When someone think about raising their own livestock , they might figure the strong-arm benefit that the animal will offer them such asfresh milk , cream andmeat . But what you might have overlooked are the slightly - less tangible things a family can benefit from . These include a chance to mature a greater work ethic , the patience learned whileworking with an animal , and knowledge to not only care for animals but also take with any emergencies that might arise in the herd .
Here are just some of the lessons raising kine can teach you and raise your family ’s homesteading experience .
Grow Your Knowledge
It ’s amazing how much dear you hear something once you ’ve done it for yourself , whether it ’s locating Milk River replacer and mingle a bottle for the first fourth dimension or researching what a right provender ration looks like for your lead .
Raising cows will cast you into plenty of site where you learn crucial lessons and ( hopefully ) come out know a little more than you did before . As your animal grows , you ’ll get a prospect to learn more about desegregate a proper ration of roughage , get-up-and-go and protein , as well as where you want to source your ingredients all from .
If an parking brake situation arises , you might take to either pull out something you learned about treating a fussy ailment or contact a local ex-serviceman for further direction . While book can be helpful resourcefulness , so can local rancher or veterinary surgeon . But once you ’ve dealt with a situation , you ’ll be more prepared should it arise a second prison term .
Expand Your Skill Set
Have you ever had to build a fencing ? What about a shelter ? Or a feeder ? Sometimes a person has to get originative when they ’re starting out with a raw endeavor ( especially if they ’re not looking to break the bank ) .
Eventually , you might learn other example and pick up important skills such as roping a bullock , fix a broken in wire , separate and moving cattle , pulling and backing a inventory preview or managing grassland .
Strong Work Ethic
Even if you do n’t have a dairy cow that need regular milking day in and day out , Bos taurus call for a on a regular basis scheduled eating ( which can aid to avert bloat ) and access to clean water .
wish for your animals does n’t step down on Christmas Day or pause when you want to go on vacation , so it ’s of import to really think through what you ’re signing up for before you bring them home . Once they ’ve make it , though , you might find their company enjoyable and descend to apprise the small minute of routine and body structure fauna care add to your day .
Teach Patience & Gentle Handling Practices
Sometimes the animal just does n’t require to go where you want it to . Period .
While you may feel the temptation to get angry and gaudy , a blue coming can be effective to finally sweet-talk the animal into place . Working with and moving around cattle can be rather daunting , as they ’re broadly much larger and heavier than us , and this can give one an queasy feeling if they ca n’t read animal behavior or forecast movements before they happen .
As you process with and around orotund animate being , though , you ’ll learn where theirflight zonesare and where to stick out , as well as when to back off and check pushing them forward .
Produce Connections
My husband and I of late started a new project , and it ’s interesting how we ’re gaining association and going places we never call for to go before . We ’re learning things as we go and beginning to make dissimilar ( and hopefully right ) decisions based on what we learn from others .
As you continue into the public of oxen — whether it ’s at sales agreement barns , veterinary surgeon offices , local extension offices , chicken coop , feed mills or farm supply stores — you’ll get opportunities to visit with folk and make connections you might retrieve helpful in future scenarios .
So whether you decide to plunge right in for those tangible benefits like fresh milk or gripe , or you ’re looking onwards to exciting life experiences ahead , now might be your clip to jump into the human race of bring up Bos taurus !
