Ranch - Vet Visit

Last week we had a vet visit.

I drove my car up to the ranch

on Wednesday and got to spend the

night with Kyle at his house.

I brought up a couple rib eye steaks.

We fried up some potatoes and

a couple of steaks and had a yummy

dinner while watching TV

and relaxing for the busy day ahead.

Thursday morning we started early.

Headed out to the back pasture

to start rounding up the cows.

When the vet got there he suggested

that we walk them in instead of using

the ATVs, (which we were doing anyway)

so Kyle stayed behind to gather any

strays and I headed in with the

main herd. If you just walk behind

them and clap now and again,

they are pretty good about just

quietly walking on up the alley.

Linda and Gina had arrived while we

were busy bringing in the Mamas,

I worked with the cowboy,

helping him sort off the babies

and getting the Mamas into the "hopper"

to start them heading through the chute.

Kyle was still in the back, closing gates,

Gina was up with the vet,

helping him set "seeders"

and Linda was running around being

the official photographer.

We got all the mamas run through the chute.

They all got a seeder (for lack of a better

description its kind of like a chemical 

soaked tampon that is inserted to help

them come into season...)

Once they were all finished, we needed

to put ear tags in all the new babies.

The cowboy decided it would be easier

to just bulldog them in the pasture.

He got all of them done except for one

bigger girl (not going to market, they 

are selling her to someone as a grass fed

cow in about a year...).

She wasn't particularly cooperative.

Didn't really want to be tagged.

They caught her between the fence and

a gate, but she squirted out, 

like a banana out of its skin.

So the cowboy said he would just

bulldog her in the open.

Nope.

She kicked out and got him

right in the face!

I was SURE he broke his nose.

Or his entire face.

Luckily she hit him with the edge of

her hock (elbow) and not her hoof.

He was sore, but not broken.

Whew!

I was busy running around helping the cowboy.

So I didn't take many pictures.

The cowboy's horse (and yellow dog)

waiting patiently to see what Hayden

wanted them to do next.

These are the babies they have currently.

And behind them is a cow they sorted off.

Kyle took her to market this morning.

She brought $.48 per pound.

She's old.

She is the only cow that didn't have a calf

this past year, and so she was "culled".

We were expecting between 25 and 30 cents

per pound so they should be happy she

brought a little more.

Kyle said there were lots of buyers

but not nearly as many cows as there were

when he took the calves a couple of weeks ago.

Luck of the draw, I guess...

He did an excellent job reworking the

facility and it was SO much easier to use.

He put in new, stronger gates,

changed a bunch of the fence configurations,

hand made a bunch of hinges and latches

so the gates all swing in both directions

(the vet and cowboy were both VERY 

impressed with his hinges and latches...).

The vet started the day kind of grumpy,

but by the end of the day he was

very happy and super complimentary

to Kyle about all the work he had done.

Once they were all gone,

Kyle and I headed down to Ocala

to Rural King (a fantastic store, kind of like

Tractor Supply but 1000 times better)

and we each loaded up our trunks with 200#

of feed to bring down to our farm.

They sell everything for $2.00 per bag

CHEAPER than Tractor Supply!

Plus they have a nifty round roll cradle

that I want to get once we get our calves.

Nicely made.

And less expensive than Kyle can make it.

We'll pick one up in a couple of months.

Our horses are barely eating any hay these days.

Both Andy and Buddy have lost many

of their grinding teeth,

so they both get soaked alfalfa and beet pulp

twice a day with their sweet feed.

CJ still eats hay, but not much.

We might go through 2 bales in a week.

Buddy and Andy are both 31 and CJ is 28.

Everybody (except Andy) has started their

spring shed, so there is a bunch of hair

everywhere. I'll go out later this afternoon

and do another round with the shedding blade.

And maybe next week I'll see about

clipping Andy.

We are having another "cold front" today.

It's only 72 with a breeze from the north,

so they aren't too uncomfortable yet.

But by April they will need their winter 

coats to be gone.

Meanwhile, its time for lunch.

Have a wonderful Monday!