Buffalo Today
The newborn buffalo struggled to
stand on wobbly legs, then
flopped back down. His mother grunted encouragement and gave him a
few
happy licks with her
long tongue. Once again he made a mighty effort and stood
swaying. He had a great inward urge to
find his mother's udder, where ever and what
ever that was. After minutes of exploring his mother's underside, his
search ended. The happy
wagging of his tail told the world that this was worth the effort.
Members of the herd came to check
out the new arrival,
then
went on with their eating.
Curious calves gathered nearby.
The
new babe was fascinated with these little
beings who were just his size and
who seemed so friendly. When his woolly coat
dried off, it would fluff up
like theirs, and be the same soft pumpkin color. Soon
he would be spending as much
time with them as he did with his mother, playing,
exploring and tasting every
plant in sight.
The days of summer grew longer, and
then shorter again.
The hair along the calves' back and
around their eyes turned brown.
Before
long they lose all the orange
baby color, and take on the buffalo brown of
their mothers. Horns are now
an inch long on the little bulls, and while visable are
more delicate on the heifer
babes. The herd bull is now courting the mother cows
in their rutting season,
making babes for the following spring.
With the coming of fall, the adult
bison begin to
grow a
winter coat to protect them
from the cold. They look like they are covered
in velvet, then gradually a thick,
woolly fur covers their bodies.
The
whole herd loves the crisp, cool days of
fall. They thunder across
the
pastures in a full run or a bonging hop, for the joy
of being alive and
being
buffalo. The calves now have a distinct hump. This bony
protrusion
from the
backbone above the shoulders is an anchor for their strong
neck muscles,enabling them to plow away snow for winter grazing.
Winter cold will be
pleasant for them, rather than a
hardship. Their bodies adapt to the season
by lowering their metabolism. They will not eat as much during winter
and will grow little until spring.
Soon it will be time for the calves
to be removed
from their
mothers. Most farms are
small, and cannot keep these additional animals
in their herds. Many of the babes
are already spoken for, contracted
by other farmers to expand herds or form
new herds.
The remainder
will be taken to auction, or pastured together
until
sold or taken for meat.
As spring comes once more to the
farm, the babes have become
yearlings. Their horns and legs are growing longer and they
take on the awkward, charming look of
adolescents. It is a happy, carefree year for
these young buffalo. Their job is to eat and grow, and enjoy life.
They are very sociable
animals, staying in a group virtually all the time. Yet they have
developed strong individual
personalities and a "pecking order" within the herd.
By the time these young bison reach their second birthday, they have matured into breeding age buffalo. Depending on their sex and genetics, they now weigh between 700 and 1,000 pounds. They will not reach their full size and maturity until they are seven years old when they can double their two year old weights. The two year old heifers will be placed in a breeding herd, as they will join in the rut this summer. Only the very biggest and best of the two year old bulls will join a breeding herd. These buffalo can live to twenty and even thirty or more years of age. Buffalo cows in good condition will calve every twelve months,and twenty calves is not unreasonable to expect from these mothers.
If bulls are not placed in the
breeding herd, they will become meat
animals
before their third birthday. This young
age will help insure the tenderness of the
meat. Farms differ on how they feed these bulls to prepare them for
slaughter. On some farms,
they remain in the breeding herd, feeding on grass, until they
are required for meat. Other producers
prefer to finish the bulls on grain for a few months
to maintain a control over the taste of meat as grass differs
according to season, pasture,
and weather. These animals will be separated into a meat herd
and fed grain on pasture, or placed in
confinement to be fed. Although life is shorter for
these bulls, it has been good. And their meat is not wasted, rather
it provides nourishment so
that humans can live and be healthy. This meat provides the
necessary financial support for their
herd and farm home to prosper.
When buffalo roamed these lands,
wild and free, they
adapted
to their environment and multiplied into the millions of animals.
Nature was not always kind.
Blizzards, range wild fires, and droughts made life very
difficult at times for the buffalo. The
strongest animals survived, bred, and continued to
multiply. It is no longer possible for buffalo to roam freely across
this country.
Farmers and
ranchers, who admire the buffalo and chose to raise them, take on
the responsibility of seeing that fenced
herds are well fed, healthy, happy and safe. It
is also their job to choose which animals will survive, breed and
multiply. Raising buffalo is
a challenging and very rewarding job. It requires planning,
understanding, and a lot of
patience rather than strength and physical work.
A buffalo is well fed when he is
grazing on properly
managed
grass pastures. Grass hay is
substituted when the pastures are dormant.The farmer must make sure
that there are no more
animals than the land can
sustain. This can be challenging, as weather
differs from year to year. Keeping
the grass from over maturing or being over-grazed
requires flexibility and
close watch over the fields. If this job is well done
by the farmer, the buffalo
will enjoy a longer season on good grass and will require
less expense for hay.
A well fed buffalo is a happy buffalo, if he also has the company of a herd. They do not like to be alone. This can make it difficult to sort animals from the herd when necessary to do so. They always want to stay together, and even more so when they feel threatened. Traditional protection for the buffalo has always been safey in numbers. Stronger animals will protect the herd from danger. These animals can out run horses, jump, kick, and use their horns very expertly. If the buffalo are not happy, they will be very difficult to keep in any pasture. The farmer definitely wants his buffalo to be very happy.
A well fed, happy buffalo is a very
strong, healthy animal.
There
are diseases which can spread
from neighboring beef herds to the bison. Because
of the sturdiness of the
bison this rarely happens. But most farmers will
vaccinate at least the calf herd
against bovine disease as a precaution against
the stress of weaning. Whether or
not the animals are vaccinated, the
farmer keeps close watch on the physical condition
of his herd, watching for any
signs of poor health. The one weakness a buffalo
has is a lack of resistance
to stomach worms. Because they are now confined to
a pasture, rather than
roaming a wide prairie, they are exposed to these
intestinal parasites. The
farmer must medicate against this health problem a couple
of times a year, or
his animals will not survive. It is that important. Farms that
attempt to meet
organic
standards with buffalo can face disaster from this source.
Buffalo are normally raised as
Natural rather than Organic for this reason.
Keeping buffalo safe is a matter of
keeping them
in their
pasture. Fencing cannot be
taken for granted with a herd of buffalo and gates
must be kept closed at all times.
An escaped buffalo is a danger to traffic and
property. He is in danger from those
who protect life and property of people. Having
good fencing and working equipment
is an expense required by farms choosing
to raise buffalo. Keeping hunters
and dogs out of pastures can prevent problems
from occurring. A younger buffalo
herd may run from intruders, while
a mature herd might well run after them.
There are two sayings about buffalo that are very true: "You can chase a buffalo anywhere he wants to go." and "You can make a buffalo do anything he wants to do." The farmer must first decide what needs to be done, then figure out how to make the buffalo want to do it. Giving grain to a buffalo is like giving ice cream to a kid. They didn't evolve eating it, and too much of it is not good for them - but they sure do love it! By giving the buffalo treats of sweet grain or range cubes, the farmer teaches the buffalo to come to him when he wants them. This is a lot easier than going out to "round them up". With proper planing, managing buffalo can be fairly easy.
Most farms slaughter at least some animals for food each year. Some of these are being culled from the herd as inadequate mothers, but most are excess young bulls whose job it is to support the farm. This meat may be available to friends, neighbors, and family who buy a quarter or side of the animal. Word of mouth is usually how news of this meat is spread. The farmer may occasionally advertise meat if he has excess animals.
In order to sell meat in retail cuts
at farmers markets,
health
food stores, grocery stores, and restaurants, the animal is
slaughtered at a USDA
inspected plant. This can be a very expensive process, and can add
substantial costs to the price of the
meat. It is frequently an all day trip to take the
animals to that plant, and another trip two weeks later to pick up
the meat.
Buffalo producers must pay for the USDA inspection, currently at $44 per hour, although this service is provided free by the government for beef, pork, and chicken. The transportation costs, time of travel, and cost of inspection can add well over a dollar a pound to the meat, even before considering the costs of the actual process of slaughter, hanging, and wrapping. This is considered the cost of keeping America's food supply safe, and is more important than ever in today's world.
While the outstanding health properties and taste qualities of the buffalo meat cannot be matched by any other meat, possibly the most precious contribution that buffalo brings to the consumer, is the opportunity to know these wonderful American animals and the farmers who raise them. The relationship between farm and consumer has been lost in today's society. They are being brought together again by the American Buffalo.
Learning About Buffalo Buffalo Today Bison Behavior & Management