Buck Bison Farm, Austinburg OH

Bison Days at Buck Bison Farm in Austinburg

We visited a bison farm in Austinburg OH that was having a “Baby Bison Days” open house.  With 35 newborn calves there was plenty to see.  This little one was the newest, a bit premature, it was born just 3 days before the photo was taken. 

The rancher can determine if a calf is premature if it does not have its horn buds.  Normal calves show the buds at birth.

 

Baby Bison Days is a family affair and there are other critters around the place to interest most everyone.

We rode in a farm wagon out to the pasture where the majority of the herd was kept to see many of the young.  Parent bison are very protective of the little ones and as we approached they wandered as far away as possible and sheltered the calves from our view.

More of the herd.

 

Still sporting some of her winter coat, a mother allows her baby to nurse.  The shaggy hair is shed as the weather warms and the animals roll on the ground to scrape it off.  The rancher gathers it to sell to one customer who separates the fine “fur” from the coarse hair and makes yarn and garments.  With only one such customer, the ranch generates a surplus of this product.

 

As we sat and listened to the rancher explain his operation, this group moved into the stream for a drink.

Our guide for the morning was Jim Buckmaster, the owner.  Hence the name, “Buck Bison Farm”.  He also operates a restaurant in Austinburg which specializes in bison dishes.  We ate there one evening and Cathy had a bison burger while I opted for the ribeye steak.  Bison cannot be cooked more than medium rare or else it will get too tough to chew.  With such low fat content it cannot be otherwise.  We still prefer beef!

This is Brutus, the herd sire.  Brutus weighs about 2300 lbs and is 6 years old.  His services are no longer required as new genes must be introduced into the herd.  In addition, he has become a little difficult to handle as he knows he is the top bull and has become arrogant.  So he will be butchered soon and a replacement chosen to improve overall characteristics of the herd.