Rib Roast Invasion!

[grumpa]

Having my morning coffee and hearing that unmistakable sound of rampaging bovine invaders
I leapt to my feet (ouch! getting old you knowops and lunged for rifle....just kidding...camera

Crafty devils they are, and are constantly finding ways to annoy us
Oh well off to the round up and some fence mending.....

Some fine strong calves this year...YUM!...............Jim[ATTACH]281965[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]281966[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]281967[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]281968[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]281969[/ATTACH]

[papa 695]

Some very nice steaks there Jim.

[grumpa]

Some very nice steaks there Jim.

That's for sure Ian, but Mamma gets upset when it comes time to put one down to stock the freezers or sell one off, her "babies" you know.
800 to 1,000 pounds of prime beef per hefty steer once kitted out ( grass, corn and local hey fed, no commercial feeds or drugs) and the cows give the most delightful white as snow, sweet as honey milk.


We were thinking of pigs and chickens (which we once had...not the swine though)) but the birds were too prone to predation and pigs stink and are aggressive at timesops:
We let others in our consortium deal with those, we concentrate on beef and timber along with working with a concrete contractor to provide site prep and form building.

[monica]

nice looking beef,and you know to them the grass,is always greener,were there,
not meant to be,
very nice and green,land as well,do like the look of your farm,
very nice pine trees,

[grumpa]

nice looking beef,and you know to them the grass,is always greener,were there,
not meant to be,
very nice and green,land as well,do like the look of your farm,
very nice pine trees,

Thanks Monica, the land is very green indeed, will take some pasture pics up over the hill, rolling pastures with plenty of hill and dale gives steers nice dense and marbled shoulders and rumps plus plenty of clover to sweeten the meat. I don't normally take camera afield for fear of losing it but will take some pics just for you.

Predators are plenty and some losses must be taken into account as we refuse to trap or hunt down predators unless human life and limb are at stake.
We keep things as natural as possible within reason of course and our environment is a top priority in all our endeavors............Jim

[Mr Bowcat]

Jim, what sort of predators are a danger to cows? I have no idea where in the world you are from (I would assume US??) so are bears, mountain lions and wolves the danger, or are there other types of predator that pose problems?

[grumpa]

Jim, what sort of predators are a danger to cows? I have no idea where in the world you are from (I would assume US??) so are bears, mountain lions and wolves the danger, or are there other types of predator that pose problems?

Why yes, all three in abundance, plus martens (a giant sized weasel 4 to 5 ft in length) badgers, bob cats (50 to 60 lbs) also coya-wolves, a mixture of coyote and wolf which
is the nastiest of all as most hybrids are.

The calves are the most vulnerable of course but we've seen some nasty scars on some of the bulls who confront any predator first and run them off for the most part.
The herd is on it's own most of the time only brought to compound during hard winters. They are of course closely monitored and the dogs keep a good eye on.

[monica]

will look forward to seeing the pic,s,
and Bob,has asked what I,would of about what critters you,have to deal with,as well,
sounds as,you have ,quite a few,to,handle,the coya-wolves,did not know,of them

[Mr Bowcat]

Do they pose any dangers to humans? I presume you move around outside armed?

[grumpa]

will look forward to seeing the pic,s,
and Bob,has asked what I,would of about what critters you,have to deal with,as well,
sounds as,you have ,quite a few,to,handle,the coya-wolves,did not know,of them

Coya-wolves were created by ranchers in the bygone days of the "wild west" by the killing off and pushing out predators from desired grazing land for the herds of millions of beef cattle.
Coyotes ( a small wolf) were native to the western states, they were shunted over the Great Lakes and cross bred with Canadian Timber wolves then moved south into U.S.

[grumpa]

Do they pose any dangers to humans? I presume you move around outside armed?

No, not really, most predators abhor humans and keep their distance from human domiciles, lest be pursued by hot lead or large dogs.
One must use common sense of course by not tempting them in by carelessly leaving anything about they would deem edible.

When traveling deep into the wood scouting timber of course a hefty iron is kept at the ready, hundreds are attacked and killed every year by wildlife, deer are very dangerous especially stags in rut. I seen one scuewer a man and toss him several yards, only his heavy clothing saved his life and minimized his injuries.
Needless to say he won't be doing anymore unwise taunting that's for sure

Springtime now so mamma bears are about with their little ones, near suicide to get between her and them, They are the most bothersome as they don't fear humans and are the only ones that will come to your doorstep and invite themselves in for a cuppa

Mamma had a scare some years back when heading to her auto on the drive and having a very large male bear stand to height of 8 or so feet on the other side of vehicle while he was reaching for her door handle...she never heard or saw him comingops:
She calmly got into car and blew the horn several times and he just moseyed off like he owned the joint

Caught this one last year making himself at home munching on the bird feeders, he's a little feller though[ATTACH]282048[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]282049[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]282050[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]282051[/ATTACH]

[Mr Bowcat]

Wow, it's a different world, nothing like suburban London (although that has its own, sometimes far more dangerous, predators).

[Guest]

Wow!! I live on the mountain as well....but I haven't this kind of visitors there!!!

[grumpa]

Wow, it's a different world, nothing like suburban London (although that has its own, sometimes far more dangerous, predators).

The two legged kind are the worst

[monica]

No, not really, most predators abhor humans and keep their distance from human domiciles, lest be pursued by hot lead or large dogs.
One must use common sense of course by not tempting them in by carelessly leaving anything about they would deem edible.

When traveling deep into the wood scouting timber of course a hefty iron is kept at the ready, hundreds are attacked and killed every year by wildlife, deer are very dangerous especially stags in rut. I seen one scuewer a man and toss him several yards, only his heavy clothing saved his life and minimized his injuries.
Needless to say he won't be doing anymore unwise taunting that's for sure

Springtime now so mamma bears are about with their little ones, near suicide to get between her and them, They are the most bothersome as they don't fear humans and are the only ones that will come to your doorstep and invite themselves in for a cuppa

Mamma had a scare some years back when heading to her auto on the drive and having a very large male bear stand to height of 8 or so feet on the other side of vehicle while he was reaching for her door handle...she never heard or saw him comingops:
She calmly got into car and blew the horn several times and he just moseyed off like he owned the joint

Caught this one last year making himself at home munching on the bird feeders, he's a little feller though[ATTACH]282048[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]282049[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]282050[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]282051[/ATTACH]

he did look happy with ,his seed,