was thiniking about pasturing a cow in the front lawn

[michiganfarmer]

Im tired of paying for gas to mow the lawn. I dont want to spend the money for an electric fencer, posts, and wire. IM thinking about putting a harness on the head of one of our young heifers, tieing a chain to it, tieing the chain to a stake in the ground , and just move it ever couple days.

[michiganfarmer]

Halter is the word I was looking for, not harness. Man IM brain dead sometimes

[wy_white_wolf]

How's the wife at dodging cow patties?

I could see doing it with a horse. Much easier to clean up the mess.

We did something similar growing up. Had rabbits in what would nowdays be called a rabbit tractor to keep the lawn trimmed down. Still had to trim around the edges and everywhere we couldn't put the cage.

[Menglish]

My brother in law has a collar on his Jersey milk cow. He stakes her out all summer long. In fact he raised a steer that way last year for the freezer. I did the same thing with some goats a few years ago. I also used wire cages with rabbits in them for a trimmer! Looked pretty redneck but I didn't mow for the two years I had the goats.

I know this doesn't save gas but you might consider mowing and bagging the clippings. I've read where a man did this and fed the bagged grass as haylage during the winter. He claimed it worked real good. I liked the idea so well I'm looking for a bagger for my mower! At least then the gas price doesn't seem so wasted.

Mike

[mistletoad]

I've threatened to do it, but I love to see our cows running and prancing around in the pasture and they get so lonely when one is separated from the rest. I just can't bring myself to do it. Instead I let the grass get really long and then we cut it with the scythe or weedwhacker and hay it. The cows go nuts for that.

[olsonla]

I stake out my horses all the time- I have a mare and colt that I have been stakeing out for the last week- The only thing to remember is to make sure the animal in question is Broke to the Halter- and do not leave unsupervised! They will get themselves into some questionable situations in a hurry! I have also done it with our goats- but they liked my Flowers and Pretty hedges and apple trees to much to eat the grass.

At my Dads When I was growing up- We had the Yard around the House Fenced, and periodicly keep the pony in the yard.... Most Amish school Houses & Cemetaries are usually in the middle of some field and are fenced and they keep sheep in the those yards... It is common practice in France/ Europe I heard... Just makes sence to me!

Lori
western WI

[uncle Will in In.]

My brother had Amish neighbors in Indiana. They pastured a draft horse around the house. They tied the long rope to a strap around its hind leg. The hourse was ok with that, and he never got the rope wraped around his legs like they do when they are tied with a halter. No mater which direction he went, the rope drug on the ground and he always stepped over it or on it, but it didn't get wrapped up on his legs.

[FarmboyBill]

I intend, when I get a cow/cows, to do that. Ill pasture them out during the day, but after milking it/them at night, ill turn them out into the yard. Theyll get something to eat and drink through the night, and theyll be rather easy to bring in to milk in the morning.

[SFM in KY]

This is our solution. I've got the Haflinger "chore mare" and two of the pony mares broke to picket, all of them with halters/cotton lead rope fastened into a picket chain. That way if they do get wound up in it, there's very little chance of rope burns or chain bruising.

I've seen the leg-picket thing done as well, but have just never tried it myself. I've picket trained any number of horses and never had a problem although I do know of one horse that did break a leg during the process, falling into a ditch. Mine have all been picketed now for a couple of summers and if they do get wound up in anything, they just stand until someone comes and untangles them.

[jennigrey]

If you're going to tie or stake out an animal, instead of using a rope, use a chain run through an old garden hose. It is much safer. It saves the animal from rope burn and the weight of the chain will make it seek the ground and lay flat where it won't get tangled around the animal. You can still use some rope, but use the chain-in-a-hose coming from the halter/collar/hobble. The chain-in-a-hose part should be twice as long as the animal. Measure from the animal's nose to heels, then make the chain-in-a-hose twice that long. The rest can be rope.

A very long rope is a bad idea, though, because if the animal bolts, it can get some momentum built up before it hits the end of the tether. A shorter rope prevents them from getting up much speed.

Don't forget that tying/staking out smaller livestock such as sheep and goats makes them targets for wandering dogs and other predators.

[ronbre]

go for it

[where I want to]

I do it all the time with my horses and goats. First I made sure that all ornamentals are non-toxic- gave away my rhodis. Then I have step-in plastic fence posts that holds hot tape.
The trick is not to put any of the animals in permanently. The horses go in when the grass is longer and are only in a few hours a day until the grass is short enough that they start looking at other things to nibble. If left there constantly, they would get bored and start in fooling with the shubbery. Then the goats follow to eat the things they horse don't like.
When the area looks like a mowed lawn but before they nuke it, they all go back to where they live and I roll up the hot wire. This happens for about 1 week each month during the growing season. The trick is not to leave any animal in this smaller area long enough for them to start looking for trouble.
I don't even know if my lawn mower starts any more.

[Kmac15]

we did it with a hot wire and plastic fencing one year with a few lambs....DH hated it. He has a hard time with what he calls livestock in the yard. Now this is a guy that was raised on a farm, but they never had animals in the yard.

[geo in mi]

Get a blackboard and put it on the porch to keep a tally of how many people stop and say, "Dija know your cow's out?"

geo

[where I want to]

Originally Posted by geo in mi

Get a blackboard and put it on the porch to keep a tally of how many people stop and say, "Dija know your cow's out?"

geo

Funny funny funny. And so true...........

[mistletoad]

Originally Posted by where I want to

Funny funny funny. And so true...........

It is funny, but not so true where we live. Our bull and 1 cow got out a couple of months ago and our neighbour came by to tell us he found them in the woods a little way up the road. I apologized but he laughed it off saying it wasn't as bad as the day he found someone's horse on his front porch - and no one on our road even has horses! lol

[Patt]

Did that all the time with our cows. We will have to mow for the first time this year. Assuming the cow is halter broke to start with you shouldn't have any problems. Just keep an eye on them to make sure they have shade and don't leave them out too long so they can get water.

[Ken Scharabok]

I can close off the yard via three strands on non-electifiied electric wire across the driveway. Simply call, "Come cows, come cows..." They know what his awaiting them and eagerly come into the yard. Neighbors drive by and say "Well, Ken is mowing his yard today." Haven't had anyone stop by in years now.

Try to let them in after their morning dump and before their afternoon one. What I do pick up after them goes on BIL's compost pile. When they start to lay down in the shade, it is time to move them out.

And they will often tell me when they want in by hanging around a partcular gate.

Still have to mow a couple of times a year.

To me my residence sits in one of their paddocks, rather than them grazing in my yard.

A couple of years ago I had one cow who come up on her own from the back pasture and ask to be let in the yard, where she would spend the day. I could count on her not to go up on the road. Had one Postal Carrier. When the cows was in the yard and near where she had to pick up packages and leaving incoming mail she would honk her horn until I would come out and stand by the cow while she did so.

If I had a bagger for the riding mover I'd probaby dump near where the cattle where grazing that day.

[Tracy Rimmer]

Keep in mind that cattle will pull up grass. You might want to think about getting animals that "nibble" it down, rather than pull it up. Also, what comes out of the other end can be good fertilizer, but with cattle, it'll all be in one spot, with an animal with smaller "output", it'll naturally spread.

We have acquaintances here who keep their lawn down by raising poultry in a large, moveable pen. They move it daily, and the chickens not only keep the grass down, but the tick population, too -- with the added benefit of the occasional chicken dinner with less effort on their part than it would take with cattle.

[sammyd]

We did it with our steers. Didn't even use a chain. Got the largest dog cable at Fleet Farm and tied them out. Worked till we butchered them at 1200 pounds.
We used stakes and even wrapped one end around trees or arbor vitae along the yard to get all the grass.
A little work with a rake will stir the patties up enough after they dry or you can have kids scoop em for the garden.

We tethered during the day and put them in a pen at night.