was thiniking about pasturing a cow in the front lawn

michiganfarmer · #21 04/09/10, 05:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

was thiniking about pasturing a cow in the front lawn - Homesteading Questions

was thiniking about pasturing a cow in the front lawn - Homesteading Questions

MAN! I want a team of draft horses someday

michiganfarmer · #22 04/09/10, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

thanks for the ideas

SFM in KY · #23 04/09/10, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michiganfarmer

MAN! I want a team of draft horses someday

We were still working a team of "big" draft horses on the ranch when I was growing up although I was too young then to handle them other than "driving" them while we fed hay in the winter on the feedground, where they already knew where they were going.

I did have a couple of single draft mares later, with the warmbloods, in Montana but have really found on the farm here in KY the Haflinger is the "ideal" size. She's about 14 hands and probably 1000 lbs ... big enough to do anything I need to do with her and small enough to handle/harness easily.

We don't need to do any really heavy work like plowing, what she does mostly is pull a skid in the winter to feed hay and bring sections of log out of the trees down to the woodlot to be cut into firewood.

mammabooh · #24 04/09/10, 02:48 PM

We used to tie our pony to the hay rake when it was out in the pasture. She could move the thing, but not very far.

randy11acres · #25 04/09/10, 08:18 PM

I have a dairy farmer up the road that stakes out ( with a halter) his calves in his front yard every summer, with about a 10 foot rope.

Judy in IN · #26 04/12/10, 09:41 AM

I do have the electronetting and charger, so this Spring I enclosed the backyard and ran sheep in there. They do make a pretty lawn.

We're moving them up to the farm next week, and I'll have to mow.

timfromohio · #27 04/12/10, 12:31 PM

Go for it michiganfarmer! Whether it be a cow, goats, whatever - make use of the space you got. I've said the exact same thing to my wife, except I said I'd like to grass sheep in the front yard. Don't know why other than it's relaxing to watch them - we don't eat mutton and have way of processing wool. If you do it, post pics.

PulpFaction · #28 04/12/10, 03:31 PM

Came across this great blog post on tethering the family milk cow yesterday:

http://matronofhusbandry.wordpress.c...it-to-be-tied/

I don't know that goats would be very effective for keeping the grass down effectively, they tend to go more for browse and taller roughage and don't, from what I've read, get the nutrients they need from regular short grass. Sheep would be better, but are even more a target for roaming dogs.

Good luck!

whodunit · #29 04/12/10, 04:33 PM

Maybe it's already been mentioned, but if the animal is one place, so will the excrement. When a cow grazes, it moves from place to place slowly and deposits it's "fertilizer" over a broad area.

We feed a couple bags of cut grass at a time to the milk cow no apparent problems. She considers it "cow candy" and there is normally some very green drooling going on as she eats!