Surviving Minnesota!

[KlopKlop]

Nice! So how many cows and sheep are you thinking of getting?

Depends if I want to keep one section for mowing hay or if I want to buy winter hay.

Also depends if I get dexters or full size cattle. Also if I just buy steers or bred cows... and.. and.. lol

Maybe work up to 2 bred cows and raise the calves for market and then 4-6 ewes. I will start small and add if and when I know my land can support it.

 

[duluthralphie]

I would assume we have some, but i havent seen boulders pushing up from the soil, so perhaps not too bad. i know heaving can have an impact on fence posts


Yeah the idea would be to run them mixed. Once they are integrated the cows will help protect the sheep from predators. i will check out your link!

I think you should throw in a Billy Goat, Llama or alpaca to help on predators too. They are more protective than cows. When I had sheep I wish I had had a Llama.

 

[KlopKlop]

I think you should throw in a Billy Goat, Llama or alpaca to help on predators too. They are more protective than cows.  When I had sheep I wish I had had a Llama.

A guy up the road we know from the farmers market has mini donkeys that are awesome. They make great guardian livestock and I have thought of getting one. They are pretty fun to see

 

[holm25]

Depends if I want to keep one section for mowing hay or if I want to buy winter hay.

Also depends if I get dexters or full size cattle. Also if I just buy steers or bred cows... and.. and.. lol

Maybe work up to 2 bred cows and raise the calves for market and then 4-6 ewes. I will start small and add if and when I know my land can support it.

My advice to you is to get full sized cows. Miniatures eat just as much hay as full size cows with half the output. Although this is coming from the person who likes cows that are almost as tall as him lol

 

[KlopKlop]

A guy up the road we know from the farmers market has mini donkeys that are awesome. They make great guardian livestock and I have thought of getting one. They are pretty fun to see

This will also earn me the status of 'funny farm' to my coworkers. They think I'm strange just for having chickens.

 

[KlopKlop]

My advice to you is to get full sized cows. Miniatures eat just as much hay as full size cows with half the output. Although this is coming from the person who likes cows that are almost as tall as him lol

My wife has also thought having a jersey milk cow would be cool (I don't disagree) but the amount of work it would be is not high on my list with us both working. Only so much time for chores in the AM

 

[duluthralphie]

A guy up the road we know from the farmers market has mini donkeys that are awesome. They make great guardian livestock and I have thought of getting one. They are pretty fun to see

I was going to add, " I have heard donkeys make great protectors too".

 

[holm25]

My wife has also thought having a jersey milk cow would be cool (I don't disagree) but the amount of work it would be is not high on my list with us both working. Only so much time for chores in the AM

I LOVE Jerseys! We sold ours this fall. I miss her...

 

[KlopKlop]

I was going to add, " I have heard donkeys make great protectors too".

He says they act like dogs and will come up to get rump scratches haha

 

[holm25]

Well I will be back later. My grandpa just brought a semi load of hay back from his hay grounds in Goodridge