water buffalo for meat

Pops2 · #1 08/15/12, 06:06 PM

i have often thought the coastal swamps from new jersey to florida & along the gulf coast might be good places to try to establish a free range buffalo meat industry.
from what i've seen they seem to be easier handling than cattle and they can convert really crappy grazing that would leave cattle malnourished.

lasergrl · #2 08/15/12, 06:45 PM

I think its a good idea if you have the land down there. They grow slower for sure. We have quite a few here in Ohio, but, they are mostly used for dairy and novelty. The bulls and cows with calves can be downright aggressive. There is word that a bull killed someone at an exotic auction, lolli brothers maybe.

65284 · #3 08/15/12, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lasergrl

I think its a good idea if you have the land down there. They grow slower for sure. We have quite a few here in Ohio, but, they are mostly used for dairy and novelty. The bulls and cows with calves can be downright aggressive. There is word that a bull killed someone at an exotic auction, lolli brothers maybe.

It was at Lolli's auction, and it was a cow not a bull. It happened right in front of me, not 3 feet away, I had blood on my shirt when it was over.

The guy killed was the owner of the cow, and his own stupidity caused his death. He had brought the cow and her calf from Oklahoma. She was hauled, blood tested, rousted around through the barn and then separated from her calf when she was run into the ring.

She was clearly highly agitated, bawling, pawing, charging at the ringmen, her tail straight up in the air. The fool went into the ring to show how gentle she really was, walked up behind her while she was harassing the sale helpers and slapped her on the rump.

In an instant she whirled hooked and tossed him, then got down on her knees and gored him repeatedly. She also got one of the ringmen, reared up swung her head sideways and broke his leg with a horn as he was trying to climb out of the ring.

The guys wife took the cow and calf home, didn't blame her, stated it was her husbands own fault.

Without doubt the most horrific thing I have ever witnessed.

waterbuffy · #4 08/15/12, 10:47 PM

It's all in how you raise them. My buffs are as gentle as can be, but they are not for everyone. Like any animal, buffs left to free range will be more difficult to handle. And putting one in a new stressfull situation, such as a sale barn will make them unpredictable. I sold one at a sale that I could sit on and touch all over at home. At the sale even I couldn't get near her, she just charged everyone. I use mine for milk so I need them to be gentle.

KSALguy · #5 08/15/12, 11:29 PM

asian Waterbuffalo are domestic draft animals in the Philippines, they are used to plow fields and pull carts, they run loose all over, i rode a cart up into the mountans accrost a river pulled by an intact bull rode by one of the local tribes men, the meat is really good and the milk is really rich, just like any livestock they need to be treated with respect but they are no worse than anything else, there is a siminol tribe wild animal safari thing down in south florida that has a free range herd loose on their swamp land and the population is pretty big from what i have seen on NatGeo,

Judy in IN · #6 08/18/12, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterbuffy

It's all in how you raise them. My buffs are as gentle as can be, but they are not for everyone. Like any animal, buffs left to free range will be more difficult to handle. And putting one in a new stressfull situation, such as a sale barn will make them unpredictable. I sold one at a sale that I could sit on and touch all over at home. At the sale even I couldn't get near her, she just charged everyone. I use mine for milk so I need them to be gentle.

Waterbuffy,

I'm curious; I know they make cheese out of the milk. I don't see much udder on those girls. How much milk do they give? Are you making cheese? Why waterbuffalo instead of the regular dairy cows?

oregon woodsmok · #7 08/18/12, 02:43 PM

Water buffalo milk is what real mozzarella cheese is made from. So there have to be large herds of milking buffaloes somewhere,

waterbuffy · #8 08/19/12, 11:34 PM

I wanted to add something different to the herd to milk, I already have 9 breed of dairy cattle. Decided to get 2 buffs a few years ago and then had to get more. Enjoy them more than the dairy cows. They hold their milk up so their udders don't look like much. The US buffs don't milk as well as the Italian buffs but Italian semen is being used to improve the genetics here. My one buff peaks close to 50lbs. They have double cheese yield than a cow and are lower maintenance. I'm only milking 1 now as the herd is dry and due this fall/winter again.

willow_girl · #9 08/20/12, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 65284

It was at Lolli's auction, and it was a cow not a bull. It happened right in front of me, not 3 feet away, I had blood on my shirt when it was over.

The guy killed was the owner of the cow, and his own stupidity caused his death. He had brought the cow and her calf from Oklahoma. She was hauled, blood tested, rousted around through the barn and then separated from her calf when she was run into the ring.

She was clearly highly agitated, bawling, pawing, charging at the ringmen, her tail straight up in the air. The fool went into the ring to show how gentle she really was, walked up behind her while she was harassing the sale helpers and slapped her on the rump.

In an instant she whirled hooked and tossed him, then got down on her knees and gored him repeatedly. She also got one of the ringmen, reared up swung her head sideways and broke his leg with a horn as he was trying to climb out of the ring.

The guys wife took the cow and calf home, didn't blame her, stated it was her husbands own fault.

Without doubt the most horrific thing I have ever witnessed.

Wow ...

Judy in IN · #10 08/22/12, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterbuffy

I wanted to add something different to the herd to milk, I already have 9 breed of dairy cattle. Decided to get 2 buffs a few years ago and then had to get more. Enjoy them more than the dairy cows. They hold their milk up so their udders don't look like much. The US buffs don't milk as well as the Italian buffs but Italian semen is being used to improve the genetics here. My one buff peaks close to 50lbs. They have double cheese yield than a cow and are lower maintenance. I'm only milking 1 now as the herd is dry and due this fall/winter again.

Well, this explains a lot. The Lolli Bros. tragedy happened a long time ago. I wondered how it was that they were so calm in Asia but so crazy here. I wondered if we got our US stock from Cape Buffalo or something. So really, they're no different than a Longhorn as to temperment.

So are you selling milk for a cheese plant? Do you AI these girls? How do they handle Ohio winters? Are they dominant over the other breeds?