The Rural Voice, 1998-07, Page 30says she calls around to Ontario
producers but this year there isn't a
single yearling heifer calf that hasn't
already been sold (heifers can't be
bred until they are two or even three
years old).
pbeople going into the buffalo
usiness need patience and
some other source of income
until the money starts coming in.
The fences and corrals required are
expensive and the payback is long.
Starting with calves it will be
at least three years before you
get a calf. Then if you're
selling calves, you can start
getting money in but if you're
aiming at the meat market, it's
another three years before you
get product. Still the
Mountains warn people not to
try to short-cut the process by
buying adults.
"We always advise people
who have not had buffalo
before to start with calves,"
says Arlene. "We did it that
way and we had to wait a
while to get our investment
back but the animals grew up
here and they're happy where
they are. They're content. They're
not looking for greener pastures."
Even with a recent windstorm
when trees were blown down over
fences, the herd wasn't tempted to
escape. Once you have a nucleus
herd, new animals can be introduced
and will join the herd and feel right at
home, she says.
"The place that I'm glad that I'm
not doing this by myself is when they
have to be handled," says Arlene.
"That's when I like to disappear."
Looking at Aaron she laughs, "That's
what put the grey in his hair, not me."
"If you want to raise buffalo you
must have some nerve and some
patience," Aaron adds.
"You're dealing with big animals
which can be very aggressive when
they feel threatened," says Arlene.
"They're not domesticated. They're
wild animals and they usually don't
see things the way we see them."
With those requirements in mind,
the Mountains don't sell breeding
stock to people unless they have good
fences in place.
"There's three requirements," says
Aaron. "Good pasture, good fencing
and a corral system."
You have to know how to
construct good fences, Aaron adds.
"It's not good for the industry if
people get these animals and they get
out on them."
Despite their size, buffalo are agile
and will jump over ordinary fences.
"They can run like a horse, they can
jump like a deer and they can twist
around like a jack rabbit," says
Arlene.
Aaron says he wouldn't trust
they also strongly suggest, Arlene
says, that buyers start with half a
dozen or 10 heifers (plus a bull from
another breeder), not just one.
One bull can service 10-15 cows.
Large producers are aiming to the
lower number. "It's worth keeping
the extra bull if you get an extra one
or two cows bred," says Aaron.
While buffalo may be a nightmare
to handle, it's an infrequent
nightmare. The herd spends most of
its time on its own. There are
Aaron puts down some feed to attract the herd.
anything less than a six-foot high
exterior fence using one strand of
extra heavy barbed wire at the
bottom, standard page -wire fencing
in the middle topped by two strands
of barbed wire. He uses sturdy posts
placed a rod apart. For fences
between paddocks the standard
doesn't need to be so stringent.
While buffalo don't need to be
handled often, they must be
government tested for brucellosis and
tuberculosis. They are not treated
with injections like cattle (many
cattle drugs haven't been tested on
buffalo). However, Aaron points out,
"you can't make any money until you
catch these animals. You can't catch
them in a makeshift outfit."
The corral works for the safety of
both the buffalo and the handlers,
they say. "A horse and rider wouldn't
last long in a corral. You must have it
so you can manage it from catwalks
from the outside. That's where it
differs from a cattle handling
system."
It's also important to design a
corral system that keeps the animals
moving through smoothly.
Since buffalo are a herd animal,
26 THE RURAL VOICE
AIP
few health problems. In 14
years, Arlene says, they've
had one breech birth, the only
calving problem encountered.
More of a problem, says
Aaron, are injuries. "These
animals look very docile but
you close the gate and they'll
climb the walls. They have a
pecking order. The youngest
ones will get hurt. That's why
a lot of the ranchers now are
dehorning. I don't but I can
understand why they do."
The other health problem is
parasites. "These animals are
a dry prairie -type animal and
they've never been put in
such great numbers on so little land."
Once migratory animals, they've
come from 10 -acres plus per animal
in westernCanada and now are about
one animal per acre on the lush
eastern pastures.
Aaron carefully watches the herd
for parasite problems. In May
or June and again in July he
collects feces samples and
takes them to the vet for testing. If
there is evidence of parasites he uses
his natural remedies (though not
certified organic, he tries to practice
all -natural production). He buys
bushels of garlic seconds from
organic garlic growers, grinds the
cloves in a large industrial grinder,
and adds it to rolled oats. Though the
mixture reeks, surprisingly, the
animals not only eat it, they like it.
When the animals smell the pungent
aroma of the mixture as it is delivered
to the field they come running,
Arlene says.
"When I smelled that mixture I
thought this is not going to work,"
Aaron says. "They get a third of a
pound for three days in a row and it
works." Perhaps the success should
not be as much of a surprise because