Wrapping it Up



Ray and Chubby penning the cut after preg-testing. Note how Skipper's
tail is pointing straight south!



This is a busy time of year for most everybody, but even more so on a northern tier ranch. As a general rule, weaning is usually done by the end of October. Once the year's crop of calves has been allocated to their various destinations, the ones remaining on the ranch need extra care to help them through the transition. If it hasn't already been factored in, the year's crop of hay and winter grazing pastures are inventoried to make sure there will be enough to get through the winter.

Attention then turns to the factory. The mama cows, who by this time, have trailed home from summer country to the more amenable pastures around the home ranch. Most ranches pregnancy test their cows, and separate bred and open cows with a mark on the hip. Black paint on Hereford or light colored breeds, and lady's hair bleach on the black.

While running through the chute, they also receive health checkups, and are bled by a vet for brucellosis testing if they summer near Yellowstone NP. Usually the herd has been culled directly after weaning, and before trailing home, and the culls hauled off to auction.

The depth of culling depends a great deal on weather factors. i.e., if it's the middle of a drought, cattle will be culled heavily. If the markets and weather are conducive to a profitable forecast, culling is limited to health and extreme age factors. Big, fat, shiny cows with little skinny. leppy calves also go down the road. Or should.



Bringing a bunch of cows in for preg-testing.



For culling, the cows are held up in a pen with a line of cowboys acting as gates and turnback men on the front-end. Usually the owner or manager, and a herd manager will slowly sift through the cattle mentally evaluating each individual's condition. Cattle with problems will then be sorted off.

One year we had a green kid on the crew who knew very little about cattle husbandry. As he watched one bob-tailed cow cut out through the line, he asked why she was being culled. “Because,” he was told (in typical cowboy fashion— this is paraphrased), “Her tail's gone. The sun shines down...(on her bag)...and spoils her milk.”

Armed with this new bit of cowboy wisdom he soon joined the rest of the crew in helping spot problem cattle. “There's another one”, he called out, pointing into the herd. “Which one?” asked the cutter. “That one, the one with the missing tail.”

At least the kid made his mark. That story has probably been retold at least once a year for 30 years. To this day, during culling, at least one cowboy will call out: “You'd better get that one, she's got no tail!”

Smaller herds are often sorted in alleys or corrals with just “Mom and Pop” doing the work. “Moms” who have been helping “Pops” for any length of time have likely developed selective hearing.

A good friend of mine with a hilarious sense of humor, and great “Mom/Pop” stories told me a couple years ago that “Pop” was getting pretty excited and animated during a sorting session, since she didn't seem to be listening. After awhile she just turned to him and said, “I can't he-e-a-r you,” and pulled the earplugs out of her ears. This is the same friend who was on the local school board. She walked into one meeting that was expected to be a bit contentious, with ear-muffs on.

Everybody's usually quite happy once the fall work is done. Life slows down just a tad, and gives everybody a little breather. For years our “vacation” was going to the national convention in January. That's really the only time of year we could get away for more than a couple days at a time.

Sometimes we'd take the kids (since we home-schooled) and arrange for a real vacation after convention. We did take a couple of vacation-only trips when the kids were small though. Disney World in January. Loved it. Even though a lot of the attractions were closed, we didn't have to stand in line. I am not a line-stander, so that worked out well. One of the funnest vacations we took was when the kids were 3, 5, and 6. We went to Mazatlan with a group of farm people. What a hoot! And I thought WE were rednecks!

This time of year, aside from the County Fair, is also the main social season for folks out in the ag world. And it's not just because “tis' the season”. It's because they've pretty well wrapped up another year, and are ready for some slow time to relax, throw another log on the fire, and enjoy family, friends, and neighbors-- and the National Finals!

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. PV 18:24

Colt bringing home the last of the remuda from cowcamp. 25 below zero.