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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Some Words of Wisdom

As you know, I live on a ranch. We raise beef cattle and we farm hay and other feed for the cattle. When I was younger, I didn't want anything to do with this lifestyle. It makes me sad to admit, but I was ready to head to the big city and never look back as soon as I graduated high school. Well, I say big city, but I mean Billings, MT. The only actual city in Montana, which inhabits about 100,000 people. So, my first year of college was amazing. It was so much fun and everything I wanted. Then my second year of college started and I was working full-time, going to school full-time, and trying just to keep my head above water with bills. I had two amazing jobs and was right on track to graduate with a Bachelor's in Business Administration. After a year of it, I had to wonder if it was what I really wanted. I actually missed the soreness after riding a horse for hours. I longed for the smell of fresh-cut alfalfa. I realized, I didn't want to work in the corporate world, I didn't really want to work for anyone. I wanted to be a business owner, an entrepreneur, and a rancher. So today, after being on the ranch full-time for 8 months, I'm still on track to graduate with a Bachelor's in Business Administration as well as an Associate's in Political Science, as well as getting my real estate license. I'm going to be a successful business owner, realtor, rancher, and possibly even local political representative. Anyway, I opened the bible for the first time in a long time today and I came across this passage.
"Aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with you hands, as we have instructed you, that you may conduct yourselves properly toward outsiders and not depend on anyone." 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
When I read this passage, I just thought to myself, I want nothing more than to mind my own business, work with my hands, and support myself every single day.

Monday, February 20, 2012

A Little Cowgirl Poetry for Ya'll

Tonight as I was checking cows, I thought for sure one was having contractions. Nope, she was pooping. So, naturally, I wrote a poem about it.

 Is It Time?

Tail goes up,
Is it time?
Out the butt,
she's oozing slime.
On the ground,
steaming warm.
Whaddya know?
False alarm.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

The New Additions

Today when I had a little time, I took a picture of the new baby I told you about the other day. The heifer calf was too busy drinking so I didn't get a good face picture. This cow is such a sweetheart, she let me come in to the pen and pet her and the calf. Here they are!
While I'm at it, here's a freakin adorable picture of DJ, my pup.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Calving Season is Officially in Full-Swing!

Well, the first calf of the year officially hit the ground on February 27th at around 5:00 p.m. My youngest brother, whose sixteen, and myself were the only ones home. Just our luck. We had been doing routine checks, every hour, because we knew a few cows were close. As I was defrosting some ground beef for dinner, ironically, I heard a whole lot of hollering coming from the corrals. I headed out because I kinda figured there was a little one on the way. The fist-year heifer in question was not hard to miss because she had two teeny tiny hooves sticking out of her hind end. First-year heifers are two year-old cows who are pregnant with their first calf. As I said in a previous blog post, they are much more susceptible to having a difficult delivery. Since the hooves were sticking out and we only knew she had begun labor less than an hour ago (since that was the last time we checked), we knew we would probably have to pull the calf. This is a process that is done by attaching a chain to the front hooves of the calf and pulling it out by hand or using a calf puller which puts torque on the chain for more strength. Now, I say the front hooves because hopefully by this time in the birthing process the calf has turned head first towards the birth canal. For the safety of all involved we moved the heifer to the barn so that she could be put in a head catch for pulling, if necessary, or a maternity pen to have the calf. This proved to be a much more difficult thing to do. The nervous first-timer was not all that anxious to leave her herd. After some gentle encouragement, we finally got her into the barn. This took so long that we no longer had the opportunity to let the mama have her calf naturally. If the calf isn't out within a couple hours from the beginning of the birth, the cow will need assistance or the calf could die.

So, we got the heifer in the head catch and began the slightly disgusting procedure of pulling the calf. First we had to pull the hooves out far enough to wrap a chain around them. The little bugger was being a little difficult so we only had one hoof to work with for a while. To be sure not to cause any damage to the one leg, we used a hand puller to get him out far enough to grab his other hoof. Next we had both hooves chained and attached the chain to the calf puller. First, came the knobby little knees followed closely by the cute little calf face. At this point I got a little worried because it's tongue was sticking out and I was irrationally sure it was dead. I mean, after all that hard work... Could you imagine!? So we kept cranking on the calf puller until the calf’s ribcage was out, at which point the calf still had not shown any sign of life. I was literally freaking out. By now my brother just grabbed ahold of the little guy and guided it out the rest of the way. He set it on the ground, and lord have mercy, it bellarred. Oh, and it was a heifer! I would like to point out that when the calf came sliding out, my brother got completely covered in amniotic fluid and after birth. It was not pretty. I also got some in my hair, and no, I haven't taken a shower since then. Anyway, as my brother picked up the calf by the hind legs so its head was down, I gave it a little tap on the ribs to help it get the amniotic fluid from its lungs. Then he sat it down and I stuck my fingers in its nose so it would sneeze and cough. Yes, I did wash my hands. Ha. By this time we moved baby and mama into a maternity pen and gave them a little time to get acquainted. After fifteen minutes or so I went back out to make sure the little gal was standing and drinking. She was standing, clumsily, and I watched in amusement as she tried to find the teet. Once she found it though, I'm glad to say that she drank vigorously. During the first twelve hours or so after a birth, a mother cow will produce a type of milk called colostrum. It's very important that the calf drinks this because it provides important antibodies to keep it healthy in the future. All in all, it was a successful birth. I guess its days like today that make it all worthwhile!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Cattle Dogs

I want to do a little blog on cattle dogs. I live on a working ranch so having working dogs is very important. I'd like to say right up front that I'm no expert. Also, I have all of my opinions for a reason, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm right. First I'll go through some terms that are used to describe the working style of cattle dogs. Cattle dogs are usually described as strong-eyed or loose-eyed. This just describes what type of gaze they keep on the animals they are herding. A strong-eyed dog will keep an almost constant gaze on the herd in order to control them. A strong-eyed dog tends to crouch because it helps them keep better eye contact. This type of dog will be easy to teach cues and works well under the influence of its handler. This type of dog is also usually very active, but not so aggressive as other cattle dogs. This style of working is usually associated a border collie and sometimes a Kelpie. On the other hand, a loose-eyed dog tends to stay off the ground while working, which is referred to as upright. A loose-eyed dog will occasionally keep eye contact with the herd but doesn't need to. They may also use bark and grip to control the herd. Grip means they could nip at the feet, known as heeling, or the head. These dogs are generally more independent and work well in small areas, like corrals and chutes. A loose-eyed dog covers a large number of breeds including Australian Shepherds, Blue Heelers, and others. These dogs can be aggressive, because they use the grip and bark methods. A dog like a Blue Heeler is usually more aggressive than the Australian Shepherd. The most common cattle dogs that are used in the area of Montana that I live in are Australian Shepherds, or Aussies, Border Collies, Blue Heelers, also called Australian Cattle Dogs, and a mixed breed called Hanging Tree. The Hanging Tree mix is a very interesting concept that I want to go over. Hanging Tree dogs have Aussie, Kelpie, Catahoula Leopard, and Border Collie. They were bred for maximum working skill and are growing in popularity for all-around working dogs. On our ranch we have 2 older working dogs and one puppy who was born in December. Our first cattle dog was Duke, a long haired Aussie. He’s the sweetest dog for sure. He is the dog I prefer to work with because he has a good sense of where to be and where to move the cattle. My brother has a dog, Wiley, who is half Heeler and half Hanging Tree. She definitely has the Blue Heeler aggressive streak but it works well because Duke isn't so aggressive. Our puppy was one of five in a litter from Duke and Wiley. His name is DJ and I think he will make a great cattle dog.

aussieborder collieblue heelerhanging tree
1. An  Aussie who looks a lot like Duke. 2. A Border Collie in the most popular black and white coloring. 3. A Blue Heeler- notice the how the tail isn't docked. 4. A hanging tree dog heading a cow.