The Rural Voice, 1989-09, Page 27Angus herd. The perimeter fences are
Cyclone fencing, seven feet high with
a strand of electric wire along the top.
The electric wire serves as a monitor,
indicating if any branches have fallen
on the fence. The electric current is
tested twice daily.
Inside the perimeter fence is a
second fence made of high -tensile
electric wire carrying 6,000 to 8,000
volts. The fibreglass fence posts are
so flexible that the fence returns to its
upright position if driven over by a
tractor. Deer can jump 8 to 10 feet
and, while buffalo tend to "charge"
fences, they can jump 6 to 7 feet.
"The seven -foot outside fences
are not so much to keep our animals
in, but to keep the two -legged — and
four -legged — predators out," grins
Effinger. "In the beginning, we had
trouble with trespassers, but now the
only trespassers might be a wolf in
the deer compound."
Gates are a different story. "We
started out with the conventional 2" x
6" board gates, but they soon had to be
changed. We went from water pipes
Wild boar
and deer
are among
the unusual
livestock on
the 1,200
acres of
Grandview
Farm. The
deer and
boar feed
outside all
winter.
to square tubing and wire mesh, but
they didn't last either. So now the
gates to the buffalo compound are
heavy steel square tubing with double
latches and chain-link mesh, seven
feet high."
Buffalo have a reputation of being
aggressive and hard to deal with, but
"the most dangerous time is in the
rutting season," Effinger says. There
are 200 head in the Grandview breed-
ing herd. Cows are bred in the fall
and have a nine-month gestation
period.
Cows and bulls do not breed before
they are three years old. A buffalo •
cow can produce for 35 years and the
cows live about 40 years. A first -calf
cow weighs about 1,200 pounds and
the breeding bulls weight roughly
2,000 pounds.
"Aggression in the animals in-
creases with age, so they are easiest
to handle up to five years of age,"
Effinger says. "Bulls from six to
seven years of age are the most
dangerous to handle and it is at that
time that their personality is formed,
with them either reverting back to
nature or else leaning toward the
domestic side."
"Buffalo can sense cowardice or
aggression in people," he adds, "so
you have to have a good knowledge of
the animals. You need four eyes in
your head — two in the front and two
in the back."
Buffalo are very hardy and they
really do roam, from six to eight miles
a day out on summer pasture. In
winter, they are confined to one of the
70 -acre paddocks. The deer and wild
boar feed outside all year.
The land produces about 400 acres
of alfalfa hay — 3,000 Large round
bales. These bales are set on the flat
side for the buffalo in winter. A bale
grinder for the large bales may be
purchased soon. "There is about a 30
per cent feed loss with the round
bales," Effinger says. "We feed about
50 to 60 round bales a week," To help
with the chores, there are three full-
time hired men.
The trick to feeding the buffalo is
to put out enough bales at one time.
"There is a natural order in the feeding
among the buffalo, with the older bulls
eating first, then the young bulls, then
the cows, and finally the heifers and
calves. The buffalo follow this system
themselves to prevent fighting,
Effinger explains.
The hay is moved from a 300 -
acre hay field on the side of the Blue
Mountain by two tractor -trailers.
Some bales are stored inside under a
long, one-sided shed, while the rest
are piled outside. Grandview Farms
hires some custom operators, particu-
larly for cultivating and plowing.
Organic feed grain is purchased from
neighbouring farms.
The pastures are rotated and re-
newed by harrowing and reseeding
with a special buffalo pasture mixture.
In the late spring, reseeding on the
steep hills and gullies is done directly
onto the melting ice, as machinery
cannot be used on certain areas of the
farm.
Buffalo are susceptible to all
normal cattle diseases, but their
resistance is much better. Markdale
veterinarian Dr. Jim Mitchell does
most of the vet work for the farm.
"He is very good to learn about these
SEPTEMBER 1989 25
A