Buffalo

[TWINKLE_TOES]

I have concidered for years raising Buffalo, not for fun, but for food/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. I could use some advise from anyone with a thought. How hard are these critters to raise and what does it take to hold em. I raised Angus for a while and spent all my time rebuilding the fence line, switched to Herford's and never had a problem (same fences).

 

[Bird]

Allen, I like eating buffalo, but don't know much about raising them. From what little I've seen, heard, and read, if you think those Angus were hard to keep fenced, you ain't seen nothing yet./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Many years ago, I walked up to a new 6' chain link fence with a buffalo cow, bull, and calf on the other side. With no running start at all, the bull just lowered his head and pushed me and that fence back about 3 feet (and I very quickly put a lot more ground between me and him). And several years ago, Janie Fricke (country singer) lived in Lancaster (a suburb on the south edge of Dallas) and had a couple of buffalo. I don't know whether she and/or the buffalo are still there or not, but I know a lot of folks got unhappy with her buffalo getting out and roaming around the countryside.

Bird

 

[scruffy]

Allen, I know a few places in Oregon that raised Buffalo, and one that raised 'Beefalo'. The Buffalo were contained in a corral that was utilizing railroad ties, with 3X12 crossties. Occasionally, they managed to knock them down.
As to what you could actually keep them in with, 'rotsa-ruck'! Steel fences, maybe.

 

[Bird]

Scruffy, in 1951, when I was a kid in the 4-H and showing hogs at a county fair, one of the side show "freaks" was a bison/cow cross that they were claiming at the time to be the only one in existence. I think it cost a quarter to get in to see it, and I believe they called it a "cattalo". Of course, for several years now I've heard of the beefalo and wonder just how long they've been doing that and how much of it's done.

Bird

 

[ERNIEB]

Here you go Bird, http://www.ababeefalo.org/aba14.htm Scroll down untill you get to Beefalo

ErnieB
"We were surrounded by some gross, proud, and victorious men. Anyone who knows the character of the North Americans can judge what our situation must have been."
Jose Juan Sanchez Navarro

 

[scruffy]

Bird,
Ernie's posted url will give you a better insight than I can, with the exception of one point I did not see mentioned in the artical. The Beefalo produces a leaner meat than the (as they say) bovine. It is a very fine quality meat, and is NOT raised in sufficient quantity to meet the demand for it. If you have the acreage, and need to diversify, it is an excellant stock to raise. The problem in startup, is the high cost of the breeder livestock, but should be totally recoverable in time.

There is/was two businesses that dealt with Beefalo in Bend Oregon, Tom Tom's Restuarant, and Wagners SuperMarket. They had a contract with a local central Oregon ranch for the meat, but the ranch's quantity was not up to the ability to supply the supermarket full time....the restuarants business was predicated on a fulltime supply and had priority on delivery. Even so, the market had the meat in stock probably 70% of the time, and it didn't last long! Good eatin'!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by scruffy on 12/11/00 00:03 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[Thomas]

Aren't there two types of Buffalo?
One blood line in lower out west and one upper out west.

I heard long time ago that Buffalo carry a disease thats dangerous to cattle..would this be true?

Up here in the pucker brush were able to buy beefalo meet $$$ but I never tried it.
What does Buffalo meet taste like...something like Mule Deer?

We never had a Angus bull on the farm, /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gifbut I sure heard some story how temperamental /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif/w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif/w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif those booger heads can be.

I would think once a Buffalo has his or her mine made up there really no fence that could stop them..something like a Moose.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Bird]

ErnieB, that's very interesting reading. Of course, I'd like to know something about the downside, too, if there is one. If you assume all that information from a Beefalo association is accurate, it would make you wonder why everyone isn't raising them instead of pure bovines.

And as you might expect from a carnival side show, their claim that the cattalo I saw in 1951 was the only one in existence was apparently stretched a bit./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

I've only eaten buffalo a couple of times; don't know that I've ever had beefalo. Without considering nutritional aspects, but going solely on taste, I told my wife if it were cheaper than beef, I'd eat it all the time, but as long as it costs more than beef, I probably wouldn't pay the difference. That's the same way I feel about venison and moose.

Bird

 

[JonE]

I live about 10 min. from one of the largest (if not the largest) bison ranches in the NE. Specifically about 35 miles SE of Buffalo, NY. Here is there adress. They don't have a web site.
B & B Buffalo Ranch
Horn Hill Road IN
Ellicottville, NY 14731
(716)699-8813
What an ausome sight to see hundreds of buffalo ranging over the hills.

 

[PaulB]

Thomas - I believe the disease you were referring to is Brucellosis, and you are right, it is highly dangerous (can kill people if they contract it). I think the major concern is with contact between wild (untested) Buffalo, and domesticated bovines. I think this is a worry in places likew Yellowstone where there are wild herds never touched by humwn beings. Anything ranch raised would, by law, be tested yearly by a veterinarian.

 

[ERNIEB]

Bird, The side show may not have been stretching as much as you might think. In 1951 there were probably only a couple of people crossbreeding Bison. In those days Bison had become somewhat rare. I've heard that Beefalo are produced using a Bison bull on cows, Cattalo a Bull on Bison cows.
I don't doubt the statements made by the Beefalo association, but it's the same song and dance that the cattle breed associations give.
Beefalo must be packaged as beefalo beef. Therefore, It must be sold, finished, and packed separately from beef. This almost assures a higher price tag at the supermarket. As Sruffy has said, the cost of breeding stock can be pretty high.
The cattle buisness is pretty tough these days. 100 head or less, chances on a profit are slim, 50 head or less, chances are near nil. The last information I saw said that of 850 members in the beefalo association, 400 were registering cattle.

ErnieB
"We were surrounded by some gross, proud, and victorious men. Anyone who knows the character of the North Americans can judge what our situation must have been."
Jose Juan Sanchez Navarro

 

[scruffy]

The one ranch in central Oregon raising beefalo used artificial insemination for their breeding method. As to the cost, it was comparably priced to the beef in the supermarket....flavor was excellant. Essentially a beef flavor, with a touch of the wild to it. (in the manor of venison) Like I said, great eating meat!
As to keeping a buffalo fenced in..only if he's agreeable! I don't think a moose could excert the force that a 2000 lb Buffalo bull can when he's upset. The cows will run easily up to 12/1300 pounds..puny in comparison to the Bison bull.

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

Thanks to all for your thoughts, Bird, Ernie,Scruffy, Thomas, Jon, and Paul.

After reading the link provided by Ernie and http://www.nwbison.org/ I figured out there is a reason for all these years I have only considered raising Bison./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I think the biggest drawback in my case is raising but a few. Usually I start with a bread heifer @ $500 to $800, and turn around a calf about every 18 months. This works for 5 to 6 years with the same cow. With Bison, (from the .org auction page), 2 year old bread heifer cost $11,530 average. I read a Bison cow will calf for as long as twenty years.

This is a copied from the .org page related to fences:
"One or two bison will not be happy and they will not thrive, even under the best of conditions. If there are other animals in the vicinity, they will yearn to join them. Their herd instinct is so strong they will give up their individuality as bison to leap the fence and join another species so they can be part of a 'herd.' Generally you can pasture cattle and bison side by side if there are sufficient bison to establish a herd group. Pasturing two herds of bison side by side, however, will usually result in the group ignoring the fence and becoming one herd of bison. The secret to keeping bison where you want them to stay is to give them no reason to stray."

Bird, this may be why Janie Frickey had a problem keeping a couple of Bison in.

I don't think I can afford the liability if something like Ernie posted about the two deputies happened with one of my critters. Seems like you could be held negligent for even trying to raise just two of these critters./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

I guess I will stick to hogs, chickens and cattle.

 

[scruffy]

Alan, why not check into the cost of the artificial insemination to start a herd of Beefalo? Much easier to handle, and still has a very demanding market for it. While it may not be as lucrative as Buffalo, neither is the associated problems, while the demand is every bit as high.

 

[ERNIEB]

On the link to the ABA, at the bottom of the page, is a link for semen. Straws are very reasonable. Although more expensive, a faster way to go would be embryo transplant. Just a thought. Maybe It's because I'm in Texas where beef rules, but I'm thinking marketing would be a problem.

ErnieB
"We were surrounded by some gross, proud, and victorious men. Anyone who knows the character of the North Americans can judge what our situation must have been."
Jose Juan Sanchez Navarro