Acreage for having one or two cows

[planewhisperer]

I HAVE 4 ACRES BASICALLY ALL WOODED. WE WOULD LIKE TO RAISE OUR OWN BEEF AND PIGS. WE ALREADY RAISE CHICKENS FOR EGGS AND MEAT. WE LIVE IN SOUTH ALABAMA. OUR LAND HAS NO PASTURE, JUST ALL WOODS. COULD WE RAISE A BEEF COW AND A MILK COW ON OUR LAND? WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE ADVISE YOU CAN GIVE US.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

If you want to kill your trees and turn the paddocked land into dirt, sure; otherwise no. Four acres is not enough to support two cattle, let alone four acres of wooded land. Stick with the pigs and chickens and maybe some goats, but forget the cows.

The reason I'm saying this (and I say it like it is, no sugar coating here) is that you need at least two to three times the land base to support one cow if you're raising her on forested/wooded land. This is because there is a lot less grazing area, not nearly enough biomass available to support a cow on wooded land.

Cows in the woods are good if you're only keeping them in that area for a short term (like only a few weeks, if that), not long term unless you're wanting to find a natural way to get rid of your treed area--because cattle will kill trees if enough pressure is applied for the right length of time. Obviously you want these cows long term, so that's not going to work.

It would also work if you have a lot of money to throw away. You could otherwise use this money for a yearly (24/7/365) day of feed: hay, grain, mineral supplement, protein supplement, etc., because that is what will be needed if you intend on raising these two cattle on your four acres of wooded land.



Also, please avoid the use of caps, because it looks like you are shouting, not just talking or texting normally.

 

[ourflockof4]

I agree, the only way to do it would be to dry lot them. Find an area with very few trees (or make an area) so it is easy to clean out & fence it in. You will need to provide all of the feed, water, & minerals they need, plus bed the pen doen & keep it clean.

Just to give you an idea of cost using round numbers.

A 1,000 lbs cow will need about 6 tons of hay a year (2.5% of body weight = 25 lbs dry matter + hay moisture of 15% + 10% waste factor = 31.5 lb/day x 365 = 11,500 lbs or 5.5 tons) If you feed 5 lbs of grain per day you will have about 1 ton of grain. Your amount of bedding will vary, it may be a lot it you get a lot of rain/moisture. Water cost will vary on the source & location, but at 20 gallons a day it would be 7,300 gallons a year.

Hay - $1200 ($200/ton) Here it ranges from $150-300/ton
Grain - $400 (40 bags @ $10/bag) I'm guessing here. I grind my own feed
Bedding - $300-500? Straw & corn fodder are both in the $150/ton range here
Water - $100?
Vet bills - ???

So that would put you in the $2,000 range to keep a 1,000 lb cow for one year. And you would have a mountain of manure to dispose of.

I also think you should think goats. A good dairy goat can give you 1-2 gallons of milk/day, and at 1/6th the size will cost you far less to raise. You wouldn't need to drylot so you would have very little in bedding. It would probably cost $200-300/year to raise.

In my opinion, family milk cows are just not economical. Even a low producing cow should give you at least 15 gallons of milk a day, that 100 gallons/week. A good prducer @ 30 gal/day would give you 200 gallons/week. How would you use that much milk?