The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Cattle => Topic started by: Wen3 on April 11, 2016, 08:59:53 am
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Hi All
We have 4 acres of land and was looking at getting a Dexter with calf but have seen comments that she would need another cow for company, how does this work as the reading I have done has said about house cows and then there is only one, do we need to get another cow? Also what happens to cows when they are over the 30 months? The one we are getting is approx 4 years old, have been told we can breed for a few more years but what happens to her then, do we sell her or send to slaughter? What happens to the carcass? Sorry if I am being thick but would like to know and this is all new to us, TIA.
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firstly hi there and welcome :wave: All the questions you have asked are perfectly reasonable. Yes cows do need company as they're herd animals. Alternatively you could get 2 in calf dexters or 2 heifers. Cows can live for a long time, I kept mine until thet could no longer rear a calf, sometimes about 10 years. There is no reason why they cant be kept for many years until they can no longer rear calves. If you want to cull them and theyre really old I am not sure whether you can butcher them, as I think that the meat gets tougher with age so I think it would go into dog meat. I hope this helps and all the best with everything; It all sounds very exciting :thumbsup:
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You might find the introductory guides here useful background reading:
http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/livestock/cattle/ (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/livestock/cattle/)
HTH.
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My definition of a house cow is a milking cow for your own use. Cows are social so yes you need 2.
you can cull and hang in a chiller to mature meat (21-28 days) to the age of 30 months. After 30 months you can kill but hanging is done in primals and in bags (not the same) but total edible. The spinal cord has to be removed (mad cow et al) I havent eat an old cow myself however native breeds would be better older. Older cows usually go to market as culls to the meat industry.
A good cow throws good calves can get to 14 - 16yrs.
You need to read up as much as possible on keeping cattle and understand the whole process - plenty on the net.
with 4 acres you need to strip graze 2 acres with electric fencing otherwise the land will be trampled and your going to be struggling to rest and grow the pasture on rotation. Particularly in slow growing season. You could end up with seriously poor poached land full of weeds and little fresh grass. You'll need to bring in lots of hay.
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Also seriously bear in mind modern weather extremes last year our cows came in early - October as they were ruining the ground and no grass and are still in now and will be for at least another week. There is absolutely no grass and the fields are wet. Cows cannot eat mud (some farmers do but its very poor practice). Meaning that the consumption of barley straw is high and the time in constantly feeding hay. In draught you could again have problems sourcing water and may need to supplement feed.
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Just last year we bought 2 in-calf Dexter cows (3 years old at the time) and have had many ups and downs along the way. That was the best for us as they'd already calved before but also had some company of the same age.
I really enjoy having them now although I wasn't so sure in the early days. They are on around 2 acres which is divided into 3 fenced/walled paddocks so the land has suffered a bit due to the extreme weather this winter.
On the other hand they are no bother to look after, are highly entertaining and they both calved outdoors with no problem.
If you're interested you can read more from my blog posts about our cattle: http://smallplotbigideas.co.uk/tag/cattle/ (http://smallplotbigideas.co.uk/tag/cattle/)