Food crisis has me wondering—how many more people could be fed by eating the corn that goes into raising a head of cattle than by eating the meat?

Cows don’t eat only corn. The bulk of their diet consists of food we can’t eat. I think the figure is around 8-14 pounds of silage(fermented complete grain plant), hay, grass, forage and grain per pound of beef. Dairy cows are typically slaughtered at age 5-7 and other cows slaughtered around age 2-3. Weight is usually around 800-1200 lbs at slaughter and only about 40% of it actually turns into edible meat. They also require a ton of water for feeding, cleaning and processing.

With the global rise in food prices I think going vegetarian is a very logical choice to make. Farms used to grow cattle feed can be used to grow people feed. We can also adopt sustainable farming practices to ensure we don’t poison the land for future generations.

Piedmontese Cattle are renowned for their quality lean healthful meat. Marketing companies pay premiums for these cattle ! Vist the North American Piedmontese Assoc. website at www.piedmontese.org to learn more.

Duration : 0:0:48

Read the rest of this entry »

Rottweilers were used by the Roman armies to herd cattle. However, my Rottweiler couldn’t herd cattle if her life depended on it (she’s tried many times). Then again, she’s never been trained to herd cattle. Do think it’s still possible to train Rottweilers to herd cattle?

yep. Hell I have seen boxers herding

http://www.amrottclub.org/herding.htm

http://www.willawynrottweilers.com/herdingPics.asp

Beef cattle farming is Tennessee’s number one agricultural commodity – and herd reproductive health is critical for producers to stay in business. UT’s Institute of Agriculture is working on research to boost cattle pregnancy rates.

Duration : 0:2:20

Read the rest of this entry »

We want to start a fold of miniature highland cattle. They are around/under 42 inches at the shoulder (height). Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Here is a breeder in Connecticut, maybe they know of one closer?

Connecticut Mini and Mid Sized Highland Cattle Co.
Breed: Highland…
Other Breeds: Highland
Description:

Connecticut Mini and Mid Sized Highland Cattle Co.
I have the foundation animals that were used to produce my minis for sale at this time. Prices range from $500. to $900. My total herd count is 32 pure bred minature and mid size scottish highlands. Call me for full details. 1 860 599 3759

kn_nathanieljoslin@webtv.net

or

http://www.minihighlandcattle.com/
Really good site with animals for sale

Australian cattle dogs are protective by nature but my pooch was also hit by a car and is deaf.

What this means is she is extremely cuddly and sweet around people and animals she knows but does a complete 180 around certain people and other dogs. I bring her to the dog-park, with muzzle, and she will play with all the other dogs without incident until one comes close to me and she goes crazy. She’ll do the same with people that try and pet her when she doesn’t want to be petted but sometimes the signs aren’t so clear between the two.

My question is this – I know I need to watch her closely to avoid incidents but would like seek help to see if there are ways of training it out of her.

One person has told me to try getting her on some meds (but she is calm 95% of the time).

Another suggested a dog psychic.

Any other advice?

Well I’m pleased to see that you have already taken steps to prevent your aussie from hurting someone else. I’ve done a little bit of research (links below), and have come up with a little bit of insight to your problem.
1) Very common problem with working dogs (and aussies in general)
2) Meds won’t work but a low protein diet might help (protein = fuel; too much = high energy dog)
3) As far as pet psychics go, while I wish I could believe in them, I don’t.

Aussies are working dogs, they were bred to work and constantly need a job to do. Also, they are herding dogs, so their mentality is to consitently herd and gaurd the flock of sheep which they consider to be their pack. Right now, you are her flock of sheep. What you are going to need is lots of practice, and lots of training.

I am a firm believer in the Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) training method (link below). This is a way to make obedience part of your daily routine as well as to enforce to the dog that you are pack leader. What this will also do for your aussie is to give her a job. With NILIF, her job will be to please you; She does nothing until told what to do by you the pack leader. Once you firmly establish yourself as pack leader and give your aussie a job you can start working with her slowly to curb her main problem which is overprotective aggression.

I recomend a group training class (try an AKC certified training class, or one that will help you test for Canine Good Citizen – none of those lame Petsmart classes). This will help her learn in a high stress environment that involve other people and other dogs being close to her human. Once she has the basics down pat (Sit, stand, down, stay, come, leave it, and watch me) you can work on her with the help of a traniner or friend. With her heeling or staying, have someone slowly approach you. Have her stay and watch you, if her eyes stray from you tell her to leave it. Correct her if she is aggressive or looks away, but praise her if she does good. Keeping working on it until someone can come up to you and shake your hand or hug you with out your aussie going nuts.

I may be adopting an Australian Shepherd/Cattle dog puppy soon, but I want to get more information about that.
Info from Aussie owners would be great too!

Brilliant dogs that often will out think their owners. Australian Shepherds excel in most performance events and are rivaled only by the Border Collie in dedication and drive. However, where the Border Collie is constantly in motion, the Australian Shepherd has a calmer temperament and has an "OFF" switch. They can spend the day in high activity, then spend the evening quietly relaxing beside their owners. Australian Shepherds usually have a soft temperament when it comes to their owners. Cattle dogs are tough little dogs. They have all the intelligence and drive of the Australian Shepherd, but have more of an independent streak. If they think they can do things better their way, they usually do.
The most important thing to remember is to properly socialize your puppy with other people and animals. Both Aussies and Cattle dogs can be overprotective of their family, so early Obedience classes are always recommended.
Good luck with your new addition.

During the Great Depression, the federal government began to buy and kill thousands of starving cattle. (Around fall of 1934). Does anyone know why they did so? Did they have a reason for killing the cattle?

First of all the government did buy cattle, some of which were destroyed, some of which were sent off to slaughter to be canned and distrubuted. The cattle were bought because of their extremely poor condition, due to lack of moisture and therefore lack of proper grass for grazing. The Dust Bowl has taken over in much of western Kansas, Oklahoma and parts of Texas, other places were lacking sufficient rainfall as well. It was a relief measure as much as anything, to pay ranchers for beef that had little value, put some money into their pockets and to help them keep going. Similar relief measures were given to grain producers, other men were put to work building roads, bridges and public buildings and the list goes on and on of the projects the federal government created to provide work and to put some money into circulation in the economy.

Others answering this question have talked about anthrax and hoof and mouth desiase. If a herd is desiased today, the government would do exactly the same thing…dig a ditch, destroy the animals and bury or burn the carcasses. We haven’t had any outbreaks of hoof and mouth in this country yet, thankfully.

I have about 10 acres just sitting and I would like to place a couple of cows on it. I have never owned cattle, but I really want to make this work.

You can look for local livestock auctions. You can also contact local cattle owners, to see where they purchased their cattle from.

Start off with a small amount. Maybe 2-4 cows. Unless you plan on breeding, keep them all female. (I would suggest this, anyways, because until you find out if you are able to care properly for the cattle, you don’t need to add pregnancy/youngsters!)

ALSO! You can look on Petfinder.com because sometimes, local shelters & rescues will have a cow/calf or two, in need of a home. Great way to start of, in my opinion.

I just got in a bunny who has a cattle tag in her ear, how can it be removed? it’s horrible, I want it gone. It is completely healed so it’s not recent and does not seem to be causing pain, I just can’t stand to see it.

I’d take it to the vet and have it cut off.
They can remove it better than you could without causing too much discomfort.

That’s if it’s a lay-over tag, the kind that sticks out from the ear, and skin hasn’t grown over it. Then it’s surgery.