Oxen (singular ox) are cattle trained as draft animals. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family A working animal is an animal that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks Often they are adult, castrated males. Castration (also referred to as Gelding, Neutering, Fixing, orchiectomy, and orchidectomy is any action surgical, chemical In New England and Maritime Canada, the term oxen refers to trained steers at least four years of age. Prior to age four they are referred to as handy steers. Oxen are used for plowing, transport, hauling cargo, threshing grain by trampling, powering machines for grinding grain, irrigation or other purposes, and drawing carts and wagons. The plough ( American spelling plow; both plaʊ is a Tool used in Farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another Threshing is the process of loosening the edible part of Cereal Grain from the scaly inedible Chaff that surrounds it Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops "CARTS" redirects here For the transportation system see Capital Area Rural Transportation System, or Chautauqua CARTS. A wagon (in British English, sometimes waggon) or dray is a heavy four-wheeled Vehicle. Oxen were commonly used to skid logs in forests, and sometimes still are, in low-impact select-cut logging. Oxen are most often used in teams of two, paired, for light work such as carting. "CARTS" redirects here For the transportation system see Capital Area Rural Transportation System, or Chautauqua CARTS. In the past, teams might have been larger, with some teams exceeding twenty animals when used for logging.
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Raising
In order to become oxen, the cattle must learn to respond appropriately to the teamster's (ox driver's) signals. Zebus ( Bos primigenius indicus) sometimes known as 'humped Cattle ' or 'indicus' cattle are a type of cattle better-adapted to tropical environments Pune (ˈpuːneɪ Marathi: पुणे Hindi: पूना formerly Poona, is the second largest city in the state of Maharashtra India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country These signals are given by verbal command, body language, and the use of a goad stick or whip. In preindustrial times, many teamsters were known for their voices and language. In North America, the most common verbal commands are (1) get up (go), (2) whoa (stop), (3) back up, (4) gee (turn to the right) and (5) haw (turn to the left). In the New England tradition, oxen must be painstakingly trained from a young age. Their teamster must make or buy as many as a dozen yokes of different sizes as the animals grow. A yoke is a wooden beam which is used between a pair of Oxen to allow them to pull a load (oxen almost always work in pairs
In other countries and ox training traditions, adult cattle with little or no prior human conditioning are often yoked and trained as oxen. This is done for economy, as it is easier to let a calf be raised by its mother, and for lack of adequate methods for housing and feeding young calves.
A tradition in south eastern England was to use oxen (often Sussex cattle) as dual-purpose animals: for draft and beef. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Sussex cattle are a red breed of Beef cattle from the Weald of Sussex, Surrey and Kent in south eastern England. A plowing team of eight oxen consisted of four pairs aged a year apart. Every year, a pair of steers would be bought at about three years of age, and trained with the older animals. The pair would be kept for four years, then at about seven years old they would be sold to be fattened for beef – thus covering much of the cost of buying the new pair. Use of oxen for plowing survived in some areas of England (such as the South Downs) until the early twentieth century[1]. The South Downs is one of the four areas of Chalk Downland in southern England.
Ox trainers favor larger animals for their ability to do more work. Oxen are therefore usually of larger breeds, and are usually males, because castrated males are generally larger – females can also be trained as oxen, but as well as being smaller, they are often more useful for producing calves and milk. Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the Mammary glands of female Mammals (including Monotremes.
Use
Oxen can pull harder and longer than horses, particularly on obstinate or almost un-movable loads. The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. This is one of the reasons that teams were dragging logs from forests long after horses had taken over most other draught uses in Europe and North America. Though not as fast as horses, they are less prone to injury because they are more sure-footed and do not try to jerk the load.
References
- ^ Copper, Bob, A Song for Every Season: A Hundred Years of a Sussex Farming Family (pages 95–100), Heinemann 1971
See also
External Links
The bullock cart (also known as a bullock wagon or bullock team) is a common means of transportation used traditionally since ancient times in many parts of the world The plough ( American spelling plow; both plaʊ is a Tool used in Farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed The term ridge and furrow is often used by Archaeologists and others to describe the pattern of peaks and troughs created in a field by the system of Ploughing usedDictionary
ox
-noun
- Any bovine animal used as a beast of burden or for food, especially an adult castrated male of the domestic species.
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