once our calves finish out.  We also employ a hormone-free, organic program.  (We did not certify our land organic, but sprays and chemicals are not used on our farm).

Until Next Time

Homesteading Series Part 5: Containing animals

A sturdy and well-built post and rail fence (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here we will specifically discuss fencing.  Fencing plans again depend upon the type of animal that you are trying to contain. I will try to lay this out in an organized fashion starting with types of fences. I will then try to cover fencing for various farm animals. These animals will include cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and horses. I will not attempt to cover chickens at this time ( other than to say clip their wings and make sure your tightly woven fence is tight against the ground).

Types of Fences

There many various ways to classify fencing. The first way to organize it is electrified versus non-electric. Another way is permanent versus temporary. For the purposes of this article, the focus will center around permanent fencing. Systems can be hybrid with permanent and temporary, but the perimeter fencing should be very solid and permanent (in the opinion of this author).

woven wire fence(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are various type of materials that are used to make fencing. Focusing on the modern versions, there are hog paneling, woven wire, barbed wire, high tensile, polywire, vinyl and board fencing. Board

Roll of barbed wire on a farm (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

fencing, woven wire, and hog paneling are suitable for non electric systems. Vinyl may be considered here as well, though animals can lean on the vinyl and pop the rails off. I recommend adding one or two strands of high tensile along the top and bottom of vinyl fencing to prevent the animals from pushing the rails out. Barbed wired, high tensile and polywire are typically electrified. These systems can be non electric if enough horizontal wires are placed to make them visible. Most fencing is, after all, mainly a mental barrier and deterrent.

As for fence posts, the options here vary as well. Vinyl fencing utilizes vertical vinyl posts. Board fencing uses wooden posts. For the wire- type fences, posts materials vary from treated wood to cedar to locusts posts. They can also utilize t posts and even some specialized products like kencove posts.

As a side note when planning a fencing project, it is important to draw out the design in many fashions. Talk to other farmers or fence installers about your project.  Describe your setting, animals and goals. Mark out all of the gates that are needed. Gates are needed for entry to the field by the farmer, for equipment and for animals movement.

Cattle:

Cattle may be the easiest animals to contain, as long as they are well fed.  The grass is always greener on the other side, so cattle will test fences if better food is available across the fence.  I like electrified barbed wire or high tensile.  Two to three strands should suffice.  The lower strand should be about 24 inches off of the ground and the upper strand at 36 to 30 inches.  I like a wire in the middle as well.  Wooden fence posts should be placed at no more than 16 feet in order ro have better visibility.  Some places suggest further spacing, but I have found that our fence is great with posts every 16 feet.  Make certain to keep weeds off of the fence, otherwise a short will be created and it won’t take long for the cattle to figure out that the fence is off.  I suggest placing the wires on the outside of the fence posts, so that animals can graze around the base of the fencing.  This gives you more grazing space and less weed wacking.  Other options for cattle include board fence, vinyl and woven wire.  I would add a top strand of barbed wire or electrified high tensile at the tops of the 48 inch woven wire.

Closeup of a smooth wire fence without barbs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Goats

Goats are more of a challenge due to their inquisitive nature.  Woven wire works very well for goats.  The can be deterred by electric fencing as well, but the fence must be solid and provide an adequate shock to keep them in.  Board fencing and vinyl fencing tend to leave larger gaps that the goats can get through or around.  These gaps can be closed using electric barbed wire or high tensile.

Barbed wire fence in west Texas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sheep

Sheep are basically like goats in their needs for fencing.  It is not their stubborn nor inquisitive nature that make them hard to fence.  The problem with them lies in the thick wool coat.  This prevents them from perceiving the chock of an electric fence.  Woven wire seems to be the best for sheep, though multiple high tensile strands can works as well.  The strands should be placed at 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 inches from the ground on up.

Horses

 vinyl fence  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Horses love to lean on fences.  They also like to hang their heads over the fence, looking for food to graze upon.  They can be kept in with just about any fencing system.  Traditional horse people tend to prefer either board fence or vinyl fencing foe aesthetic purposes.  One major advantage to these is the decrease in injury potential.  Barbed wire and high tensile work well with horses, but can cause serious injury if the horse gets a leg tangled up in the strands.  Fence posts should be placed no further apart than 16 feet, as the visibility goes down for a horse after that point.

Pigs

Again, I am going from what I have read, not what I have done.  I have read that pigs can be easily trained to electric fencing.  Their snouts are very sensitive.  In fact, they are very conducive to rotational grazing, but be careful where you leave the gates.  It seems that pigs have a good memory, so much that they are reluctant to cross where an electric strand previously stood. The bottom wire is generally set at 5 or 6 inches and the top wire at 10 or 12 inches.  They will train quickly according to several sources that I discovered.  There are other options as well.  Hog paneling is meant for pigs (hence the name….).  Premier Supplies makes several electric netting options for hogs as well.

http://www.greatamericanegg.com/blog/?p=89

I hope that this article has been helpful.  I know that it just touched the surface of a very complex issue.  This is meant to be something to stimulate thought and provide a basis to start.  Good luck and keep raising your homestead, taking more control of what you eat and what you do.

We recently built a fence, which we had designed.  Our intent was to keep costs low, yet be able to try to contain all of the above animals.  The fence that we elected is 6 strand of high tensile, smooth wire fencing.  We placed three large gates to move animals and equipment in and out of fields.  We also placed two other 4 foot “man gates” in other locations for easier access to the fields.  The strands are laid out at 5 inches, 10 inches, 16 inches, 24 inches, 30 inches, and 48 inches.  We electrified the top strand, the third strand down and the second lowest strand.  We went with this number of strands in order to have a sturdy fence that works even without being electrified.   It seems to be working well, though we only have cattle so far.

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Homesteading Series: Part 2: Next Steps

The next phase as I see it in regard to homesteading is to figure out your plans.  There are many things to consider that can play into the homesteading scene.  I will try to go more in depth with each topic, but thought is best to try to lay out the basics.  I will try to think of everything and am certain that I will leave some things out.    In the first part of this series, we talked about site selection.  For this part and moving forward, I am going to assume that step one has been taken care of.  I will figure that a water supply is secured and a home built.  (I suppose that a site could be purchased and set up in a different way than what I am describing here.  For instance, acreage could be obtained, yet the building of the house may be in the distance….so don’t lose hope if you can’t have the acreage and the home right off the bat.)  Some of these steps can be taken out of order.

1. Animal selection.  I recommend starting with chickens because they are cheap and easy, yet you get the incredible, edible egg as a result.  Most consider a dairy cow or a goat for milk production.  Sheep provide wool.  I would also suggest a dog of some sort for protection and possibly as a working dog.
2. Building selection.  This will need to be built around the potential animals.  For instance,
   

   A Chicken tractor. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   a small outbuilding works great for chickens.  They can even be managed in a portable chicken coop (or a chicken tractor)which has a variety of designs.  A larger barn is necessary for cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and horses.

3. Animal containment.  This will again depend on the type of animal.  Cattle and horses test fences in ways that are different from pigs.  Chickens are a whole another ball of wax.
4. Plant Selection.  Do you want an orchard?  How about a berry plot?  A grape arbor?  And of course a garden.  I like Heirlooms for seed saving, making yourself more self-sufficient in the process and potentially saving money down the road.
5. Garden site.  Raised beds?  Traditional garden?  Should you build a cold frame or two? (yes!)
6. Medicine strategy.  By this I am thinking along the line of herbs.  You will need to consider which herbs that you will need and want to grow.
7. Storage Consideration:  With homesteading you will likely be saving root crops, making a root cellar a reasonable thought.  You will likely be canning, so you will need jars, lids, and a canner.
8. Tool Selection.  What tools will you need to have on hand?  Again, you might want to prepare for the practical and think toward the possibility of major circumstances changing.  As an example, you may get a chainsaw and a really good handsaw, just in case fuel becomes scarce.  I will suggest some nice tools that I have found for the garden.

I am certain that I have left some things out, so watch for this one to get edited in the future.  I typically write these posts as they come to me, not well thought out and written down onto paper.  Any thoughts and suggestions are always appreciated!  I will get some more thoughts down and put some thought into it as I review a few resources.

Until Next Time.

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Topic suggestions and feedback

I am looking for topic suggestions and feedback.
What would you like to hear about?
What posts or threads have you enjoyed the most?
What areas are you interested in?

Ideas are organic farming, beef cattle breeding and management, grass fed programs, heritage breeds of animals, chicken information, how to articles.

I am also looking for potential guest bloggers that would like to contribute periodically for the fun of it.

Let me know in the comments section.  Thanks in advance!

Another Bull Calf

Born this afternoon to cow number 816.  He is a robust looking big boy.  I will try to weigh him later if I can get close.

Of Calving and video cameras

So the other night, we got to witness the birth of our first Red Poll calf here on the farm.  It all started at softball practice with a call from the neighbor.  He called to say that a heifer was in labor…with a bubble hanging out the back end.  We were just done with softball practice, so we quickly jumped into the van to head home for the show.
Upon arriving home, I noted that one of the girls was off on her own with her tail raised.  Indeed she was in labor.  So we set up near the barn to see how things would transpire.  We watched as she laid down to push, then stood up for a bit.  I was surprised to see her eat some grass in the midst of laboring.  We clearly saw her water break.  There was a lot of clear fluid the came out very fast at first and continued in small bursts as she pushed.  Finally she laid down for several contractions.  At this point, her tail and back end were facing away from us.
I decided to walk around to the corner of the filed where she was laying.  I stayed outside of the fence line, but got close enough to watch through the video camera.  I taped the whole event from this vantage point.  I watched as the calf appeared to be stuck.  I could only see one foot and a head.  My veterinary instincts started to kick in, but luckily I decided to wait a little while.  Upon zooming in, I could see both front legs and the head.  The legs were crossed in such a way that it appeared to be only one.  I was still a bit concerned as a few minutes passed without any progress.  I knew it was best to wait it out, but I was questioning this mantra in my head.  I waited a few more minutes and could see that the calf was shoulder locked.  As I was mulling over what to do inside my head, she began to make more progress.  The shoulders were starting to come through as her back end likely relaxed a bit more.  Finally,  the shoulder came through.  After many contractions over about 45 minutes the calf was about to be born.  Three or four final contractions and pushes and the calf was out.
We had a live bull calf.  I was amazed to watch him stand and nurse within 20 minutes.  This is so amazing to me.  We are excited that he was born without any problems and is doing very well.

And now the kicker……remember I stated that I was watching through the video camera?  Well, I was recording as well.  Apparently when I began to walk around for a better view I hit the record button.  Our video camera has a delay on the light enough that I messed the whole thing up.  Every time I thought I was recording, the camera was off.  When I thought it was of….it was on.  So when we went to view the video, there was nothing but grass.  The stinker is that I had a great video (Or so I thought).  O well Maybe next time.

Newest Red Poll

We just got to witness the first ever calf born to our farm.  We have not gotten a chance to see if it is a bull or a heifer.  We are very excited.  He or she is standing after only 20 minutes.  Hopefully he or she will nurse soon.