Alternatives to sheep or cattle?

Eoghan Barra

Here's a question for you, folks:

We have a small farm in south west, all very rough land, as in hilly rocky land with 'cliffs' etc. Over half of the land is mountainy commonage.

We want to put stock on the land, and the obvious choice is sheep. However I'm aware of the drawbacks with sheep, such as their tendency to wander if fences aren't in good condition, the need for sheep wire all round (expensive compared to just posts and a couple of strands of barbed wire), the difficulties in getting them down off the mountain for dosing, having to separate them from the neighbours' sheep where it's commonage, etc. etc.

Regular cattle aren't really an option as the land is a bit too rough, and I'm not even sure if they would be allowed on the mountain, as I'm told that it's discouraged due to increased erosion and so on.

My question is, are there any serious alternatives, such as, for example, smaller, tougher, 'highland' varieties of cattle, or anything else for that matter.

I'm prepared to consider any feasible option at all, and would be grateful for any suggestions.

quadboy

Few years ago around here they would put kerry cows up to the mountain, dont know their proper name but thats what we called them and just last years or the year before there were dexter cows put up there

Farmer Pudsey

AA or Belted Gallowways might be an option. Easily fleshed and very hardy.

Conmaicne Mara

mikeoh wrote: »

Deer???

The man's worried about sheep fencing and you want him getting deer

leg wax

mikeoh wrote: »

Deer???

higher fence:):)

mikeoh

leg wax wrote: »

higher fence:):)

Just found my glasses...misread it!!!

Horace

Galloways love rough grazing and thrive on the hills http://www.thebeefsite.com/breeds/beef/9/belted-galloway/overview

bbam

Just regarding the Kerry cows and Galloways.
Is there my commercial gain in keeping these? My understanding is that these are more of a hobby animal, bred for the sake of keeping them rather than there being a true commercial outlet.
Maybe I'm wrong ??

Horace

bbam wrote: »

Just regarding the Kerry cows and Galloways.
Is there my commercial gain in keeping these? My understanding is that these are more of a hobby animal, bred for the sake of keeping them rather than there being a true commercial outlet.
Maybe I'm wrong ??

Galloways will turn rough grazing or any other type of grazing into cash they are very low maintenance easily kept beef breed similar to the angus but with a waterproof coat so they don't need expensive buildings , i just sent four of them to the factory today the last lot i sent graded out at 0+ or R-, 3+/3= fat. The Kerry cow is a dairy animal and was mainly kept as a house cow.

Eoghan Barra

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

AA or Belted Gallowways might be an option. Easily fleshed and very hardy.

Thanks very much for those responses, everyone.

I like the little I've read about the Galloway, particularly their hardiness.

A few questions on these, if anyone has any idea:
How big are they compared to more regular cattle?
How easy are they to get in this country?
Are they expensive to buy?
Are only Belted Galloways available, or the non-belted type?
What, if any, are their drawbacks?

Thanks

mf240

Eoghan Barra wrote: »

Thanks very much for those responses, everyone.

I like the little I've read about the Galloway, particularly their hardiness.

A few questions on these, if anyone has any idea:
How big are they compared to more regular cattle?
How easy are they to get in this country?
Are they expensive to buy?
Are only Belted Galloways available, or the non-belted type?
What, if any, are their drawbacks?

Thanks

You can get white galloways they have red ears and a red nose will try post a link but there in the livestock pictures section on the farming forum.

Horace

There are 5 types of Galloways Black, White, Dun, Belted and Riggit.http://www.gallowaycattlesociety.co.uk/ http://www.beltedgalloways.co.uk/ http://www.beltedgalloways.co.uk/white-galloways/ http://www.riggitgallowaycattlesociety.co.uk/breed.htm . They all have pages on facebook also. A mature cow will average 500 kgs and the bulls 550 up to 600 kgs. The bulls are very docile the cows are great mothers and can be crossed with most beef breeds they are also very protective of their calves.The one down side is they are similar to the angus and hereford price wise if you are selling them as weanlings so its best to finish them yourself for the factory. They are a few galloway ads on the donedeal , you should be able to pick up a few stores @ E2.30 a kg from time to time you find a few of them in Skibbereen and Macroom marts.

HillFarmer

I think your main drawback will be selling these animals and also purchasing.

Unless you have some good land around the mountain you may struggle to finish them for the factory and may have to sell them as weanlings.

They don't make alot as weanlings. Great cattle for your needs, but unfortunately there does n't seem to be a big market for them in Ireland in comparison to the UK.

I'd advise buying beef shorthorn cattle, very hardy, cross with easy calving Charly and you can sell the weanlings. Keep them for maybe 4 to 5 years then sell on.

Keep them young and they"ll live away outdoors

Eoghan Barra

Horace wrote: »

There are 5 types of Galloways Black, White, Dun, Belted and Riggit.http://www.gallowaycattlesociety.co.uk/ http://www.beltedgalloways.co.uk/ http://www.beltedgalloways.co.uk/white-galloways/ http://www.riggitgallowaycattlesociety.co.uk/breed.htm . They all have pages on facebook also. A mature cow will average 500 kgs and the bulls 550 up to 600 kgs. The bulls are very docile the cows are great mothers and can be crossed with most beef breeds they are also very protective of their calves.The one down side is they are similar to the angus and hereford price wise if you are selling them as weanlings so its best to finish them yourself for the factory. They are a few galloway ads on the donedeal , you should be able to pick up a few stores @ E2.30 a kg from time to time you find a few of them in Skibbereen and Macroom marts.

I have to admit Galloways seem to have all the characteristics I was looking for.

As I mentioned above, I was told that you're not allowed put cows on the mountain here because of the environmental damage they do. Do you think this would be an issue with the likes of Galloways?

On the Galloway Cattle Society (a UK organisation) website it says they're good in that sense:

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

On hill and upland pastures the unselective grazing action of the Galloway improves the natural herbage for domestic stock, wildlife, and game through the removal of excess roughage.
Galloways are becoming increasingly popular for controlling weeds, rashes and purple moor grasses on hill land, where sheep no longer graze.
In some areas Native Cattle like Galloways can receive extra subsidises for grazing disadvantage land.

(http://www.gallowaycattlesociety.co.uk/why-galloways.asp)

Any thoughts?

blue5000

What about goats for meat. Butchers in Dublin can't get enough of them for the African etc population.

enricoh

yeh, i saw a programme recently about a lad up north with goats - he was flying with them. he had a clapped out mobile home rigged up with pens, it seemed a fairly low cost set up n he was getting good dough off supplying restaurants.
it wouldnt take too many getting into it to saturate the irish market, dunno if theres an export market?

yellowlabrador

I would also explore wool producing animlas. There is an explosion in knitting and weaving etc. It's quite hard to get hold of locally produced wool. Maybe mohair from goats?

Eoghan Barra

blue5000 wrote: »

What about goats for meat. Butchers in Dublin can't get enough of them for the African etc population.

Not keen on goats, but thanks for the suggestion anyway.