Sort of.
When you live on a ranch, while there is plenty to do to keep you busy, the cows really do most of the work for you. Other than helping the first calf heifers calve, checking on your cows during calving, keeping the herd fed in the winter, and keeping the fences in-tact there’s not a lot you do for cows. They eat grass, they have a calf, they eat grass, they get bred, they eat grass, they raise a big baby, they eat grass, we wean the baby, they eat grass, we preg check and pour them with an anti-parasitic, they eat grass…Well you get the picture.
Yesterday we shipped out about 120+/- heifer calves. That leaves us with a few miscellaneous calves that didn’t make the loads for whatever reason- they were too small, they were the wrong color- not black hided, they belong to Zach’s daughter, Kelsey, or we kept them for another reason.
So those adorable misfits get to come live by the barn for a while; and for a few days there’ll be bawling aplenty as they cry for their mamas.
Don’t think for an instant that mama isn’t crying for her baby. Because they’re all standing around the corral in the pasture, which is the last place their baby was seen, calling for them. Oh sure, some are eating, but some are wandering, calling every few steps.
Along with selling/weaning the calves, the other fall work that must be done is the herd culling. That’s when we take the cows that maybe raised a poor baby, the dry cows that are quite possibly infertile, and the senior cows to town. What do you do with an old cow? If you’ve ever bought hamburger in the grocery store, that’s probably what you’re eating. It was sad for me, (however I live in reality) because typically that cow has lived a good life- she’s raised some nice babies and she’s made you money. And in an ideal world she’d live out the rest of her days in a fluffy straw pen eating to her heart’s content.
But life isn’t all flowers and rainbows and unicorns.
The fact is that taking her to town is the nice thing to do.
Why? Because it’s nicer to her and for her to feed someone, than for her to freeze to death in a brutal South Dakota winter. And when cows get old they pack less flesh, sometimes that’s not the case but usually it is. Same with a lot of humans. They just can’t process grass/hay like a younger cow. Not the human, the cow.
So I’d like to make this post a tribute to the old girls that have raised 10,12, 14 or even 15 babies for us. Thanks girls for all your hard work! You fed the beef lovers of America and for that we are eternally grateful!
I really enjoy reading of your ranch lifestyle. It gives a horse a job to do. We know when calves have gone to market nearby. The cows bawl for a while. What I love is to listen to the two or three bulls bellowing each day. It is a sound that carries through the mountains. Along with the neighbors’ roosters are the sounds of home. If I had more graze land, I would have cattle, too. Thank you for what you do.
I sometimes hate reality too. My show horse from my youth days is 27 and is having a hard time keeping her weight. She looks terrible but is still hungry and lively. This could be the winter that we have to make a decision about putting her down. It seems to wrong when she seems to be the same horse mentally…but physically she is arthritic and just poor…..
@ Pamela- Thank you so much for the kind words! I have a rooster that is just finding his voice- though I’ve yet to hear him get after it. We don’t keep any bulls here- we lease ours, but I too love to hear them talk.
@christina- I feel your pain. My high school and college rodeo horse is a 1981 model- so he is 28. We have to really feed him up to keep him fat. But he still has a lot of teeth in his head. the good thing about him, is that he gets to spend winters in TX where there is very little bad weather. and when it does get bad, he gets a sheet (or two) and a big heavy blanket with a hood. I won’t like having to make that decision. So we can weep together when we do!
Great post!
As one of America’s beef lovers I too am thankful to the old gals! 😉
Yeah, add my thanks to those old cows; nice to know they had a great life in a gorgeous place. I love your first commenter’s description of the bulls calling and the sound carrying. Beautiful image.
Not matter how hard we try, it just never really is done. Something always has to come up. Breakdown. Cows out. Its always something.
Cheers to the old ladies! We had a cow who raised her last calf at twenty years old! She retired in our barnyard and spent the winter hanging in the barn and eventually died on the ranch. She always kept her body condition and was just an amazing cow. Hard to find ones with longevity like that, good old Angus cows!
Beautiful post… and so true.
Here is to those productive old girls that have raised their last calf. I soooo miss the farm life I grew up with sometimes. It is very enjoyable to immerse myself in the snippets you provide in your blog.
And when you are chasin’ cans in the sun this winter, take a second and think about me riding in my carharts in a cold arena with white breath matching my horses’. I’ll probably be working on getting one of my young mares ready to do some barrels and poles at local open shows next spring!
Old girls rock! I haven’t bought beef in a while from the store. Our non-buckers fill the freezer. But I do appreciate them when I needed it. I hate selling ours at the sale barn too. Our spots don’t sell for much and usually go to the packers. Everyone always wants the solids.