Surprisingly little. Given that they are native to Montana and the areas we work in, they are conditioned to thrive without much intervention. Unlike cattle, bison need no help with calving or structures for shelter. Their large heads are designed to be used as a snowplow for grazing access in the winter.

Periodic checking of fences, maintaining a source of water, and supplemental feeding in the winter is all the help a bison herd needs to be happy and healthy.

Montana Bison Management offers mobile ranching services where we are more than happy to care for your herd's needs once they have been established. For pricing on herd maintenance, please contact a member of our team.

The minimum property size we work with is five acres, which can support two bison with supplemental feeding. For a herd of several bison, we prefer working with at least ten acres. Every herd introduction is done in a specific way that ensures your property will be able to accompany the selected herd size to allow your animals a happy and healthy life.

As a native livestock to most areas of western United States, bison serve as the keystone species that help a property thrive as a healthy ecosystem. In many cases, we divide a property into multiple pastures so that regeneration of grasslands can occur and feeding can occur in cycles.

By adding bison to a property, many clients find that they are able to get property tax reductions through agricultural designation, oftentimes more than paying for our herd introduction or management services in the first year.

When properly managed, bison are 100% safe and not any more dangerous than everyday cattle. In most cases, we suggest that homeowners only have a combination of cows and calves. If you are setting up a fully-autonomous herd over 8 animals, it may be helpful to separate any mature bulls from the rest of the herd. Approaching mature bulls on foot is where the majority of incidences happen.

Due to the varying complexity of install factors (including location, soil composition, property layout, etc.), we do not offer fixed prices for our herd introductions. Contact a member today over the phone, or by form submission to schedule your free bison herd introduction consultation, and receive a free quote.

Bison.