Well, I had a blog post all written up, and then it magically disappeared on me. So here goes another try.
Yesterday we had another branding at Kenny’s place (another fellow neighbor). We were up by 5:30 in the morning and ready to head out by 7:30. We were the first trailer to arrive and there were a few close calls where we almost got stuck because the roads were so soft. The gathering went well in the beginning and was a lot of fun. Chachi and I worked together a lot better than the day before. When we got the herd to the corral however, it started to become chaotic. The herd started to turn back on us because they had nowhere to go just yet. We were trying to hold them and they weren’t willing. Many of the calves were fond of escaping and had to be chased down and often times roped.
Once in the pens, the cows were sorted and worked. This took a very long time, longer than was expected, and thus set us back even further. By the time we started branding, it was almost noon. I manned the gate, making sure none of the calves escaped from the pen when the ropers went in and out. We only lost one calf, but it was quickly roped and dragged back to be branded. We got through about half the calves before we took a lunch break. We headed to the house where Mary Kay, Kenny’s wife, had a feast prepared. There was pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, enchiladas, lasagna, sausage, and rocky mountain oysters. After quite a bit of peer pressure (thanks to Melissa, Jenn, Burt, Carter, and Jesse) I eventually had one of the “oysters”. It’s safe to say I did not like it. But my reward was some of Mary Kay’s delicious angel food cake with fresh strawberries and cool whip on top.
After finishing up the second half of the calves at around 6:30 in the evening, we headed out to get the second batch of cows. There were about 200 calves in this group, so we didn’t get the last calf branded until 9:45pm. With this batch, I spent my time flanking them alongside Jenn and Carter, Bob’s nephew who is Ty’s age. The moment we were done, everyone celebrated with either a beer or a pop. After that we headed out. By the time we had fed our calves and showered, it was midnight.
This morning we woke up without alarms and leisurely ate breakfast. About halfway through, Jenn called saying they needed help with a dead calf. We quickly got our stuff together and headed down to the barn to get the vet kit, canola oil, chains, and a hacksaw. We headed out to the pasture where we found a cow with a stillborn calf halfway stuck. Only it’s head and leg was showing. The other leg was caught up and twisted underneath itself. After about an hour’s work, we finally got the calf out with a lot of canola oil. I dread to think of the experience if the canola oil didn’t work.
We headed back to finish up breakfast and then went to the barn to get the tractor and hip huggers. We then headed back to the cow and tried to get her up. We got her standing, but she was so weak from being on her right leg all night that she had no strength to stand. She fell back down to the ground and there was nothing but else we could do. Later in the evening we took her some water and cow cake.
In the meantime, we checked the rest of the cows and had lunch at Granny’s. She made us burgers and hash browns. Then we headed back to our house to get a few things when we found that there were some chicks near the hen house! We knew one of the hens had been lying on some eggs, but we figured it was too cold and too early for them to hatch. But we now have two chicks!
After heading back to the barn, we moved some panels around so the colts can have room outside while Calico watered down the arena. We then observed Jenn as she worked with two of the colts to get them to the point where she could pet them and they would stand still.
After feeding our calves and cooking steak tacos for dinner, it is now time for bed as another day on the ranch quickly approaches.
Yesterday we had another branding at Kenny’s place (another fellow neighbor). We were up by 5:30 in the morning and ready to head out by 7:30. We were the first trailer to arrive and there were a few close calls where we almost got stuck because the roads were so soft. The gathering went well in the beginning and was a lot of fun. Chachi and I worked together a lot better than the day before. When we got the herd to the corral however, it started to become chaotic. The herd started to turn back on us because they had nowhere to go just yet. We were trying to hold them and they weren’t willing. Many of the calves were fond of escaping and had to be chased down and often times roped.
Once in the pens, the cows were sorted and worked. This took a very long time, longer than was expected, and thus set us back even further. By the time we started branding, it was almost noon. I manned the gate, making sure none of the calves escaped from the pen when the ropers went in and out. We only lost one calf, but it was quickly roped and dragged back to be branded. We got through about half the calves before we took a lunch break. We headed to the house where Mary Kay, Kenny’s wife, had a feast prepared. There was pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, enchiladas, lasagna, sausage, and rocky mountain oysters. After quite a bit of peer pressure (thanks to Melissa, Jenn, Burt, Carter, and Jesse) I eventually had one of the “oysters”. It’s safe to say I did not like it. But my reward was some of Mary Kay’s delicious angel food cake with fresh strawberries and cool whip on top.
After finishing up the second half of the calves at around 6:30 in the evening, we headed out to get the second batch of cows. There were about 200 calves in this group, so we didn’t get the last calf branded until 9:45pm. With this batch, I spent my time flanking them alongside Jenn and Carter, Bob’s nephew who is Ty’s age. The moment we were done, everyone celebrated with either a beer or a pop. After that we headed out. By the time we had fed our calves and showered, it was midnight.
This morning we woke up without alarms and leisurely ate breakfast. About halfway through, Jenn called saying they needed help with a dead calf. We quickly got our stuff together and headed down to the barn to get the vet kit, canola oil, chains, and a hacksaw. We headed out to the pasture where we found a cow with a stillborn calf halfway stuck. Only it’s head and leg was showing. The other leg was caught up and twisted underneath itself. After about an hour’s work, we finally got the calf out with a lot of canola oil. I dread to think of the experience if the canola oil didn’t work.
We headed back to finish up breakfast and then went to the barn to get the tractor and hip huggers. We then headed back to the cow and tried to get her up. We got her standing, but she was so weak from being on her right leg all night that she had no strength to stand. She fell back down to the ground and there was nothing but else we could do. Later in the evening we took her some water and cow cake.
In the meantime, we checked the rest of the cows and had lunch at Granny’s. She made us burgers and hash browns. Then we headed back to our house to get a few things when we found that there were some chicks near the hen house! We knew one of the hens had been lying on some eggs, but we figured it was too cold and too early for them to hatch. But we now have two chicks!
After heading back to the barn, we moved some panels around so the colts can have room outside while Calico watered down the arena. We then observed Jenn as she worked with two of the colts to get them to the point where she could pet them and they would stand still.
After feeding our calves and cooking steak tacos for dinner, it is now time for bed as another day on the ranch quickly approaches.