Spring on the Ranch by Jeannie Watt

It's spring on the ranch. The grass is starting to pop up, the fields are being fertilize and we are at the tail end of calving. Oh--and a moose moved into a nearby field and is now calling it home.

Since we are a smaller operation, we are able to monitor all of our cows closely during calving, unlike the operations with hundreds of head. We keep the mothers-to-be in a small maternity pasture and we walk through pasture several times a day, looking for cows that may be having difficulties. After a cow gives birth, we then have to make sure that the new baby nurses. There is a relatively small window for the calf to get its first milk before they lose strength. Most babies do exactly what they're supposed to, but some don't figure it out and then we have to intervene.

Our cows are not tame. The only time they are handled is
when they're being doctored or vaccinated, or when they are having issues calving. We treat our cows gently, so they have no issues with us....except when we need to handle the baby to feed it its first milk. Then mutual respect turns to "Hey, wait a minute--what are you doing with my baby?"

I can't blame the cow for freaking out, because if the baby is weak, then we have to haul it into the barn in a wheelbarrow. Cows hate having their babies put in wheelbarrows. Therefore, one of us pushes the wheelbarrow and everyone else keeps the cow from trying to kill the wheelbarrow guy. Thankfully, as long as the cow can put her nose on her baby as it travels, she's generally okay.

Once in the barn, we trick the cow into the chute and milk her. To keep her from kicking the heck out of the milker, a rope is tied onto one foot and held taut. After the milking then the baby is fed the milk through a tube and then mother and baby spend the night in the barn. If all goes well, the baby will be up and nursing the next day. If not, we have to repeat the process every twelve hours until it does nurse. The record is seven times.

Regardless of how the calf gets its first milk, when it's strong enough, we vaccinate it, treat its navel with iodine, give it paste to jump start its gut, and tag it. After that the little guy and its mother go to the nursery pasture with the other cows and calves. I love a pasture full of calves, but all that birthing is nerve-racking.

It's not unusual for one cow to babysit a lot of calves.

Meanwhile, the bulls are hanging out in their bachelor pad, just waiting to be put out onto pasture with their ladies so that I can have a lot of stress next spring. We put them out of Father's Day every year, which somehow seems appropriate.

And, just in case you've never seen the pure joy of a bull getting a new bed, here's a video of the boys getting straw.









Comments

  1. I really enjoy your life on the ranch segments!

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  2. Thanks--everything I learned about a ranch I learned from you. Really. Thanks for posting about what spring is like where you are. Never a dull moment, or so it seems.

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    1. Truly never a dull moment. This morning I got a call that my horses were out. Turns out they weren't my horses, but I foresaw a morning of chasing happy equine through vast fields. :)

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  3. I’d love to visit here! Thanks Jeannie, your post reminds me of childhood visits to the farms of some family members....magical for a city girl.

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    1. Thank you, Janice! I used to visit a friend's farm when I was young and I loved it!

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  4. Wonderful post. Thank you for sharing what must be a rich and rewarding life.

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  5. You have a very busy life. I hear much the same from a long-time friend in Oregon. She lost her husband two years ago and is running the small ranch by herself, with help during birthing from two grandsons. I hope all of your babies made it just fine this spring.

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    1. Thank you, Roz! We've only lost one this year--still birth, so it was easier to accept.

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  6. Ooh, I love this post. Though I've seen and read about ranches, I've never been on one. I learned a few new things from your post this morning. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Love those black angus bulls! And really enjoyed your post about life on a ranch.

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    1. Thank you, Patricia. It wasn't that long ago that the bulls were cute little babies. Now look at them!

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  8. I always love your posts, Jeannie. Makes me want to live in the country. And how great is it to have a moose move in?

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    1. The moose is pretty funny. He (she?--can't tell yet) is young and has decided that the field is his.

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  9. That was fun. I've never seen that before. In fact, I tend to stay far away from bulls. My grandmother warned me when I was child and I heed that warning.

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  10. What a great post! I read it to my son and he liked it too. We especially enjoyed the bulls playing in the straw! Thank you for sharing your fascinating life on the ranch with us, Jeannie!

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  11. I love hearing about your cattle. I didn't know about having to milk wild cows and feed the weaker babies by hand. It sounds like quite an undertaking. And I love watching the bulls have so much fun!

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