Shipping and Weaning

October 23, 2014 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ 2 Comments

Yesterday we shipped calves. All this means, is they are now at a sale barn to be sold. We are a commercial cow/calf operation which means we aren’t set up to “finish” large quantities of cattle.

Each Fall we sell the calves that are born that Spring. We also hold back “replacement” heifers so that when we preg test later in the year the older cows that are poor doing or that are “open” (not bred), can be sold. Those sold have a “replacement” – a younger cow, often one or more of their daughters to take their place.

We ran out of daylight, and room on the trucks yesterday, so today will once again be busy. The sale is Friday and we need to get the 35 remaining heifers to town this morning so they can be sorted and go to eating.

The replacement heifers and bulls we kept will be weaned today also. We use nose rings to wean the calves.

The day started out with a gorgeous sunrise that I couldn’t capture perfectly, and a little rainstorm that brought on a massive double rainbow.

When we started sorting yesterday we all got soaked as it was raining. But by the afternoon when we headed out to gather our big herd of cows, the sun was out and it warmed up and turned beautiful.

I tried to get a group photo of the crew. They didn’t cooperate.

However, Avie did! From his back I got some beautiful photos of the cows being gathered. I had originally planed to pack my good camera, but the rain that morning made me change my mind because it was a muddy mess in the pasture.

We had beautiful weather that afternoon, a good crew, and lots of fun. I am way beyond fortunate!

Happy Trails!

About ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Jenn Zeller is the creative mind and boss lady behind The South Dakota Cowgirl. She is an aspiring horsewoman, photographer, brilliant social media strategist and lover of all things western.

After a brief career in the investment world to support her horse habit (and satisfy her mother, who told her she had to have a “real” job after graduating college), she finally took the leap and stepped away from a regular income; trading the business suit once and for all for cowgirl boots, a hat, and jeans. She has not looked back.

When Jenn first moved to The DX Ranch on the South Dakota plains, she never imagined she’d find herself behind a camera lens capturing an authentic perspective of ranching, and sharing it with others. Jenn has always been called to artistry, and uses music, writing, images, home improvement, and her first true love of horses to express her ranching passion.

Horses are the constant thread and much of her work centers around using her unique style of writing to share her horsemanship journey with others in publications such as CavvySavvy, the AQHA Ranching Blog, the West River Eagle, the family ranch website, and her own website.

Using photography to illustrate her stories has created other opportunities -- Jenn’s brand “The South Dakota Cowgirl” has grown to the level of social media “Influencer”. This notoriety has led to work with Duluth Trading Company, Budweiser, Wyoming Tourism, Vice, Circle Z Ranch and Art of the Cowgirl, to name a few. She also serves as a brand ambassador for Woodchuck USA, Arenus Equine Health, Triple Crown Feed and Just Strong fitness apparel. Her photography has been featured by Instagram, Apple, TIME Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Oprah Magazine. Jenn’s work has been published internationally, has been seen in several books and has graced the covers of several magazines.

Jenn became a social media influencer by accident when she started to explore Instagram as a way to share her life on the ranch with folks that don’t get to experience it. It’s grown into an incredible platform that she uses to empower women, create an environment for self improvement and share life on the ranch.

When she’s not working, she loves to drink coffee, play with her naughty border collie named Copper, start ranch colts, and run about the country chasing cans. Her mother still thinks she doesn’t have a “real” job.