Can Dexters be kept in an orchard?
Hi, We have the option to buy an old orchard. Will there be a problem with the cows getting to the apples? I fully intend if we get it to pick up the fallen apples and feed them to the pigs but is there a danger of cows overdosing if given the chance? Has anyone had any experience in this area?
Isabel Long
Somerset
Somerset
Many years ago ,in my former life as a poiceman we had a large red deer stag literally wander into the middle of a busy town centre . It was in the early hours and the creature was running around doing its nut . With the rush hour approaching fast, a decision was made to get a local marksman in . It was a great shame to see such a magnificent creature destroyed but it didn't go to waste . When the chap butchered it he found that it was full of fermenting apples . He was of the opinion that the deer had been pissed out of its mind !
Thanks for the replies. We have both a cider press and middle white pigs to help with the apples but I just wondered if there would be a problem putting the dexters in there as well (it is a bit big for the pigs!!). I think if we get it I will perhaps just have to keep the dexters off when the apples are falling and play it by ear a bit.
Isabel Long
Somerset
Somerset
My wife and I had a smashing weekend last November in Herefordshire .We stopped on a cider farm Bed and Breakfast on the Friday night and they just happened to have an open cellar. There were a couple of blokes playing guitars and banjos and we sat around on straw bales sampling the various brews. It was a great night and we have already booked this year for ourselves and some friends !
They had about 40acres down to apples and pears and they did the pressing with a back actor on a tractor and poured the juice via buckets into whisky or rum barrels !
The following day we did the factory tour of Westons ,where they make thousands of gallons and have thousands of acres down to orchards .So we saw both the small and the masive way of doing things .It was a great weekend with lots of samples brought home !
ISSY ! Youv'e got it made ! Dexters,Rare breed pigs and your own cider ! If you ever need any volunteers
They had about 40acres down to apples and pears and they did the pressing with a back actor on a tractor and poured the juice via buckets into whisky or rum barrels !
The following day we did the factory tour of Westons ,where they make thousands of gallons and have thousands of acres down to orchards .So we saw both the small and the masive way of doing things .It was a great weekend with lots of samples brought home !
ISSY ! Youv'e got it made ! Dexters,Rare breed pigs and your own cider ! If you ever need any volunteers
We keep Dexters in and around our orchard. Just be careful
that your bovines do not eat the trees. Some of our trees are over 100 years old and are massive. The cattle will chew the bark occasionally andwill tip the branches if they can reach them, just like the deer. I feed all my prunings to the cows in spring. That is the first green feed they get after a long winter. I always cut up the apples that I feed. Another farmer I heard of was told by his vet that he was not to call him anymore when one of his cattle got an apple stuck in it's throat. Of course they were regular cattle, we have never had a problem like that. Good luck.
jim
that your bovines do not eat the trees. Some of our trees are over 100 years old and are massive. The cattle will chew the bark occasionally andwill tip the branches if they can reach them, just like the deer. I feed all my prunings to the cows in spring. That is the first green feed they get after a long winter. I always cut up the apples that I feed. Another farmer I heard of was told by his vet that he was not to call him anymore when one of his cattle got an apple stuck in it's throat. Of course they were regular cattle, we have never had a problem like that. Good luck.
jim
Sorry to be so late in coming into this thread but am a new 'joiner' and have only just seen your question Issy.
I am no experienced Dexter owner having only 2 cows and followers for the past few years on a rather small small holding. Because of this we are very grateful to be able to move the Dexters onto a 3 acre old orchard during the spring and autumn. They love it!
Like you I was worried about them eating too many apples but picking them up beforehand is simply not an option - so the cows get the lot. (We use electric fencing to protect the younger trees so tend to restrict the apple access this way to start with at least). No problems with choaking as their
small(er) mouths mean they are really quite careful. The worst we have had in the 7 years we have done this is one bullock who was stung in the mouth by a wasp! I was convinced he would die of shock but my husband forced me to go and have a cup of tea before doing anything dramatic, and of course he was fine. The trees provide shade from the sun in the summer and a bit of protection as the autumn wares on. They come back to our field looking really well with extremely glossy coats!
From what you say you are going to be able to be much more selective with your grazing - but if you do get the orchard do give your cows a go in it. If for no other reason than it is such a picture!
I am no experienced Dexter owner having only 2 cows and followers for the past few years on a rather small small holding. Because of this we are very grateful to be able to move the Dexters onto a 3 acre old orchard during the spring and autumn. They love it!
Like you I was worried about them eating too many apples but picking them up beforehand is simply not an option - so the cows get the lot. (We use electric fencing to protect the younger trees so tend to restrict the apple access this way to start with at least). No problems with choaking as their
small(er) mouths mean they are really quite careful. The worst we have had in the 7 years we have done this is one bullock who was stung in the mouth by a wasp! I was convinced he would die of shock but my husband forced me to go and have a cup of tea before doing anything dramatic, and of course he was fine. The trees provide shade from the sun in the summer and a bit of protection as the autumn wares on. They come back to our field looking really well with extremely glossy coats!
From what you say you are going to be able to be much more selective with your grazing - but if you do get the orchard do give your cows a go in it. If for no other reason than it is such a picture!
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Kathy Millar
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed May 19, 2004 4:53 pm
- Location: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
Issy,
Apples can be a problem for cows if they eat too many.
The thing is cows are greedy by nature and in my opinion if there was a strong wind in the night they might eat too many apples before you are up!
We had a cow once got in our orchard and ate herself silly and it only took a couple of hours.
She was about to calve and drunk as a skunk, she needed a caesarian and smelt like a cider factory!
She died but I am not sure whether this was from the apples or not, it is so long ago but I think there is a problem because of their stomach type.
Sorry to be so vague but I am sure your vet would know or perhaps Duncan will enlighten us.
We keep our horses and other stock out of the orchard once the apples are a bit bigger than walnuts until they are all gone.
Stephanie :D
Apples can be a problem for cows if they eat too many.
The thing is cows are greedy by nature and in my opinion if there was a strong wind in the night they might eat too many apples before you are up!
We had a cow once got in our orchard and ate herself silly and it only took a couple of hours.
She was about to calve and drunk as a skunk, she needed a caesarian and smelt like a cider factory!
She died but I am not sure whether this was from the apples or not, it is so long ago but I think there is a problem because of their stomach type.
Sorry to be so vague but I am sure your vet would know or perhaps Duncan will enlighten us.
We keep our horses and other stock out of the orchard once the apples are a bit bigger than walnuts until they are all gone.
Stephanie :D
Stephanie Powell
Duffryn Dexters 32824
Abergavenny
https://www.facebook.com/Duffryn-Dexter ... 609196773/
Duffryn Dexters 32824
Abergavenny
https://www.facebook.com/Duffryn-Dexter ... 609196773/
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Duncan MacIntyre
- Posts: 2372
- Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2004 12:38 am
- Location: Isle of Bute, Scotland, UK
We have a small orchard but the cattle do not have access. Roe deer gorge themselves every year and it was not till this topic got under way that I wondered if a deer we found dead under a tree a few years ago had eaten too many.
There are two potential dangers for cattle -
First.they may choke on one apple, ie have it stuck in the oesophagus which then goes into spasm and the gas from the rumen cannot be eructated and bloat results. This needs relieving either by passing a probanb which in the right hands pushes the offending apple or potato all the way to the rumen where it is digested; or if this cannot be done a cannula placed through the side direct into the rumen. This can be left in place until the obstruction softens and moves of its own accord.
Second, they may eat so many that there is too much in the rumen to be digested normally and they ferment. This is just the same as barley poisoning, and can kill. Alcohol and related products build up and the liver cannot handle them. Mild cases are usually given Vitamin B complex in large doses ( Parentrovite, or Combivit) That helps the liver cope with the overload. They sometimes need bicarbonate or other things to keep down the rumen acidity. Real extreme cases can be helped by a rumenotomy and emptying the rumen surgically but not really justified unless really valuable animals - I have never done it.
Stephanie's poor cow probably died of a combination of the apple intoxication and the effects of the caesarean.
There are two potential dangers for cattle -
First.they may choke on one apple, ie have it stuck in the oesophagus which then goes into spasm and the gas from the rumen cannot be eructated and bloat results. This needs relieving either by passing a probanb which in the right hands pushes the offending apple or potato all the way to the rumen where it is digested; or if this cannot be done a cannula placed through the side direct into the rumen. This can be left in place until the obstruction softens and moves of its own accord.
Second, they may eat so many that there is too much in the rumen to be digested normally and they ferment. This is just the same as barley poisoning, and can kill. Alcohol and related products build up and the liver cannot handle them. Mild cases are usually given Vitamin B complex in large doses ( Parentrovite, or Combivit) That helps the liver cope with the overload. They sometimes need bicarbonate or other things to keep down the rumen acidity. Real extreme cases can be helped by a rumenotomy and emptying the rumen surgically but not really justified unless really valuable animals - I have never done it.
Stephanie's poor cow probably died of a combination of the apple intoxication and the effects of the caesarean.
Duncan MacIntyre
Burnside Dexters 00316
Burnside
Ascog
Isle of Bute
Burnside Dexters 00316
Burnside
Ascog
Isle of Bute