Rural Heritage December 2025/January 2026

hips than his brother, and he was a little bit brighter overall in terms of spunk and energy as a calf. He is very muscular for a dairy breed and continues to grow very well. Joe was the smaller of the two as a calf and was shorter and narrower. The two are evening out as they grow despite the imbalance at birth. Because of the height difference, I have made Mack the off ox as the taller of the two. If he remains taller, the difference will be less accentuated if plowing where there is a furrow present. Housing When I first brought the calves home, the temporary housing was in my family’s garage. My dad and I built an area with 2-by-6s so the calves would be off the concrete. The area had some foam play mat padding on the floor and was covered in pine shavings for bedding. To keep calves healthy, it’s important to have a dry and clean environment. The garage was the best way to house them for the first couple of months. I attached eyelets to a 2-by-4 tacked to the wall for lead ropes. When not out in the yard grazing, Construction of a dried 5-foot pine training yoke. Making relief cuts on the neck seat for shaping.

Shaping the yoke beam with hammer and chisel.

the calves were tied up with collars with Joe on the left and Mack on the right: the positions they are yoked in. The lead ropes swiveled on both ends so the steers would be less likely to get tangled or hurt when tied up. The garage stall was a simple box made by some tacked-together boards filled with sawdust shavings, which were replaced or topped off every couple of days as needed. I ensured that they had a dry space to sleep every night by picking out wet spots and moving dry shavings towards the front. This helped keep the calves dry and clean while they were living in the garage. Another measure I took was turning them out in the yard for several hours a day to reduce the time spent on the bedding. While the calves were living in their temporary setup for the first several months, my dad and I designed a two-bay shelter that is open on one side for free access and ventilation. Each bay is 14 feet by 15 feet, and half of the run-in acts as housing for the team and the other half was designed to store hay. The steers are now free to roam in and out to a fenced area and are no longer tied at night.

Rural Heritage

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