Bura Conway started managing his father's herd more than
eighty years ago at 14 years of age.
He preferred red speckled cattle and selected those for the herd. A red speckled
heifer and bull calf was
added to the herd many years ago; the herd has been totally closed since
then.
Bura, and his son, Bruce, used young bulls as herd sires and
don’t keep them beyond about 8 years of age. Typically, they changed bulls every 4-5 years by selecting a
new bull calf from within the herd.
At one time, the numbered 100 animals but Bruce now only has
about 15. Mitchell Amason now has
what is most likely the largest herd consisting of more than 60 head of Conway
line cattle.
Conway cattle have been traditionally raised only on pasture
and hay with little or no grain. The animals are offered mineral salt free choice.
These docile cattle are predominately horned. At one time were routinely
dehorned but the practice was discontinued. They are disease resistant and are not vaccinated. Bruce Conway says
that he does worm his
cattle every 2-3 years.
Conway cows weigh 700-800 lbs and bulls weigh 900 lbs at 2
years ranging up to 1300 lbs or so at 6 years of age. The dwarf variant (guinea) is apparently not present in this
line.
Conway cattle can be any one of a number of shades of red
and white. They may also be solid
red to almost solid white, however, most are somewhere in between with many
showing a nice speckled pattern.
Conway cows calf easily and even 14-18 month heifers
weighing only 450-500 lbs are able to calf without assistance. Cows regularly calf
until in their
teens. Calves are born small at
50lbs or less but grow fast!
