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oxen

Started by JamesE. PikeLogging, May 12, 2010, 03:53:06 PM

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JamesE. PikeLogging

anyone on here log with horses or oxen?

crtreedude

We have used oxen for getting wood out - we don't own them, just rent the oxen, with their handler by the day.
So, how did I end up here anyway?

Rick Alger


JamesE. PikeLogging

cool me and my gramp just bought a pair of durham calves im gonna train them to work in the woods

Ron Scott

~Ron

zopi

Alot of good info here..the whole site really...

http://www.ruralheritage.com/logging_camp/oxlog02.htm

Farmer Boy is still one of my favorite books.
Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
WM sharpener and setter
And lots of junk.

thecfarm

Where are you from James?Update your profile for us.We won't bite.Learn how to post pictures on here. I know we all would enjoy that. My Father had oxen when I was real young. Used them in the woods to haul out wood with them.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

captain_crunch

Well one thing about Oxen if things get real bad at least you can eat the equipment ;D ;D (the devil made me do that) Dad grew up around farming with horses and there is a lot more to it than people think. Dad said you were dealing with personality's more than break downs
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

CX3

We skid many cord of oak firewood a year with a good team of halflinger mules.  We also mow hay, plow, seed, and disc 6 acres of corn every spring.   There is nothing like working in the timber with a good team.  Sometimes we hook the mules 3 or 4 abreast for the bigger sticks.

John 3:16
You Better Believe It!

lancek

Animal power worked in the right way can sometimes exceed what a skidder  will do and with much less damage we find that we are able to get more jobs with our animals just for this fact! Skidders do have there place dont get me wrong but when your paying out 50 to a hundered dollars an hour for a skidder and only 60.00 dollars a month for a horse you do the math! By the way hi rick and draft animal power site is a great site hope to see you there!

captain_crunch

Ah EM ER 60 bucks a month fer a horse ??? ??? They eat that much every two days not to mention what they destroy in 15 min. Me Wife raises Gameing QHrs and as Fixer upper is concerned like wipeing your back side with a rope NO end to it.
Dad was raised around teams and his coment was the greatest invention of century was the Tractor so they could give the horses away
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

lancek

I dont know what you feed your horses but around here thats what it cost and we have very healthy horses as far as tearing things up it sounds like you had some very poorly trained horses! I do not know of any tractor or skidder that can drive it self to the landing and come back on its own! And it is a proven fact that horses have less impact on the environment than any other form of logging

JamesE. PikeLogging

My name is tanner but my dads name is james. He owns james e. pike & sons logging, were outta oxford,maine

captain_crunch

Will gladly trade you rent to county(My taxes on dirt they stand on costs half that) and with 4.00 dollar a bale hay Then thro shoeing in, wormer ect and price of harness and rigging Price goes up.
Don't get me wrong Horse logging has it's place and it is nostalgic. But clearing trails and removeing staups. to get to work is a chore also. They are also Union requireing breaks. However there are getting to be more Earth Muffins than Earth antmore you may be on right track.
But one last thought would you rather blundre into a hornett's nest with a team or an non feeling piece of iron ;D ;D ;D ;D
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

Shetland Sheepdog

Quote from: captain_crunch on May 15, 2010, 12:41:40 AM
Will gladly trade you rent to county(My taxes on dirt they stand on costs half that) and with 4.00 dollar a bale hay Then thro shoeing in, wormer ect and price of harness and rigging Price goes up.
Don't get me wrong Horse logging has it's place and it is nostalgic. But clearing trails and removeing staups. to get to work is a chore also. They are also Union requireing breaks. However there are getting to be more Earth Muffins than Earth antmore you may be on right track.
But one last thought would you rather blundre into a hornett's nest with a team or an non feeling piece of iron ;D ;D ;D ;D

:D Brian, yer beatin' a dead hoss here!  ??? :D ;D :D  Here's my 42 hoss hitch!  8)



Proud operators of Sunset Tree Farm. 130 acres of "hilly" forest, and part of the American Tree Farm System.

Rick Alger

I've done a fair share of machine logging. I'll take the quiet partnership of the horses any day.

Hi Lancek, see you at DAP.

whiskers

 As a follow on to what captain_ crunch said about hornets. My dad logged with a brace of oxen in hilly terrain. Oxen would follow a path around the hill to the mill, even working themselves free when hung on roots. Once they strayed from the path digging up a yellow jacket nest with the log. One ox was found dead, the other exhausted trying to drag it's partner and the log.
Sad story, those were different times (late twenties). Not many oxen in logging anymore but the yellow jackets are plentiful in this area. Good luck with yours.
many irons in the fire.........

lancek

your so right rick! And as far as price per hour lets look at that!
Trailer 2200.00 dep over two years is is 3.05 we will say 4.05 for insurance and maintenance this is per day
harness 850.00 for a team again dep over two years 1.18 per day
good team of horses 3500.00 2 years dep. 4.86 per day
food for horses 8.00 for 2 bales a day going by your prices , 1.25 per day for feed .25 for salt block total = 9.50
vet and farrier bills average 3.17 per day this gives us a total of  22.60 we will add 10% for anything we missed and that brings us a total of 25.14 per day
Now a skidder
insurance 15.00 per day
payment based on a purchase price of 25000.00 x 48 mo 520.83 no interest = 17.36 per day
fuel 25 gal x 2.53 =63.25
oil 8.26 per day
mat of at lest 50.00 per day
transportation for skidder 125.00 per move 2 moves a month =250.00 for month = 8.33 per day for a total of 159.84 per day that is 6 times more to run a skidder than a horse and skidders do not even reproduce them selfs not to mention that when i finish a job with two to three weeks if not for the slash you would not be able to tell that we were there ! do not get me wrong skidders have there place but do not dismiss the fact that horse logging still has its place! And with the new technology that we are trying to develop horse may become competitive with some of the bigger machines! Land owners are getting smarter about how there timber is harvested and the size of land holding at least in he east are getting smaller and this is going to be a big concern with land owners !

captain_crunch

Both have their points but 3 loads per day @4000 ft per load be 12,000 feet so no doubt skidder will cost more to own
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

zopi

Oxen do not reproduce themselves...I would not want to try to train, much less drive a pair of intact bulls in the woods...

Depending on what kind of tack you insitst on, the equipment for ox logging is pretty simple..ox yoke and a set of chain traces...and a stout stick...

Gonna take a pretty big stock trailer though...couple of 1200# steers will work a trailer over pretty good.

We're really comparing apples to oranges...it seems to me that the daily production of a skidder is an order of magnitude higher than that of even a couple teams of steers...but the impact of the teams is lighter on the ground, not to mention that if one is select cutting a patch, the steers will destroy less standing young timber for access...not to mention won't leak gallons of oil into the forest...I've seen some ugly breakdowns in the woods...
Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
WM sharpener and setter
And lots of junk.

lancek

well as I said before skidders have there place I have always gone by the adage that you use the right tool for the right job! and as far as the bees or hornets  its every man for himself I hit a bee hive last year and the horses went one way and me the other and my two boys yet another and I think we would of done the same thing in a skidder unless it was enclosed!lol :D

timberfaller390

I got to shoe a steer when I was in horse shoeing school. That is the only expierance I have with oxen, but after handling all types of cattle all my life I would much rather be around the horses.
L.M. Reese Co. Land Management Contractors
Stihl MS390
John Deere 50G excavator
John Deere 5103
John Deere 440 ICD dozer

mad murdock

I have worked with horses and skidders.  Agreed, they both have their place.  It is kind of comparing apples to oranges.
I agree with what was said earlier, with smaller woodlots, more selective harvesting methods, animal power will be a vital part of the active toolbox of the contemporary land manager.  One summer we skidded peeled popple with a horse, the horse averaged 6-8 cords per day, an average skidding day was 6 hours or so of harness time, with a water/grain break every 2 hours or so.  We decked the sticks by hand, and it was a satisfying feeling looking at the pile o wood at the end of the day.
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

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