Daniel begins the steps every newborn calf gets on our place. Soon after they’re born, depending on the weather, calves will be tagged with their mother’s number, an ear mark will be cut, and bull calves will be banded. If the weather is too cold, we won’t tag them. Ears can easily be frozen and…
Tag: calves
Sort
Heifers go in. Steers go by. The calves were gathered from one place and trailed home to the corrals where we sorted them. This is the beginning of their separate lives… They both need to grow and gain weight, but for, obviously, different reasons. We weighed the steers in groups, averaging their weight. This helps…
Moving Calves
Since weaning, the calves have been living a good life on some of our fields… but it’s time for fresh feed, so we gathered up a good crew and headed out. Calves can be an excitable lot, and were for brief periods… it doesn’t help when my dog is beside herself to go! The way…
A Little Wet
We will be weaning tomorrow… and in preparation, we water down the corrals. Dust can be your enemy when calves, already stressed from leaving their mothers, breathe all that dust into their lungs. They can easily get sick… and, possibly, die. This time of year, especially this year… Wyoming *is* Dust. The corrals at home…
Whoosh
Yes, this post is a little late… we came home last night, ate supper, sat down, and whoosh! That was about all she wrote. I was in bed early, and couldn’t even come close to keeping my eyes open long enough to post last night! I didn’t work near as hard as everyone else, but…
Made His Day
Fall causes work: those items that need to be put away for winter, lawn chairs, toys, the trampoline… another round with the lawnmower grabbing leaves for the compost pile… organizing the garage and sweeping summer’s dirt away… there’s more items for the list, but only so many hours in the day. The little calves need…
Calves
So the baby calves are weaned, but there’s a few things we do… We run them through the alley and chute, vaccinating them, worming them, and giving them a shot of minerals to help them along. The plan was for everyone to be on deck working in the corral. Victoria’s husband, however, spotted some of…
Accomplished That
The snowstorm only dropped a soft 6″ on us…and it kept snowing all day! Craig Johnson was nice enough to let us know he arrived home safely across Powder River Pass after the Silent Auction last night. We were nervous! I enjoyed a fire in my old Round Oak stove most of the day… it…
Tagging
Wonderful weather has been the norm as of late… and it makes for a great calving season. Last night, Daniel calved out the last of our heifers. Today, in one bunch, 15 calves were born! This afternoon, I rode along with Vernon as he and Brandon tagged the calves born yesterday. Tagging… not with a…
Calf Warmer
Still hung around close to the house today… working on some wool projects and cleaning… After lunch, though, I said I’d feed my bees and head down to where the guys were installing the calf warmer. After some research, I decided NOT to give the bees any corn syrup, as liquids need to be dried…
Superhero
So, I wander from house to studio… Draw a little… Repair a chair… decide I need some great sandpaper to get those corners and interior edges… Nail some boards, then I go on a search for more… Back and forth, trudging through the snow. Brandon has his calves wandering around, and I take the time…
Character Guarantee
Today’s job was vaccinating the weaned calves. Today’s job consisted of 3 shots, and some pour on pesticide. My “shot” actually was 1 cc given up each nostril with a dull plastic attachment on the syringe. Today’s job is one you *can’t* apply for if: You value manicures. Your fancy clothing can’t get stained with…