Freeze Branding

  Saturday we freeze branded our Replacement Heifers.  This is only the 2nd year that we have done this.  Last year, we branded nearly 200 head with our Replacement Heifers, 2s and 3 year old cows.  It's a lengthy process but we are hoping that it helps with our tagging system by keeping the same number for a particular cow for her entire life.  We had a pretty good turnout with the numbers showing up but felt that there was room for improvement.  So, Hubs got the internet and did some internet and YouTube research.  We will see in a few months if this year is better!

  We had a neighbor come over to help Hubby brand.  Boss Man ran the chute, while I pushed the cattle in the alleyway.

I grouped them in 3s, to fit in the alley way better.

Got a lot of butt views :)

A little view of the action!

   I got the heifers in the alley, then hoped over to blow the sand of hide where we needed to clip them, then clipped them.  This year, we double clipped them to get a closer shave for hopefully a better brand.  Then I blew them clean again.  If I had time I scrubbed them with 99% Rubbing Alcohol.  Our neighbor that come to help, usually helped me with the clipping/blowing/cleaning after he got his number 3 on each one. It was a pretty good team effort.

Closer view - the clock is for the guys to keep track of how long they have the iron on the heifer's hide. 

All done!

  We had a really nice day, it was in the 40s however the wind blow all of the hair right back in our faces.  I was a sticky mess of hair by the end!!!  Mr T helped out as well, the first 4 hours, he played with his toys in the barn, then he had lunch and thought he should help us.  However it wasn't a project that he could help with.  Mr T was super happy to be done with the freeze branding!

Have a Blessed Day!
~C~

Working calves for a Neighbor

  Early last week, Hubby and I saddled up two horses (yes, I had to saddle my own horse this time!) and headed off to help a good friend and neighbor gather his cows so we could precondition the calves.  Since the MIL and her mom was still hanging out with us after the weekend of Mr T's birthday, we had an awesome babysitter for the day which is the reason that I had to saddle my own horse, no kid to wrangle instead!

  We arrived as the sun was coming up, got our instructions and started off.  I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures  as I gathered my set of hills.

Found some cows to gather up.

Hubby and 'Doc' bringing up the back.

Lots and lots of cows and calves!

  After we got the cattle into the corral, it was time to sort the cows and calves from each other.  The cows got turned out and the calves had to stay in the corral to get their shots for their 'wellness checks'.   I got the job of sorting the cows out the gate, keeping that calves in the pen.  I like that job, it's what I do on our own ranch.

  Then it was time to start working the calves.  I helped with the EID tagging and bookwork, while Hubby gave two shots to each calf.  There was a couple other neighbors there helping out as well.  It was a well-tuned working machine that  day! 

Hubby trying to look all 'bad-ass'!

Deworming, getting shots and an EID tag.

Had a couple of late calves to brand as well.

  We were done by noon, had a great lunch of Ham & Beans before heading back home to unsaddle horses and check our own cattle.  Just another day at the office ranch!

Have a Blessed Day!
~C~

A Really Quick Update!

  There has been some unrest among my readers about no new posts for several weeks now.  In response, I thought it best to get a really, really quick update on here before future mutiny is acted on!  Just kidding, I have the most well-behaved nicest readers that a blogger could ask for!

  We left on the 6th for a quick trip back to ND for a rather dear friend's wedding.  She had an amazing outdoor, rustic setting to work with and being a rather creative person, made the wedding site and ceremony into a beautiful work of art! 

The ceremony site

  I didn't ask permission from the bride to post pictures on the blog, so this is all that I am going to share here, but let me tell you - it was amazing!  The weather was a bit on the rainy side and despite that, she was a happy bride.  From the professional pictures that I have seen, the cloudy skies helped with awesome wedding photos to treasure for years to come!!! 

  Since the wedding was in ND, we were fortunate to leave Mr T with his grandparents for the night!  He got to go to McDonald's and be spoiled, I doubt that he missed us!!!  We had a blast (one of us, a little more so than the other ;) ) dancing, visiting with old and new friends and just being kid-free for the evening! 

  Sunday was spent with the rest of Trav's family, going to Applebee's (which is now a treat for us!) and hanging out visiting.  It was a short trip but we are glad that we were able to go. 

  Returning home to the hot weather, we found out that Boss Man had been having sick cows.  We jumped in and started helping with the Doctoring.  Thankfully, the weather broke and turned cooler which helped the cows, however then the calves started getting sick.  We are Doctoring calves every day, usually roping them off of the Ranger and then administering some LA300, turning them loose and on to the next one.   After discussing sick calves with some neighbors, we think that do a water shortage this summer for the calves, that is resulting in the sick calves now.  We also had a calf commit suicide be sticking his head in a tight spot, I guess you can't save them all. 

  Wednesday the 11th, we shipped out the rest of our yearlings.  I had MOPS with Mr T and Hubby managed to end up in the ER with a nasty cut finger that resulted in stitches.  The next day, we preconditioned my Uncle's calves and the rest of ours.   Just another ranch day around here!

  Since then, it's been Doctoring and checking cattle everyday.  I am hoping that things can slow up a bit so that I can get Mr T's 3rd (can that possibly be right - 3?) birthday planned and a house fall-cleaned for company!!!  On of these days, I will get some house updates on here as well.  In spare time, we have continued on with painting and doors!

 Have a Blessed Day!
  ~C~

Laboring on Labor Day Weekend

  Life has been crazy around here to say the least.  We went back to haying our low ground around the lakes last week.  Boss Man drove the swather in one meadow and got stuck 4 times.  Hubby finished up the other meadows and got stuck once.  Then it rained Friday night before we were able to get windrows baled up.  Since I had raked it once, I then had to flip the windrows over as the top of the windrows dried out.  We tried that on Saturday and abandoned it since the windrows wouldn't flip over. 
  With the rain on Friday, it brought cooler overnight temps and settled the dust in the corrals for a few nights which made it perfect for us to start preconditioning the calves (giving them a shot to help them from the stress of weaning) and then we sprayed the cattle to help kill the flies.  We started on Sunday morning at 5am down at H's place (our leased pastures).  We have three pastures (two from H's and one from H's sister E) leased.  This year they let us take 30 pairs and a bull for each pasture.   I gather the cattle and bring them into the corral for Boss Man and Hubby to sort the calves from their mamas.  Then they run the calves thru the chute for their shot.  After that Hubby sprays all of the cattle for flies.  E usually helps me gather the cattle and E's husband K usually helps the guys in the corral.  It takes more time for me to gather the cattle and bring them into the corral then it does the guys to work them.  So, I keep pretty busy!  We got done with our 90 head and brought the three bulls home with us.  Then we stopped at our corral and brought in 58 head of freshly weaned calves and worked then. 

30 head of Herefords headed to the corral.

Heading back with 30 head of black angus cows.

      After working the calves, we stopped and had lunch and then it was on to the hayfield for Boss Man and myself.  I tried reraking hay again.  This time I got stuck three times before I quit.  Boss man was able to get the majority of the hay bales without getting stuck.  I was glad to have that job done!!!

  Monday 5AM rolled around and we headed out to work our cattle here at the home place.  We had 250 plus head to gather, sort, give a shot to the calves and spray the fly spray on all of the cattle. 

Gathering cattle in the dawn of the morning.

  We had tried to find a neighbor for some help but didn't find anyone.  So, that left Hubby and I too gather while Boss Man and Mr T went to the corrals with the pickup to open gates and help turn the cattle into the corrals.  Everything was going really well....I was up in the hills pushing cattle over into the flat while Hubby brought up the back end and checked the rest of the hills.  Then I hit a cattle trail that I didn't see and my 4-Wheeler's front wheel was no longer in a straight line. Good news is that it was still drivable (kinda) but you had to go slow with it.  At this point, we were committed to getting the cattle in but I knew that I wasn't going to be much help.  Since Hubby hasn't helped get very many bunches of cattle into the corrals from the direction that we were trying to and it can be tricky...I went and switched 4-Wheelers with him.  I needed speed to control the front and the sides and Hubby was going to be able to go slow and easy on the broken 4-wheeler to bring up the back.  Luckily, we got the cattle into the corral without any issues, got them sorted and worked all by 10AM. 

  Laboring over the weekend is just something that comes from being on a ranch.  You work when needed and take a break when the work is done (if that ever happens!).  I am proud of our heritage and proud of our family for keeping on! 

  Hope that everyone enjoyed their labor day weekend!

  Have a Blessed Day!
  ~C~

In the Hayfield

   Hubby cuts the hay down in the hayfield with our Bi-Directional tractor with a header on it. 

 
Boss Man drives the baling tractor.

 We are cross-trained as well!  Hubby helps rake if needed - like when we first moved and I couldn't help out.  If needed I can fill in on the baling however I haven't run this new John Deere baler much.  I had spent a fair amount of time running our Vermeer baler.  Boss Man has to fill in on the swather when we have to help out Hubby since I hate cutting.  When we used to use bar mowers, I would help out during the lunch hour but cutting isn't my thing! 

  The Swather has to run longer hours since it only cuts a 16 ft swath so Hubby stays rather busy during the haying season.  That leaves me time to do the raking, check cows and try to keep Mr T happy.  This year, he has had to go the hayfield which he does enjoy for the first couple of hours.

 Mr T usually rides in the rake tractor with me.

  Mr T either tries to lay down and sleep or sits next to me on this bench and plays with some toys.  We drive the tractor without air-conditioning and at times it is a little on the warm side. But, he has been a trooper so far.  I can't send him in the swather with Hubby since the only place for him to sit is on Hubby's lap and that only works for a short time.  The baling tractor is too loud for him to ride in (I worry about damaging his ears) and that tractor is pretty much limited to standing for him since the only place for him to sit is right by the door and we worry about it coming open.  We have good reason to worry about that since I fell out of the baling tractor (the rake tractor when it was the baling tractor 30 years ago!), the door came open and I fell out.  Scared Boss Man due to the fact that he did not know if he drove over me or not since he couldn't see me after I tumbled out.  Luckily, the tires missed me since I fell far enough away but now we are a little more cautious about letting toddlers sit near a door. 

 

  Anyways, I drive the rake tractor....

 



 

...when it's not stuck.  I tried to go between the fence and the lake which I just barely fit however Hubby had left some tracks which my rake dropped down into.  I didn't have enough traction to pull the rake back up out of the ruts and pull the heavy rushes into a windrow.  Lucky for me though, I had cell service where I was (doesn't happen...cell service that is....on this ranch much) and called Boss Man who called Hubby to come rescue me.  I just needed more muscle power to get the rake closed up and a little pull to get out of the ruts. 

  Needless to say, I don't mind haying but I enjoy seeing a field looking like this....

 

and knowing that we are done with it!

It's back to the hayfield for me again today.  I seen a lot of tracks from Hubby around the soft ground - let's hope that I don't wind up in the same predicament today :)

Have a Blessed Day!
~C~

Splitsville

  Gotcha!  Not the Hubs and me but we recently split a tractor so my awesome (the mechanic in the family) could take the transmission out, fix it and put it back.  Let's just say that by the end of the project, our mechanic was about to shove the tractor over the cliff.  However, he did get it fixed so now we can start haying.

  Since the transmission needed rebuilt, the guys took off the front tires and had some work done on the front end as well.  My brother was really happy that we got the concrete poured in the shop that is attached to the house.  He remembers (as do I) the countless hours that we worked on machinery out in the yard under a shade tree in the grass.  Nothing like hearing "lost a bolt, don't anybody move, I think it landed here somewhere" and then spending an hour searching for the lost bolt with success of finding it about 50% of the time. 
 
  I helped out when needed but spent the large part of this project keeping glasses filled with Ice Tea or Water and cookies available when needed.   On Brother's second trip to put the tractor all back together, he brought my nephew to play with Mr T.  Oh, the fun that was had at least by Mr T was priceless! 

  We now a tractor that runs better and I enjoyed getting to spend some quality time with my nephew and feeding the guys a few meals.  However, I think we all glad that this project is over!

Have a Blessed Day!
~C~

Twins

 This isn't our first set of twins and I doubt that it will be the last.  No, I am not talking about Hubby and I having twins!  Right at the tail end of calving, we had a cow have twins and so far we haven't needed a calf to put on another cow.  So, this mama is raising her twins!  I spend the better part of two weeks teaching her to accept both calves and now she does!  I do good work :)!

The Twins :)  One steer and one heifer calf.

Sometimes they nurse on different sides.

Sometimes they try to nurse on the same side.

  I have decided that if you are lucky enough to have twins either bovine or human....you have to have a ton of patience.  When we were pregnant with Mr T, I was hoping that we were having twins so we could have our two kids and we done all in one shot.  However, I am very glad that God only gave us one sweet little boy instead since I don't know if I have the patience that twins require.  As always, God knows what he is doing :).

Have a Blessed Day!
~C~

New Tires

  This summer has proved to be as busy as always and it's not even summer yet!  Since we have the house project on hold (meaning that there a ton more important ranch things to do first!), Hubby has been getting the fence repairs done and help out with the shop projects.  Since we put the same spray installation in the shop, it stays pretty cool in there (like in the 60s) making the shop projects a little more tolerable for the guys. 
 
  However on one hot and very humid day, the guys decided to tackle putting 8 new tires on the truck.  They did their own mounting work (changing out the old tires on the rim and putting the new tires on the rim) to save some $$$.  In ranching, everything that you can do it yourself saves you hard earned money and that is a good thing. 

7 of the 8 tires.

  On top of changing out the eight driver tires, they also switched out four of the trailer tires that were needing to be replaced with the most 'decent' tires off of the truck.  Made for a lot of jacking up axels and lots of lug nuts that needed to broke loose.  I helped where I could....putting air in tires and helping to lift the heavy truck tires.  It was a lot of work but we got it done in one day, despite twisting off a 3/4 inch extension...good thing for neighbors....they had one for us to borrow! 

Changing out a trailer tire.

  When it was all done, Hubby told me that he never figured that he would be a tire guy! 

Have a Blessed Day!
~C~

Elmer & Fudd

  Recently, I became the adopted mom of two little calves.  Not by choice though!  We first started out with a calf that his mama wasn't feeding him enough (he was going to starve on her bad milk) so we threw him in the Ranger and brought him home.  That same evening, we had a heifer die while giving birth and he needed a mommy as well.  I guess if I am going to have a bottle calf, might as well have two!

  Meet Elmer and Fudd.....

Elmer (white face) and Fudd (all black)

So hungry!

Mr T is pretty excited that he has two tails to pull on.

Helping feed the baby calf.

Mr T sometimes gets cornered by a hungry calf, it's kinda funny :)



Heifer #108

  During the small break between our two 'blizzards' in April, Heifer #108 had a calf.  However, something seemed to be wrong with this calf, whenever it sucked, milk ran out of it's nose.  We didn't know how to help the calf and eventually it died during a little snowstorm at the beginning of May.  Sometimes nature is cruel. 

  After the calf died last week, we brought the heifer home so we could graft another baby calf on the heifer.  Grafting means taking a calf off one cow and putting it on an another.  We do this to keep certain cows in our herd and then cull out other cows that we are planning on selling anyway.  We take baby calves off of the older cows or crippled cows and give the babies a better momma like a heifer. 

  To do this grafting right (or at least the easiest way), it's best to take a just born calf (not even licked by the momma that had it) and stick it a dark pen in a barn with it's new momma.  We put a substance on the calf's back from the top of it's poll all of the way to the tail head that we call Mother-Up ( I can not remember what the 'correct' name for it is), it's a magical potion that encourages a cow to lick a calf.  Then we leave the pair alone to become acquainted with each other, checking on them periodically and encouraging the calf to stand up if he doesn't on his own.  Usually, if everything goes good within 24 hours, we have a new pair that is ready to go out in the big, wide world. 

  However, Heifer #108 decided that even though she allowed her new calf to nurse her, she wasn't that fond of her new calf.  So, we kept them in the corral to make sure that she continued to nurse her baby and to help them start to bond without interference from other cows and calves.  Last night, I finally seen Heifer #108 lick her baby and 'moo' to him....Success at last!

Mr T inspecting our pair.

Such a sweet baby!

Mmmm....lunch!

My gate closer in training!

  Have a Blessed Day!  We are nearly 70 degrees at lunchtime so there is no complaining around here :)

~C~

The Day After Walda

  Walda, our April 2013 blizzard, has moved on finally and now we are left behind with lots of snow drifts, some lingering wind and of course hungry cows!  While it is definitely intense and stressful the during a blizzard, I have always thought that the day after was the hardest one.  I don't know if it's because everyone is so tired from spending sleepless nights taking care of newborns and their mamas or what but it is a long day nonetheless. 

  The guys have taken the tractor and are trying to get hay to all of the livestock.  They left with a cell phone in case I have trouble and this message...."There is a heifer calving in the lot, she's wild, so you can't go up there but watch her.  If the calf gets cold, then try to call us."  Well, the heifer did calve and I am currently sitting at the kitchen island, watching him try to nurse.  Here is the calf when he is just a few minutes old.

  We have this amazing set of trees that are my Grandpa planted and then Dad added to in our calving lot.  If the temps are not too bad usually above 20 degrees and the wind is out of the north (so the trees block all of it), then we don't have to take newborns to the barn unless they do not get up and nurse right away.  I find it downright amazing how quick the little calves can get to their feet and find their first meal after birth, especially after witnessing the miracle of childbirth personally. 

  Back to our day after the storm and dealing with livestock.  We split up the nightshift last night.  Boss Man took the 9PM & 5AM check,  Hubby and I went out at 11:30pm and at 2:15am.  Since it was the middle of the night, it seemed easier to go as a team since it takes two to get a cow into the barn around here.  This is not the gentlest herd of cows that we have had!  Hubby is working on that by spending lots of time with our heifers after they are weaned.  Luckily, we only had one calf born and that was just before we got to the corral at 2:15, so Hubby quickly grabbed the calf and carried him to the barn while I held the cow.  Then we worked together and got her in the barn with her baby after a few trial runs! 

  After it got daylight this AM, Hubby and Boss Man went and checked on some other cows that are close to calving but not in the heavy lot at the house.  All was well there, thankfully.  Then they worked on getting a few pairs out of the barn to make fun for any that might need to in there today. 

Tagging calves and pairing them out of the barn and corral.

So, one cow left without her calf.  Hubby is actually holding a calf on his lap to take to the cow.

Dropping of little calf.

Mama found him!  Success!

  They got this chore done and then went to check on the other pairs that are down in a shelter belt about 1/2 mile from the house.  All seemed well there so then it was on to get the tractor and feed hay all of the cattle.

Feeding hay to the heavies.

  Well, I am pretty certain that my baby calf nursed his mama and the tractor just showed back up.  We will continue this day by watching cows and feeding the rest of the livestock.  Hope that everyone stays warm!!!!

Have a Blessed Day!
~C~

April Storm

  We are currently experience our first 'named' snowstorm, Walda, of the year.  It started yesterday with a calm before the storm.  It was 68 degrees with no wind and just a beautiful day.  We spent the afternoon after Mr T's nap getting the pairs into a tree shelter belt for protection and then got the newest newborns situated along with bringing in the heavy cows (cows about to have their babies in the near term).  Hubby and I each took 4-Wheelers and Boss Man took Mr T in the Ranger to get the cattle all moved around.  We had a 20 some degree drop in temp while we were out, along with a 25mph plus wind, and misty rain.  Mr T handled all of that like a pro until the sleet started and that really stung your face when it hit.  About 5:45pm and at 30 degrees outside, Mr T was done and let us know it too.  Boss Man and Hubby had to go back to tube a calf that hadn't yet sucked his mama  but all else was situated which meant that Mr T and I were off duty! 

  We ended up losing power at 8pm after it flicked on and off for quite a while.  I realized that I hadn't gathered up the candles and flashlights in preparation for a storm.  But, I quickly found enough to get us by.  By this time, the wind had gotten even worse.  We decided to go to bed early knowing that we would need to get up even earlier than normal to see if there was any livestock that needed attention.  There was one calf born during the night, on a 3 year old cow of Hubby and mine that got her calf up and sucked so we seem to be doing pretty good at this point in the storm.  We gained power back on sometime during the night and I really appreciate that!!! 

  Here is what the weather looked around 8:30am today.  I am guessing that we have four inches or so of snow and the wind is blowing in excess of 20mph.  We are pretty much hunkered down for the day and I am considering doing some scrap booking or maybe going upstairs to paint the ceiling.  All of the livestock seem to be in good enough shelter to weather out the storm for the day at least.  I believe that our winter storm warning is suppose to be over at 6am on Wednesday. 

A snapshot of the heavies along the trees.

A little while later, I seen Boss Man out feeding the heavies while Hubby walked thru them looking for anything wanting to calve.

Some of our snow!

  Have a Warm Day, my friends!
  ~C~

Pairs and more Pairs!

  Lately our work has been keeping us rather busy.  We have been calving at a fairly decent rate which is great since our weather has been in the 50s to 70s.  A person just can't complain even though we seem to pulling more calves normal.  We are still calving our 2's and 3's and a few older cows.  The 2 year old heifers seem to be trying hard to not have their babies so we have been pulling a lot of their calves.  We have done one C-Section so far at this time.  The neighbor came down to assist us since Boss Man's back is getting to where he can't wrestle those big babies and Hubby is still in the early ages of learning.  Out here, since we are 45 miles from the nearest vet, we do a lot of the minor cattle surgeries ourselves.  It's just our way of life. 

  Hubby has been getting a lot of experience with pulling calves this year which is good.  So, we can't even complain about the extra work there this year.  I do wish that these heifers would start trying to have them on their own again!!!  I do think that they must be listening since it has been over 36 hours since we pulled a calf. 

  When calving is going good, then I see a lot of baby calves come thru my yard!  Here's a few pics from the past week.

Posing!

In a hurry, a big hurry!

Concerned Mama

Mr T helping to pair out with Boss Man

Some days you don't want to be the calf.

Up and headed for the gate.

Sometimes it takes several people to get a cow and her calf out the gate.

  Enjoy the nice weather while it lasts!  The weather channel showed 8-12 inches of snow for us just after the weekend.   While we do need the moisture, I prefer the rain type :)!

 

Have a Blessed Day!

~C~