Pineywoods cattle and Gulf Coast sheep

17 years ago

Here are some pics that I took yesterday evening.

I have three Pineywoods cattle (two heifers and a bull) on about six acres of, well, piney woods. Here's the bull and a heifer:

I have six Gulf Coast native sheep; one ram, four ewes, and a three-week old lamb. (If you think about the lamb's coloring, it makes you wonder whether he kept his eye on the ewes at all times.)

The ram:

Ewes and lamb:

Both these breeds are ideally suited to where I live in North Florida. They are heat tolerant, naturally parasite resistant, and have gone through 500 years of natural selection to adapt to the local habitat.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (14)

robin_maine
16 years ago
What are pineywoods cattle bred for? Milk, meat, oxen or ?
0
stoneunhenged
Original Author
16 years ago
Bred for all three things, but primarily for meat.
0
Related Discussions
Pineywoods cattle and Gulf Coast sheep
Q
Comments (11)
The Ayam Bekisar is a male hybrid between Green Junglefowl (Gallus varius) roosters and domestic bankivoid game hens. They contributed some small but integral package of genes to the ancestry of the archaic Oceanic island breeds. Ayam Bekisars were originally used as the original Foghorn Leghorn by boat cultures who used the vociferous hybrids to literally stay in vocal distance from one another when separated by the frequent tropical squalls that one experiences in these seas. To this day one finds Bekisars in Java and Komodo contentedly perched in their bamboo cages hoisted above the fishing boats crowing or rather roaring their terribly long songs. (Anyone interested in the Ayam Bekisar would do well to read William Beebe's Monograph of the Phasianidae. He set aside an entire chapter on the subject as an after note to his chapter on Green Junglefowl.) Tropical downpours and horrific winds do not seem to bother either the wild species or the Bekisar. Like the wild populations of G. varius on some of the tiny desert islets surrounding Komodo and Flores, feral Ayam Bekisars appear to thrive without access to fresh water during the dry season when precipitation is unlikely for months. They appear to take their water requirement from copepods and marine life stranded in littoral pools. The outrigger canoe mascots of this type were integral to early seafarers as their long crows can be heard for several miles. The residents of Madura and Kangea, Flores and Komodo continue to have contests to determine the most beautiful and long crowing of these seafarer fowl. The Bekisar roosters are kept in bamboo cages on the canoes. They crow to one another over the sounds of the breakers after the storms have settled and the boats have been separated. Some individual Bekisars make an incredibly human sounding song that closely resembles a call to prayer. In Western Java, the Bekisar is the national bird. The hybrids are generally sterile or only partly fertile with some males being capable of breeding domestic game hens and producing semifertile offspring. Female hybrids tend to lay generously but their eggs are generally sterile or fail to hatch. To date there are no reported backcrosses to Green Junglefowl. Nonetheless, this has been mentioned by several authors as a serious threat to the integrity of wild Green Junglefowl populations. In my opinion the captive stocks are more vulnerable than wild populations to the deleterious effects of genetic pollution via hybridization. It is very likely that some of the most ancient breeds like the Japanese Long Crowers (e.g. the Tomaru), the Black Sumatra, Ayam Cemani and all of the Oceanic breeds are derived in part from Ayam Bekisar ancestors. These breeds are no longer hybrids but true breeds that happen to have a few exotic genes hidden in their collective woodpile. Here is a link that might be useful: Ayam Bekisar
...See More
lazy Sunday morning
Q
Comments (6)
It's like any construction project: takes twice as long and costs three times as much as sanity would dictate. But, labor is pretty cheap around here, so it could be worse, I guess. The sheep and cattle have five centuries of natural selection that allow them to survive on forage in pine forests. (Most notably, they seem to like to eat poison ivy.) But, I like them to look sleek and be easy to catch, so I hand feed a little grain and hay each day. I don't remember the variety of Asian pear that I planted, to be honest.
...See More
The Big Project
Q
Comments (4)
WOW...stoneunhenged...how did this post go so long without one single comment? I have zero idea how I have missed it for over a month now myself... You have a beautiful place and animals. My wife would love to have those raised beds. What native nut trees are you planting where the pines used to be? Brian
...See More
The Big Project, Part 9
Q
Comments (10)
One thing that could be of great benefit to you is getting some soil samples. Many areas are deficient in some soil nutrients, and it would be to your advantage to know how to balance them. I know that many people think that if they pour manure and compost into their soil, it will be totally balanced. This isn't true. If your soil is deficient in calcium or boron (etc), it will be deficient in the grass, which will make it deficient in the animals that graze on that grass, and it will be deficient in the manure that they produce. I guess many farmers think that minerals are generated out of thin air and wishful thinking. Agronomist Neal Kinsey has produced an interesting video and written a readable book on soil health, both called "Hand-On Agronomy". They are in the library system. If your particular library doesn't have them, I'm sure you can get them on an interlibrary loan. Another source of information is the series of books written by farmer Joel Salatin. His books on cattle and chickens are especially interesting. He has his farm broken into pastures, and he rotates the cattle through those pastures according to how many cow-days each pasture can handle, and no more. Then he rotates chickens after the cattle. The chickens work through the cattle manure and eat the insects and larvae, helping to break up the parasite cycle. When the cattle are eventually rotated back to the first pastures, they have recuperated, have been maunured, and are ready for the cattle again. This method avoids the usual drawbacks that most farms end up with. Around here, you see it all the time: the farmers stock the maximum number of cattle they feel that their land can tolerate, and they fill the whole place. The cattle pick and choose their favorite grasses, etc, and leave what they don't like. When the next bunch of cattle are turned loose into the pasture, the good grass has been eaten and stomped into oblivion. Now all there is are the less desirable plants. Every year, the pastures get worse. Many of them are now covered with a bitter-tasting white daisy that none of the animals will eat. Now the farmers have to buy feed, because they're too dumb to use their land properly, reseed with a desirable mix of grasses and other plants, rotate their livestock, and let their land heal. Sue
...See More
cowhunter
16 years ago
I also have Pineywoods cattle and native sheep. Please e-mail me off-list so we can share information. I live in Lake City.
0
cowhunter
16 years ago
Sorry, I forgot to include my contact information.
E-mail address: old_cowhunter@yahoo.com

I have Florida Cracker Cattle, Pineywoods Cattle, Florida Native Sheep, and other rare heritage breeds of livestock.
0
rabbitlover
16 years ago
Those cows look pretty cool. Though with such a small herd wouldn't it be easier to do AI than to keep a bull? Also I've been looking into dual-purpose cows and the pineywoods breed came up with the bonus of saving/preserving a endangered livestock breed. I've been wanting a cow that gave a good ammount of milk a day(about 4lbs) while having salvage value. Could a pineywoods do that? And are they calm and docile suitable for a beginner like me. You also mentioned that they were idally suited to florida being heat resistent, would they be okay in ohio with the wind rain snow etc.? thanks.
0
stoneunhenged
Original Author
16 years ago
I've heard of a few people milking Pineywoods. I've never done it. They're pretty easy to handle. Not huge and not bad dispositions.

I have three more heifers since I posted these pictures, so my bull:cow ratio is 1:5.

I assume they'd be okay in Ohio. It gets pretty cold during the winter in part of their natural range. They don't seem to mind cold.
0
gwemau
16 years ago
Your Gulf Coast native sheep look very happy. I was hoping that when I get some land one day, maybe I would keep some kind of heat tolerant breed.
What do you do with the fleece? I would be willing to purchase some fleece from you if any still available. I would like to see how it feels to the hand while spinning, and of course the finished product.
You can contact me at gwemau44@yahoo.com if you would like.
Thanks
0
stoneunhenged
Original Author
16 years ago
I emailed you. Happy to help.
0
bj_free_hotrmail_com
16 years ago
I am interested in the fleece. Please let me know if you have any available. I'll be travelling to Florida, Orlando, in June 08. Thank you very much.
0
aqharednecks
15 years ago
I know this is an old thread, but I hadn't ever heard of the native sheep before. Where in N. FL are you? We are in Milton.
I am really interested in getting some sheep. Can they go in pastures with goats or will there be issues with temperments or parasites?
0
brendan_of_bonsai
15 years ago
When I google gulf coast native I don't find sheep with the same beautiful faces your sheep have, are you sure that is what they are?
0
organic_flutterby
15 years ago
I do not have any livestock right now, but am planning to get enough to provide meat, milk, eggs etc for my family. I am very interested in the rarer breeds, primarily because I hate to think of them dying out. I see that the pineywoods and the gulf coast are both on the American Livestock Breeds Conservatory critical list. I have to commend anyone who takes an interest in saving these and other breeds. I am interested in the arapawa and san clemente goats, not for meat but to help replenish their numbers. Also interested in making products from their milk: milk, cheese, soap. As of yet I have not found any for sale. I am looking into navajo-churro sheep and several rarer chicken breeds. So far I am just in the research stage, but I'll get there.
0
netsirk_05_yahoo_com
15 years ago
Would like a contact number to discuss the Gulf Coast Native Sheep.
0
hogeybones
15 years ago
I just ran across your post and would like info on your pineywoods. Just wondering what strain do you have and have many do you currently have? What part of N Florida are you in? I have some Barnes pineys.
0

Pineywoods cattle and Gulf Coast sheep

Comments (14)

robin_maine

stoneunhenged
Original Author

Related Discussions

cowhunter

cowhunter

rabbitlover

stoneunhenged
Original Author

gwemau

stoneunhenged
Original Author

bj_free_hotrmail_com

aqharednecks

brendan_of_bonsai

organic_flutterby

netsirk_05_yahoo_com

hogeybones

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Pineywoods cattle and Gulf Coast sheep

Comments (14)

stoneunhengedOriginal Author

Related Discussions

stoneunhengedOriginal Author

stoneunhengedOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

stoneunhenged
Original Author

stoneunhenged
Original Author

stoneunhenged
Original Author