An Introduction to Buffaloes

River Buffaloes

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Glad the animals made it ok. Like the buffalo one should not feed alfalfa to alpacas, apparently it is too high on protein and will make them sick. Of course mine are super picky, don't like the first cut grass hay, too much stem. They like the lighter textured second cut.

You may feed adult Water Buffaloes some legumes, but in moderation, mixed with ample amount of grass.
 

Baymule

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Any responsible animal owner would research the animals they care for to learn how to best care for them. That guy is a complete dummy. Buffaloes sound like a great small homestead animal. Friendly tops my list. When on small acreage, one has very close contact with their animals, an unfriendly one can cause damage.
I do not keep breeding stock on pigs, only young pigs to feed out for the freezer. Even those can be dangerous. I don’t want cattle, one, I don’t have room, two, I don’t want to always be watching my back from a 2,000 pound bull or a 1200-1500 pound momma cow. Been there, done that. The feeder steer we raised was just right. No need for breeding stock.

Buffaloes make perfect sense for small homesteaders. Meat, milk and friendly.
 

River Buffaloes

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I.A. daughter of Musolino (Mediterranean Buffalo) from Azienda Agricola Circe in Italy.
For international semen delivery contact Intermizoo
FB_IMG_1622654483897.jpg
 

River Buffaloes

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Are you and your family staying safe from Covid? Sounds like it is getting better in India but "better" is a really relative term.

We are alright. It looks like it's getting better, but nowadays I rarely trust what I see and hear. Our government is dishonest, our media is sold-out and people are ignorant.
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River Buffaloes

Loving the herd life
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Currently in New Delhi, India, originally Bihar

River Buffaloes

Loving the herd life
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350
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855
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Location
Currently in New Delhi, India, originally Bihar
The most difficult part of raising Buffaloes for me is weaning their calves. Ideally Water Buffalo calves should be weaned at the age of 3 to 4 months, but when I try to wean them they pout and sulk and whine and make me feel miserable. So I generally rely on their moms who are usually tough to do the job, but they do it around the age of 6-8 months. And then there is one particular Buffalo who is a first time moma and is pregnant for the second time, Her calf was 10 months old and she had still not weaned her. My grandmother sold that calf.😞
 

Baymule

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Do you keep your own bull or is there a shared bull in your village?
 

River Buffaloes

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Do you keep your own bull or is there a shared bull in your village?

In our place there's a caste whose job is to provide bull services to farmers. Some farmers including me have released bulls for village services, but we no longer do it now because of our proximity to the tiger reserve big cats take them. In some places rich farmers keep their personal bulls. Nomads also keep personal bulls. Many Village Panchayats (governing body of village) maintain bulls called 'Panchayati Bulls'. These bulls are either donated by farmers or provided by State Government.
 
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