I haven't gotten a chance to blog for a few days. Our daughter came down for the weekend. It is always great to have her come home. She has been away from the Ag scene for quite some time, but got a taste of ranch life again this weekend. We had our second set of twin calves in two days. She was out in the barn to help "pull" the second set. This heifer was on the smaller side and when we got the first calf into the world, my husband reached in just to make sure things were ok. Oh snap, there was another calf in there. The first calf was of decent size for a heifer's, but the next one was even bigger. We also got him into the world without incidence. I am amazed at the pounds of calf that heifer produced. The poor heifer was so overwhelmed. Her hormones were cross wired, so she was a bit of a dozer, plus she had two little sea legged monsters trying to get up and come at her. They just wanted to get their belly full, but she didn't know which way to turn and who to doze,lick,doze etc first.
The first set of twins was a miracle. I truly believe you can't work with livestock and have any doubts about our creator. We had a super witch of a cow that came on one of the semi loads of calves to be sold to help pay freight. She was called "Early Pregnant". We got her around late Nov. The plan was to calve her and sell the calf and take her to the weigh up sale. This cow was nasty. Well, early pregnant didn't mean she would calve in Dec with some of the other early pregnant cows we bought. The vet missed her due date by a couple months. We had to put up with her all this time. However, nothing happens outside of the Lords plans. When she calved, it was twins and we got the little heifer away from her. I was sure she had stepped on it, in her wildness and was pretty sure it wasn't going to live. I got some milk and tubed it into her stomach. Then I put her in the hot box for an hour to take the chill of the wet mud off. When I got her out, the only thing she could do was roll her head around. We got the bull calf away from the mother cow also and got milk into him. I took the heifer into the pen where the bull was and laid her down. The bull calf started to moo.
This is the part of ranching that is the hardest. I had to leave the barn and was pretty choked up. That all happened about 7 P.M. When I went out to check the heifers at midnight, I walked through that barn. The heifer was sitting up!!!!!! I came to the house and got some milk in the tube bottle for her and the regular bottle for the bull. Ironically, the heifer drank half of the regular bottle and before I was done she was up and walking. The bull was still stubborn and he got tubed again.
When we saw the witch had calved, we placed an add on craigslist to sell the calf. We had a call within an hour, and three more after that. The first call was a lady that had adopted 2 children and was looking for a couple of calves to get the little ones involved in Ag. When they came out to look at the calves the next morning, the little girl said "I like girls" and that was good since there was a heifer and a bull.
We put up with that wild witch cow until the time was right for her to have those twin calves. Those little adopted kids must not have been ready until this week.
That is why I love our way of life.
We've got another heifer calving and I need to go take a peek.
Until next time, thanks for stopping by.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Just a short post for now. Hubby had to run to town for parts and I am waiting on a semi load of feed. When I say a semi load, that is the big trucks with the long trailers you see going down down the highways. If I sound too simplistic and boring by explaining everything, it is because I know some of the people that read this blog do not understand anything about agriculture or my terminology. That is part of my goal for this blog is to educate people about the beef industry, along with my adventures down life's path.
We sorted off another pen of cattle this morning. We are going to sell 64 head on Sat. The prices feedlots are paying for the weight cattle we are selling (actually all weights) are historically high. I guess we are playing High Stakes Poker kids, since we also had to pay a lot more for these calves last fall.
That is one of the jobs we do here. We buy light calves in the fall, usually they have just been separated from the cow and were taken to the sale barn. This is called un-weaned. These calves need a lot of watching to find any that may have an ear that is hanging low and they are not bright eyed and curious. That usually means they are sick and need an antibiotic shot. They get tender loving care to keep them healthy. I joke about this place being the critical care unit. We get a lot of very light weight calves and they come from a lot of different ranches. It is a lot like sending your kids to day care when they are little and don't want to go. They cry (stress) and catch a lot of colds due to all the germs from every other kid there.
We feed these calves until Feb. or March. We feed them a low energy diet that is high in roughage (hay) and lower in grain so their body structure grows and not so much rapid muscle growth and fattening. What we do is called Back Grounding . After feeding them for a few months we start selling them off in bunches that look similar to each other. Feedlots usually buy them. The feedlots put them on a high energy diet and the calves grow at a more rapid rate ( pounds per day) this is called Finishing Cattle. Finishing because they will be ready for harvest after about 100 to 150 days.
When Jim gets back from town, we get to sort those wild heifers that I have been talking about, work them (they will go through the tub, alley and chute for vaccinations, and poured with lice killer) !! :-) I better check myself for a fever since I am excited to do that@@. Truth be told, I have always gotten a little excited to get to handle the rank ones or watch others do it. Come on, you can't tell me you don't go to the car races for just the races and not the wrecks too!!
I love technology, I can blog and listen to my sales too. Right now I have Belle Fourche Livestock on via live video stream. I would guess about 75% of the sale barns do that now. I especially love this sale since I lived in Belle for many years. My friends and family work at the barn (sale barn) I can flip over from the blog when the auctioneer says "watch" ____ and see what is going on. Watch or Heads Up means LOOK OUT
Some times the cattle get excited in the ring. The ring men, guys who work down in the sale ring to move the cattle around so the buyers get a better look, or pull one out of the herd because of a size or color difference, etc. Anyway, the ring men are behind protective barriers while the cattle are trying to get them so they can use their head to pin them down and push them around and stomp on the person. Many people have been killed by cattle doing this, or getting kicked.
I had to scurry up the fence 3 or 4 times to get away from mean steers while chasing calves into the tub today so they could be retreated for lice and worms. It is important to do this, as lice are always a problem with cattle if they aren't killed intermittently.
Well, I need to get ready for the FUN?? @@
For now, thanks for stopping by.
We sorted off another pen of cattle this morning. We are going to sell 64 head on Sat. The prices feedlots are paying for the weight cattle we are selling (actually all weights) are historically high. I guess we are playing High Stakes Poker kids, since we also had to pay a lot more for these calves last fall.
That is one of the jobs we do here. We buy light calves in the fall, usually they have just been separated from the cow and were taken to the sale barn. This is called un-weaned. These calves need a lot of watching to find any that may have an ear that is hanging low and they are not bright eyed and curious. That usually means they are sick and need an antibiotic shot. They get tender loving care to keep them healthy. I joke about this place being the critical care unit. We get a lot of very light weight calves and they come from a lot of different ranches. It is a lot like sending your kids to day care when they are little and don't want to go. They cry (stress) and catch a lot of colds due to all the germs from every other kid there.
We feed these calves until Feb. or March. We feed them a low energy diet that is high in roughage (hay) and lower in grain so their body structure grows and not so much rapid muscle growth and fattening. What we do is called Back Grounding . After feeding them for a few months we start selling them off in bunches that look similar to each other. Feedlots usually buy them. The feedlots put them on a high energy diet and the calves grow at a more rapid rate ( pounds per day) this is called Finishing Cattle. Finishing because they will be ready for harvest after about 100 to 150 days.
When Jim gets back from town, we get to sort those wild heifers that I have been talking about, work them (they will go through the tub, alley and chute for vaccinations, and poured with lice killer) !! :-) I better check myself for a fever since I am excited to do that@@. Truth be told, I have always gotten a little excited to get to handle the rank ones or watch others do it. Come on, you can't tell me you don't go to the car races for just the races and not the wrecks too!!
I love technology, I can blog and listen to my sales too. Right now I have Belle Fourche Livestock on via live video stream. I would guess about 75% of the sale barns do that now. I especially love this sale since I lived in Belle for many years. My friends and family work at the barn (sale barn) I can flip over from the blog when the auctioneer says "watch" ____ and see what is going on. Watch or Heads Up means LOOK OUT
Some times the cattle get excited in the ring. The ring men, guys who work down in the sale ring to move the cattle around so the buyers get a better look, or pull one out of the herd because of a size or color difference, etc. Anyway, the ring men are behind protective barriers while the cattle are trying to get them so they can use their head to pin them down and push them around and stomp on the person. Many people have been killed by cattle doing this, or getting kicked.
I had to scurry up the fence 3 or 4 times to get away from mean steers while chasing calves into the tub today so they could be retreated for lice and worms. It is important to do this, as lice are always a problem with cattle if they aren't killed intermittently.
Well, I need to get ready for the FUN?? @@
For now, thanks for stopping by.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentines Day everyone... anyone out there. My husband took me out for supper last night after I got home from hauling cattle. He also gave me a beautiful necklace. Today was another eventful day! We re-vaccinated the 39 wild steer calves that I talked about a few posts ago. If you didn't happened to see that post, these were miss, scratch miss, these were totally unhandeld cattle. When I loaded out at the same sale barn yesterday, workers said the owner had not done anything with his herd since 2002. I handle cattle very quietly and slowly. No pressure when ever possible. Never look them in the eye, unless you have a death wish, with highly excitable cattle or new mothers. Today, I was slowly letting these steers easily flow out of the holding pen and over to the working tub (the tub is a 1/2 moon shaped, solid wall pen that has a sweep gate, to guide cattle into the 20 foot alley, that connects to the chute that restrains the animal). I had just gotten a draft out of the pen and was starting to move them to the tub when, quick as a wink, one of the steers was next to my face and above my head nearly clearing the pen gate. It happened so fast there was nothing I could do. He came down and I gently convinced him (ok, I got lucky that he went the other direction and not over the top of me) to go with the rest of the them into the tub. I only had 4 close calls today. I consider that a victory! I am getting to old to be racing up or thrown over fences any more :)
I have always loved bulls. A couple years ago I was loading out 5 bulls to go to the sale barn. These big old boys (1800 to 2000 pounds) had walked all the way from their pen up to the load out alley so quietly. First rule of working with any animal is RESPECT. I was walking behind them, near a fence, when I heard snot blow and saw the biggest of the bulls had turned like he was a baby calf bucking in the sunshine. One move and he was 180 degrees end for end. He was also helping me over the fence. I really didn't need it as fast as I was moving, but he beat me to the top rail and tossed me over just for fun @@. I got my self gathered, the bulls gathered again and on the second try they just sauntered into the trailer as easy as my dog jumps into my pickup.
Tomorrow brings more cattle sorting, and it's midnight so I better go check the girls (bred heifers). Until next time... thanks for stopping by.
I have always loved bulls. A couple years ago I was loading out 5 bulls to go to the sale barn. These big old boys (1800 to 2000 pounds) had walked all the way from their pen up to the load out alley so quietly. First rule of working with any animal is RESPECT. I was walking behind them, near a fence, when I heard snot blow and saw the biggest of the bulls had turned like he was a baby calf bucking in the sunshine. One move and he was 180 degrees end for end. He was also helping me over the fence. I really didn't need it as fast as I was moving, but he beat me to the top rail and tossed me over just for fun @@. I got my self gathered, the bulls gathered again and on the second try they just sauntered into the trailer as easy as my dog jumps into my pickup.
Tomorrow brings more cattle sorting, and it's midnight so I better go check the girls (bred heifers). Until next time... thanks for stopping by.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Calving is starting to pick up. So is the winter weather. They tend to go hand in hand. Weather fronts have quite an affect on animals. A low front IE; bad weather coming in, nature tells them to eat more. This allows them to have extra energy reserves during the weather event. The pressure changes also affect labor and delivery.
Our very warm weather has gone and with the snow pack, it will be some time before it returns. We have had a few calves in the last few days. As, I stated before, we are calving less heifers this year. However, it takes just as much time to calve less as it does when we do 2x this number.
We have had to assist (pull) 2 calves and take one heifer into town for a vet assisted delivery ( c section or what we call a zipper). We do all our own vet work, except for zippers and prolapses. We have a little joke going with the vets. They usually don't see any of our livestock unless it is going to die, (we have already done every thing they would have done) so they have a 100 % record. This is the firsts year we have had to do a zipper.
My husband had to do all the calving and feeding by himself the last 2 days as I got a mini vacation. I got to make a quick trip to Ft. Pierre, SD to pick up a load of 4 weight (wt) steers (400-499 pound). I enjoy these trucking trips. I usually go up one day and stay with family. I load out early the next morning and come back home. It is 6 hours each way, so just a nice trip. Lots of time to think, pray, talk on the phone with friends, and reflect life itself.
I like the Ft. Pierre/ Pierre area. It is big country. The ranches are large, the pastures and wheat fields are large. It reminds me of a ranch I used to be on many, many, years ago. It was 24,000 acres total. Pastures were around 6,000 acres. In some parts of the state, towns were 8 to 10 miles apart. On this ranch, from the house and barns to the south corrals it was 8 miles away. There were some pastures that you had to ride by land marks to keep your bearings straight to get home again. There were also mud bogs in several places. You had to trust the sense of the cattle and horses. The bogs would look like a dried up mud puddle. If the cattle or horses didn't want to cross, we were NOT to force them. They would trail along side and eventually cross. It may have seemed a pain to go so far out of the way, but if you ever saw anything in a bog, you would understand the extra work. It was rumored that General Custer bogged down his wagons in one of the pastures.
There was a river that ran through this ranch that had rock bluffs. There was a lot of history there. The circuit rider preachers left carvings on those bluffs. A circuit rider preacher had a route and performed duties when he would get back around to each settlement. This ranch was 45 miles from the closest town. I would go in once every 2 weeks for groceries. Neighbors would call each other if someone was going in and ask if anything was needed. This may sound like desolation to some people, but I found it to be more social that most metro areas. You know all your neighbors and take care of each other.
It was oil country and you could hear the "heart beat" thump thump of the wells pumping, esp on quiet summer evenings. Since it was oil, and rattle snake country, on the advice of the ranch owners wife I carried a water jug and gun in my pickup when traveling. If you had vehicle trouble, you could set for quite a while. It was no guarantee who would come to your rescue first. My how times have changed. Now with cell phones, AAA, etc. Fortunately the only time I had to use my gun was on snakes. We were to kill all rattlers, cut their heads off and bury it so no animal would get poisoned by the venom left in the fangs. The snakes were to be hung over the fences to "bring rain". Some of the snakes I killed were so large they would almost touch the ground on both sides of a 4 strand barb wire fence. There were so many snakes and they would come up on our front concrete slab of the house. It made me very nervous for our 2 yr old daughter to play outside. Even with the snakes, living there was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am sure I will end up writing more about this place.
Our very warm weather has gone and with the snow pack, it will be some time before it returns. We have had a few calves in the last few days. As, I stated before, we are calving less heifers this year. However, it takes just as much time to calve less as it does when we do 2x this number.
We have had to assist (pull) 2 calves and take one heifer into town for a vet assisted delivery ( c section or what we call a zipper). We do all our own vet work, except for zippers and prolapses. We have a little joke going with the vets. They usually don't see any of our livestock unless it is going to die, (we have already done every thing they would have done) so they have a 100 % record. This is the firsts year we have had to do a zipper.
My husband had to do all the calving and feeding by himself the last 2 days as I got a mini vacation. I got to make a quick trip to Ft. Pierre, SD to pick up a load of 4 weight (wt) steers (400-499 pound). I enjoy these trucking trips. I usually go up one day and stay with family. I load out early the next morning and come back home. It is 6 hours each way, so just a nice trip. Lots of time to think, pray, talk on the phone with friends, and reflect life itself.
I like the Ft. Pierre/ Pierre area. It is big country. The ranches are large, the pastures and wheat fields are large. It reminds me of a ranch I used to be on many, many, years ago. It was 24,000 acres total. Pastures were around 6,000 acres. In some parts of the state, towns were 8 to 10 miles apart. On this ranch, from the house and barns to the south corrals it was 8 miles away. There were some pastures that you had to ride by land marks to keep your bearings straight to get home again. There were also mud bogs in several places. You had to trust the sense of the cattle and horses. The bogs would look like a dried up mud puddle. If the cattle or horses didn't want to cross, we were NOT to force them. They would trail along side and eventually cross. It may have seemed a pain to go so far out of the way, but if you ever saw anything in a bog, you would understand the extra work. It was rumored that General Custer bogged down his wagons in one of the pastures.
There was a river that ran through this ranch that had rock bluffs. There was a lot of history there. The circuit rider preachers left carvings on those bluffs. A circuit rider preacher had a route and performed duties when he would get back around to each settlement. This ranch was 45 miles from the closest town. I would go in once every 2 weeks for groceries. Neighbors would call each other if someone was going in and ask if anything was needed. This may sound like desolation to some people, but I found it to be more social that most metro areas. You know all your neighbors and take care of each other.
It was oil country and you could hear the "heart beat" thump thump of the wells pumping, esp on quiet summer evenings. Since it was oil, and rattle snake country, on the advice of the ranch owners wife I carried a water jug and gun in my pickup when traveling. If you had vehicle trouble, you could set for quite a while. It was no guarantee who would come to your rescue first. My how times have changed. Now with cell phones, AAA, etc. Fortunately the only time I had to use my gun was on snakes. We were to kill all rattlers, cut their heads off and bury it so no animal would get poisoned by the venom left in the fangs. The snakes were to be hung over the fences to "bring rain". Some of the snakes I killed were so large they would almost touch the ground on both sides of a 4 strand barb wire fence. There were so many snakes and they would come up on our front concrete slab of the house. It made me very nervous for our 2 yr old daughter to play outside. Even with the snakes, living there was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am sure I will end up writing more about this place.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
First Snowstorm of 2012
I knew the extraordinarily warm winter weather couldn't last much longer. Rain started falling yesterday and changed to snow overnight. The wind is always a factor here, and was doing it's part adding to the misery by blowing close to 40 miles an hour. At 2:00 A.M. heifer check, the rain ( a half inch so far) had changed to snow and about 7 inches was already on the ground. It continued to snow through the night at let us off easy with a mere 12 inches.
We received a phone call in the early morning hours that the neighbors power had gone off. The electric company was trying to get to the problem and had gotten their truck stuck. Fortunately farmers and ranchers all have big tractors. Our front wheel assist was just being prepared to go help , when we received another call that all was ok. The power company had gotten themselves "unstuck" and the power back on.
The new calving barn is a blessing since all the heavies(very close to calving) were put in for the night. There were no calves born. The lots and trap pastures are a muddy mess! If anything were to calve, the baby would not have much of a chance in the cold, wet, deep mud. The mother licks with her rough tongue which helps stimulate blood flow and dries them, but it is a losing battle against the winter elements. We take the calf and mother into the barn. If very cold, (I check by placing my finger in the mouth)the baby gets put into a warming box, which is a small enclosed shelter with a grated floor and a forced air heat source below the calf. After he is thoroughly warmed, and fed if needed, he is placed in a pen with his mother. Usually, nature takes over and every thing is uneventful.
I say usually. We calve a lot of heifers and some old cows. When working with living or mechanical things, there is always some sort of break down! That's when you just put on your big girl/boy panties and deal with it! There is no point in getting all wound up.
Some times a mother has her calf and her hormones get cross wired. She doesn't know if that little bundle, staggering around on sea legs trying to get up, is a coyote or a calf. She doesn't know whether to doze it into the ground and kill it or lick it, so she bellers very eerily and does both in rapid succession. That is when we take her calf away, and go to the barn, she gets a small sedation injection, and once she lays down, the calf is put in a pen with her. A good nap does wonders after a birth. When I check on them later, all is usually as nature intended. The calf nursing with a happily wagging tail and the mother licking her calf.
I am always amazed at the wonders of nature!
We received a phone call in the early morning hours that the neighbors power had gone off. The electric company was trying to get to the problem and had gotten their truck stuck. Fortunately farmers and ranchers all have big tractors. Our front wheel assist was just being prepared to go help , when we received another call that all was ok. The power company had gotten themselves "unstuck" and the power back on.
The new calving barn is a blessing since all the heavies(very close to calving) were put in for the night. There were no calves born. The lots and trap pastures are a muddy mess! If anything were to calve, the baby would not have much of a chance in the cold, wet, deep mud. The mother licks with her rough tongue which helps stimulate blood flow and dries them, but it is a losing battle against the winter elements. We take the calf and mother into the barn. If very cold, (I check by placing my finger in the mouth)the baby gets put into a warming box, which is a small enclosed shelter with a grated floor and a forced air heat source below the calf. After he is thoroughly warmed, and fed if needed, he is placed in a pen with his mother. Usually, nature takes over and every thing is uneventful.
I say usually. We calve a lot of heifers and some old cows. When working with living or mechanical things, there is always some sort of break down! That's when you just put on your big girl/boy panties and deal with it! There is no point in getting all wound up.
Some times a mother has her calf and her hormones get cross wired. She doesn't know if that little bundle, staggering around on sea legs trying to get up, is a coyote or a calf. She doesn't know whether to doze it into the ground and kill it or lick it, so she bellers very eerily and does both in rapid succession. That is when we take her calf away, and go to the barn, she gets a small sedation injection, and once she lays down, the calf is put in a pen with her. A good nap does wonders after a birth. When I check on them later, all is usually as nature intended. The calf nursing with a happily wagging tail and the mother licking her calf.
I am always amazed at the wonders of nature!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
A Few Memories.
When I started this blog I thought it would be more of a walk down memory lane. I haven't even gotten close to the gate yet. Several friends think I have had an interesting and yet exciting life. I am not sure how many people would agree. However, I feel truly blessed for all the people who have been put in my path, and for the knowledge I was able to glean from those opportunities.
When I was just a little girl, 5 or 6 I remember crying myself to sleep because we weren't rodeo stock contractors and lived out near the mountains. I had never been there, but knew that's where I wanted to be. My dad rode bulls until he met mom. My uncle rode bulls and I loved watching him ride! The bulls of that era were much different than today's. Now they are bred like fine horses. They have pedigrees. Bloodlines are crossed to get the best athletes.
I did get to grow up with horses and cattle. I was on my first horse at 2 or 3. Dad would feed loose hay, pitching it by hand onto the flatbed wagon the night before. In the morning he would hitch the team, cookie and butterball, to the wagon. Dad would open the gate, they would walk through,then he would shut the gate. They would then walk methodically around while dad pitched the hay off. Part of the horse harness is the collar. It is the padded piece that goes around the horse's neck. The horse leans into it and pushes while walking, therefore pulling the load behind. The collars have metal bars running parallel with their outside called hames. The hames had shiny metal balls on top and made a wonderful place for small hands to hold on while riding on the horses back.
We also had our pony and uncle's saddle horse. My brother always took our uncle's horse when we played cowboys and indians. He was much bigger than I, so I always had to get shot and fall off. I still remember the pain of the wind being knocked out of me. The burning deep in my chest felt as if I really was shot . As soon as my air returned, he would make us go again.
Ahh the good ole days!
When I was just a little girl, 5 or 6 I remember crying myself to sleep because we weren't rodeo stock contractors and lived out near the mountains. I had never been there, but knew that's where I wanted to be. My dad rode bulls until he met mom. My uncle rode bulls and I loved watching him ride! The bulls of that era were much different than today's. Now they are bred like fine horses. They have pedigrees. Bloodlines are crossed to get the best athletes.
I did get to grow up with horses and cattle. I was on my first horse at 2 or 3. Dad would feed loose hay, pitching it by hand onto the flatbed wagon the night before. In the morning he would hitch the team, cookie and butterball, to the wagon. Dad would open the gate, they would walk through,then he would shut the gate. They would then walk methodically around while dad pitched the hay off. Part of the horse harness is the collar. It is the padded piece that goes around the horse's neck. The horse leans into it and pushes while walking, therefore pulling the load behind. The collars have metal bars running parallel with their outside called hames. The hames had shiny metal balls on top and made a wonderful place for small hands to hold on while riding on the horses back.
We also had our pony and uncle's saddle horse. My brother always took our uncle's horse when we played cowboys and indians. He was much bigger than I, so I always had to get shot and fall off. I still remember the pain of the wind being knocked out of me. The burning deep in my chest felt as if I really was shot . As soon as my air returned, he would make us go again.
Ahh the good ole days!
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