I worked with a small of herd of them in my teens but had never owned any until I bought this small herd. Guess its they have been here about 3-4 Months now and working with them everyday during that time I can better speak about them. Size wise they are about the same as my cross between short and tall Irish Dexters. The Bull is around 44" on the back and the cows run about 40" They however are A LOT bulkier than the Dexters The Bull is a solid 1100-1150 pounds and the Cows are running in the 850-900 range. The Cows are carrying their calves very well and very low now, I am going to call it 7-10 days to calving. I am really hoping for a pair of Heifer Calves as I want to grow the herd up to 10 breeding cows and ultimately swap the current bull out for a yearling bull calf. But want at least two more heifers in play before I pull the trigger on that. They have a very good overall temperment and are not hard on the fence at all. This Bull is quite possibly the dumbest Bovine I have ever met and given the general low IQ of Cattle that is saying a lot! He has exactly two things that interest him...... Eating and Breeding and he does both very well. He has no interest or motivation if working a fence to get out. The Cows and the Young Heifer are slightly more motivated and do seem to enjoy playing and chasing each other but no interest in leaving the pastures. They are a bit on the skittish side and I would not turn my back on the bull. Despite his overall lack of motivation and low IQ he does challenge me and sooner later is going to get the Dominance 2x4 broke across his forehead. He just has not built up the nerve to make a charge yet. World of difference between the bulls I raise from birth and the ones I buy in. I have yet to have a buy in that has not eventually needed a attitude adjustment. The ones born here grow up learning to respect the human and his space. So I think they are very good choice of beef breed for someone that is at least semi experienced with cattle and can read their body language. I would not suggest them for beginners. If you want a good beginner breed Irish Dexters, Highlanders, Devons, or Belted Galloways would be my suggestion for the smaller breeds. Bigger Breeds I will always say Herefords. And we are talking small operation Farmstead /homestead not commercial operations. Although I did manage to scratch out a pretty good living with my Irish Dexters and Hereford Hogs for 22 years. Between the packing plant problems, Government Regulation and the Economy, I doubt many could repeat what I did as a career choice now days. Hell I have stepped out of the packaged meat business, at least as far as the Government is concerned But I have a core long time customer base that does not care if the package has a inspection legend on it or not. And cough I don't sell the meats, I give it to them and they leave donation to the farm in the Members Mark Coffee Can on the Counter. I also won't give it to anyone that I have not known and done business with for years. Of course I am not trying to build and grow a business now days just earn some extra cash in my retirement. Called the three packing plants I use and have used for decades and the soonest they can get my next hogs in is Next October! That is a major problem if you want to be in the legit packaged farm to fork meat business. The cows are looking good and the calves are riding low. Bull just would not lift his head for a pic Contentious little Heifer still does not trust me LOL
Ha ha ha ha that conjures up the image of Yosemite Sam breaking the 2x4 over his mule's head after yelling for it to "Whoa" and it keeps running. "Stoopid Mule"
There are many days here that are indeed Cartoon Episodes..... Usually Road Runner/Wiley Coyote reruns but Elmer and Sam make regular showings as well LOL. For some reason I always seem to get cast in the Coyote/Same/Elmer Roles!
