Whatever happened to the beefalo and ostriches?

Question

Was it the 70's, or 80's? The hybrid bovine/buffalo was to become a major meat source,it went away.Then similar things were said of the ostrich, but it too went away. Can anybody explain to me what happened?

Answer 1

They got eaten.

Answer 2

I think Americans just felt they were too weird.

I don't know about beefalo, but I had an ostritch steak at a Vic Stewart's restaraunt a couple years ago -- it was good, but not any more so than anything else they serve. And it was pricey. That's a bad combination...

There are still working ostritch farms around, one just up thee road from me (small outfit, a dozen or so free-range birds at any time) but I saw a huge one on the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" show a few months ago -- it was in southern California if I recall correctly, near Barstow or Chowchilla I think but can't remmebr at the moment. Anyway it was a major operation so they must still have some demand.

Answer 3

BEEFALO
Beefalo are a fertile hybrid offspring of domestic cattle, Bos taurus, and the American Bison, Bison bison (generally called buffalo). The breed was created to combine the best characteristics of both animals with a view towards beef production.

The term Cattalo is defined by United States law as a cross of bison and cattle which have a bison appearance; however, in Canada, cattalo is used for hybrids of all degrees and appearance. In the U.S., cattalo are regulated as "exotic animals" along with pure bison, elk, and deer. Beefalo are primarily cattle in genetics and appearance with the breed association defining a full beefalo as one with 3/8 bison genetics while they call animals with higher percentages of bison genetics as "bison hybrids".

Accidental crosses were noticed as far back as 1750 in the southern U.S. Cattle and buffalo were first intentionally crossbred during the mid-1800s. Charles Goodnight was one of the first to succeed and called his hybrid cattalo. After seeing thousands of cattle die in a Kansas blizzard in 1886, Charles Jesse "Buffalo" Jones also worked to cross buffalo and cattle with the hope that they would survive the harsh winters [1]. He called the result "cattalo" in 1888 [2]. Mossom Boyd of Bobcaygeon, Ontario first started the practice in Canada. After his death in 1914, the Canadian government continued experiments in cross-breeding up to 1964 with little success. Lawrence Boyd still continues the crossbreeding of his Grandfather out on a farm in Alberta.

It was found early on that crossing a male buffalo with a domestic cow would produce few offspring but that crossing a domestic bull with a buffalo cow apparently solved the problem. The female offspring proved fertile but rarely so for the males. Although the cattalo performed well, the mating problems meant that the breeder had to maintain a herd of wild and difficult-to-handle buffalo cows.

In 1965, Jim Burnett of Montana produced a hybrid bull that was fertile. Soon after, Bud Basolo of California formed the World Beefalo Association and began marketing the hybrids as a new breed. The new name, beefalo, was meant to separate this hybrid from the problems associated with the old cattalo hybrids. The breed was eventually set at being genetically at least 5/8 Bos taurus and 3/8 Bison bison. A USDA study showed beefalo meat, like bison meat, to be lower in fat and cholesterol. The association claims that beefalo are better able to tolerate cold and need less assistance calving than cattle while having domestic cattle's docile nature and fast growth rate; they are also thought to produce less damage to rangeland than cattle.

In 1983, the three main beefalo registration groups reorganized under the American Beefalo World Registry. There are now 2 Beefalo Associations, the American Beefalo World Registry (ABWR) and the American Beefalo International (ABI). Beefalo raising has not become widespread. The high price of this meat, partly due to low supply, has done little to generate popularity.

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'Where do I buy Ostrich meat from?'. Well the answer is simple, most major supermarkets and butchers now stock Ostrich meat as standard.

Answer 4

All I can say is, I was in Africa and I personally witnessed an ostrich eat a steaming pile of horse sh*t. So I'm not eating any ostrich. I still see buffalo burgers at some restaurants, but it never caught on big.

Answer 5

These meats didn't go away. Less than an hour from my home are farms for both ostrich and bison. Probably just didn't sell well in your area. Maybe people where you live thought it was too expensive compared to chicken and beef.

Answer 6

Only a few years ago, there were both ostrich and beefalo farms near Ottawa, Canada. I don't know if they're still there or not...

Answer 7

Still around I buy both to make meals all the time. Nice lean healthy meats.

Answer 8

i am guessing here, but i think that two factors.
1) marketing
2) to raise beefalo, requires maintaining a herd of buffalo, and bison/buffalo are very aggressive, and very destructive animals compared to cows. few farmers will want to handle them.