beefalo/buffagus

[redtailgal]

Does/has anyone in here grow out and eat buffalo in any fashion? What are your experiences?

I have eaten buffalo and loved it on many occasions and am considering ways to include it in our diet more often.

 

[dwbonfire]

i have tried bison and it was very good and i hear it is very good for you. my question is- is there a difference between buffalo, bison, or yaks? are they actually different animals or is it just a different name people use for the same animal? this might be a dumb question but im honestly not sure..
i did see yaks on craigslist for sale here in NC, there is a big farm somewhere that raises them for meat.

 

[elevan]

Buffalo and bison are the same. Yaks are a whole different critter.

 

[daisychick]

I have had a lot of buffalo and beefalo. There is a ranch here that produces pure buffalo so we can actually buy it at the grocery store, but it is really expensive. There is also a farm near by that breeds regular beef cows with a male buffalo and thus making beefalo. I wish the buffalo at the store was not so expensive or I would buy more of it, because it is sooooo lean and good. I do know that buffalo are hard on fences and you have to have a pretty high and strong fence--line to keep them in. I have also seen 1/2 of a processed buffalo for sale on our local CL, but then again they are asking crazy prices for it. It is yummy and good for you so someone needs to figure out how to grow it and have it be affordable.

 

[redtailgal]

Same thing here, I see it in the store and it is sooooo expensive.

Havent seen many folks raising it, so I'd guess that's why its so costly.

I guess the fencing would be an issue, I wonder about calving ease.

 

[elevan]

We have a buffalo farm not too far from us (about 20 minutes drive). They utilize electric fencing - about 15 strands, it's a high fence (their fence posts look like telephone poles - probably are).

I've never ordered meat from them (but should look into it). I've had buffalo and it's very tasty. Though in the store it's quite pricey.

I'll try to remember to make time and give that farm a call and see if I can pay them a visit and ask some questions (just tell me what questions you want answered).

 

[daisychick]

Here is a link to a really nice bison farm in my area. The pricing is not too bad for a whole animal. There are about 30 "buffalo ranches" in Colorado. They try to commercialize the whole thing and offer "wild west buffalo hunts" in their herds, and other tourist type money makers. There are a few that are in it for the actual raising of healthy meat and good animals. I see a lot of them that have the really high electric fencing.

http://www.bluemtnbison.com/index.htm

 

[redtailgal]

Questions I would ask:

Fencing< what voltage and how high?

I was hoping to do a hybrid...........Would it be easier to bred a bovine bull to a buffalo cow or vice versa?

Meat quality, If I were to get a hybrid beefalo and breed it back to a bovine bull......would I still have soe buffalo quality to the meat with the need for extra reinforced fence?

Vet care: similar to bovine?

 

[TigerLilly]

I've tried bison (they don't sell buffalo in our grocery stores... ) and would love to buy it instead of beef, but the cost is the only thing that keeps me from doing it.

 

[jhm47]

There are problems with crossing buffalo (correct name is bison) and cattle. The crossing of a cattle bull with a bison cow will not work, but the opposite cross does work. The resulting offspring is fertile (unlike mules).

I happen to have some beefalo semen in one of my tanks. It is very old, but of course it will be perfectly fertile since it's been in liquid nitrogen at all times. If anyone might be interested in it, I'll give you a deal you can't refuse. It's in the old style glass ampules.