The Idaho Rancher's Wife

The Ranch From the Wife's Perspective

Roundup of Other Ranches: Calving in Cold Weather

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We have had such a mild winter which is AWESOME for calving.  But that hasn’t been the case for everyone. 

My old neighbors in Montana have really been having a hard time this last weekend.  My dad was saying its the worst calving season they have had in 25 years.  A town nearby was dealing with a wind chill of -68 degrees at night.  That’s beyond brrr!  That’s cold enough to freeze a baby’s nose even before he has been born.  Not being able to keep all the babies and mommas out of the cold is like throwing money in the wind.

But my Montana friends aren’t the only ones dealing with the cold.  Its a normal part of winter calving.  Over the years we have all found things that help on those cold nights.  We have our go to hot boxes or shelf ready ear warmers. We’ve learned when we need to bring a calf in or when to leave it with momma.

But don’t just take my word for it.  Here are a few other ranchers that have been out fighting the cold.

 
1. Calving in the Cold on PincherCreekVoice.com
 
2. Baby Calves Will be Here Soon on KansasCattleRanch.blogspot.com
 
3. Ranch Snow Day: Calving Heifers on AgricultureProud.com
 
4. Calving Shed on BeefMatters.org
 
5. No Maternal Instinct on JustARanchWife.com
 
6. Warming Baby Calves on TalesOfAKansasFarmMom.blogspot.com

Suckling a Baby Calf

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A rancher takes on a lot of jobs on the ranch.  That includes being the on-call lactation consultant. 

There are a handful or reasons that calf has a hard time nursing.  Some problems come from the cow not realizing that they have a calf to care for (you would think with all of the work they did to get that baby here they would stick around for the rest!).  Others times momma just doesn’t want to let the calf suck and pushes him away (or kick and head butt).

But sometimes its the calf that is having issues.  It could be because he doesn’t have the energy to do it.  And then there are times the calf just doesn’t know what to do or where to go to get the milk.

This is when The Rancher comes to save the day!

Once again we head to the maternity pens and get the cow settled since she might be there for a bit.  Our approach to help the calf depends on who’s the weak link (obviously).  Just getting momma and baby in the pen together could be enough.  But when its not we will put the cow in the head catch and hobble her legs to make it easy for the calf to nurse (without the hard love kicks).

If it is the calf not knowing how or not having the energy to nurse it means that there is a little more work for The Rancher.  A good place to start is just pointing baby is the right direction and squirting a little milk in his mouth.  If he doesn’t take the cue to start nursing… then we just keep trying. 

One of The Rancher’s go-to strategies is to start the baby sucking on one of his fingers.  Once the calf is sucking hard, he will slip in the cow’s teet.  If he keeps sucking, we are good to go.  But sometimes baby just doesn’t get it.  And as the last resort we just milk the momma, bottle feed the baby and leave them in the maternity stall.  There are times that doing less and giving them space is all they need.  

Who new that The Rancher could be such a terrific lactation consultant?!

10 Lessons I Have Learned as a Rancher’s Wife

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There are a lot of things that I have learned while I have been a rancher’s wife.  Some have been from my own experiences and some have been from fellow ranch wives.  I guess the most important thing I have learned is to just live it and love it!  Here are a few other tips I have figured out along the way…

1.  You must always consult the cowboys when you are picking your due date (like you can really decide what day you are going to give birth, right?!).  You should never have babies during calving, branding, spring turnout, haying, fall gather, weaning, or preg checking seasons.

2.  Once you do find an acceptable time to have a baby (or you have come to some compromise to manage having a baby in the midst of the chaos) expect to hear 9 months’ worth of cow pregnancy related jokes.  I wish I had a buck for every time I heard The Rancher tell me he was bringing the chains, just in case.

3.  Cowboys work much better on full bellies.  It is in your own best interest to learn how to feed the masses.  It should include meat and potatoes.  Always.

4.  There are days that The Rancher has to leave the ranch for some project, but is absolutely sure that he will be back in time for lunch.  I still send him with the lunchbox.  Fate has it that when I DO send a lunch they will be home on time for lunch.  But when I don’t, everything goes wrong and it turns out to be a long and hungry day.

5.  During the busy season (which could be ANY day), your Friday night date might just be a tractor ride or a ride through the cows.  And he does appreciate that you are there for more than getting the gate for him.

6.  Never do something once that you don’t want to be asked to do again.  That advice was given by my mother and mother-in-law- one that didn’t want to be the one to milk the cow (even though she grew up on a dairy) and one that didn’t want run the swather.  Both brilliant women!
7.  When you go out with the cowboys, be sure to load your horse in the trailer last.  That means you will unload first, giving you enough time to be on and ready so that you don’t get left behind.
8.  If ever you get yelled at while you are out helping, it is a sign of real love, not the lack of.  He is yelling at you to save your life, so don’t take the time to make him say it in a nicer or way or to say please.   Just do what he says.


9.  The faithful ranch dog is more than just a dog, and therefore is entitled to privileges, including riding in your car, coming in your house (both happen no matter what condition he is in), and having a place to sit with the rest of the family on the already squished 4-wheeler.  And just face the fact that he will be in at least one family picture (you just don’t have to put that up one on the wall).

10.  Always keep one cowboy around the ranch because destiny will have it that when your best helper is 3, the cows, horses, bulls, or chickens will get out.  It’s likely that with them all being gone they have taken all of the 4-wheelers too and all you have left to chase them in with is the riding lawn mower.

BONUS(because I love you!)
Remember that a rancher is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, ALL year.  That includes nights, because that’s when you get a call from the state police that you have cows on the freeway.  Or the boss calls for help because the calves are on their way into town at midnight.  It also includes Sundays (the one day a week you try to slow down), because it seems that the range water always goes out just after church.  It includes special days, like when you have just had a new baby.  Sometimes the boss calls to haul spuds that day.  And it certainly includes the days and nights of freezing temperatures when the rest of the world heads in.  Just be sure to be ready with something hot for when they come back to the house!

There are so many more I could share, and I will someday.  Life is never dull as a rancher’s wife.  It’s our job to just take what comes our way and work with it.  I love the lessons I learn from being The Rancher’s Wife!
 

I Hate When Death Wins

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This isn’t the post I had intended to share with you today, but I just had to write this (maybe you’ll get a double dose of The Rancher’s Wife today!). 

I hate death.  And I hate that even though as hard as we try, we lose sometimes.  I think I take it personally because it means that I wasn’t enough.  Today I had to face that reality again.   

The temperatures are warming up enough (or I am sick of being inside) that I decided to go for a run this morning.  It was just an ordinary run- I thought I was dying but still going.  I was jamming to my iPod and picking up speed as I headed down the last hill.  This is where it all changed.

I noticed there was a heifer in the already-calved-pen that was stuck on her back.  If a cow gets on her back and her feet uphill she can’t get up alone (sometimes I think I feel like that…). If she is left like that long she could die.  Needless to say, when I got up to her, I called The Rancher to come fix it (because he can fix anything!).  His response was to do it myself… um… no.  I can’t really do a job that takes the two of us.  At this point I noticed that she was calving and so we had even more reason to hurry.

After The Rancher’s speedy arrival (that seemed to take hours) we pushed and pulled and grunted and finally got her un-upside down. Then we realized that she couldn’t stand.  When cows have been trying to have a baby for a longer time than usual, the pressure can make it so that they can’t get up.  This was actually ok because it meant that we could pull the calf right there.

 The nose of the baby was sticking out and we could tell that he was struggling to breath. That calf needed help and every minute counted.  Which meant we didn’t have time for the calf puller or chains or even gloves.  We ended up using a bungee cord to wrap around the calves legs, the wench on our 4 wheeler to do the pulling and yours truly stuck her bare hands into the heifer to help during the tough spots.  It wasn’t the most conventional way of pulling a calf, but it worked.

Once we got the calf out, we went to work getting him breathing.  A lot of times just tickling the inside of their nose will make them sneeze and that’s enough to jump start them.  But that didn’t work…

We tried rubbing his back and chest, trying to wake him up a little more.  That didn’t help…

The Rancher got down to him and tried some mouth to nose breathing.  With every breath he would give, the calf’s heart would beat a little faster… for a while.  But eventually it wasn’t enough and his heart stopped.  He died even though we were there to help him.  He died while we were doing all we could.  He died while my hand was resting on his little chest, willing his heart to beat again.

There comes a point when see that you are going to lose.  And its at this point you put everything you have into it, denying the horror that is becoming reality.  You hope that your will and determination will cause something miraculous to happen so that you don’t have to face the truth.  The truth that calf has died.

This is one of those days that we don’t love on the ranch.  We are reminded that we have limits and that there are some things we just can’t fix.  And I hate that.  I really hate when death wins.

Calving on the Ranch

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*Just a little note- I have picture of a few cows giving birth.  Its not too pretty.  These are definitely not my photo contest photos… You’ve been warned!
 

Watching a baby being born is such an incredible experience.  That includes watching a baby calf being born.  Its not too often that you get to see it.  With my luck I make it just as momma is done and licking baby off.  But the other day I managed it just right to see this little baldy calf being born!

After having my own babies, I am so impressed with the instincts that these first time heifers have.  There are no doctors or nurses or even husbands to help them through it all and (for the most part) they rock it!

We take a lot time to check the cows to make sure that things go right when they deliver their calves.  First time mommas have more problems than the seasoned cows, which is why we keep them close to home. 

Generally, we know that when a cow has left the herd and is acting a little antsy, it is probably in labor (that’s how I feel too…).  We know for sure that she is calving when we can see a water bubble and the feet sticking out.  At this point the calf should be born within the next hour or two and if its not, its time to jump in and help.

Seeing those feet coming out is a good indicator of how things are going.  If the toes are pointing up its good news.  If they’re not, it means that calf is coming backwards and you’ve got some work to do.  The cow might be at this stage for a while because she is working to push the shoulders and head through.  But once they do come, gravity helps out and the rest calf quickly comes.

A momma’s instincts kick in fast once that baby has hit the ground.  The cow is quick to get up to start licking and cleaning her new little baby.  The mom side of me thinks that those licks are part momma loves!  The calf’s instincts kick in fast too because as soon as it can, it will stand up and look to start nursing.  That first bit of milk (colostrum) is SUPER important because it contains nutrients and antibodies that will help give energy and a strong immunity.

If all of this has gone down without a hitch you can pat yourself on the back and leave them for a while.

But…

… things don’t always go the right way.  When we talk about calving there is always a lot of “if-s” and “should-s” and “generally-s” and “usually-s” because we plan on there being problems once in a while.  Murphy has a permanent residence here at the ranch…

The first thing to do (after we manage to get the mamma to the maternity pen) once we realize a cow needs help is to figure out exactly what is going on.  We face a whole variety of issues like one leg being stuck back, the head being turned the wrong way, the back feet or bum coming first, or the baby being too big for a first time heifer to have alone.  The figuring is the easy part.  Getting the calf in right position is the tricky part.  I mean, you have The Rancher pushing the calf in, grabbing that one leg to get it in just the right place all while momma is having contractions and pushing on the already stuck calf.  And there is only room for one hand to do the work.  Yep… kinda tricky!

When the calf is finally in the right position the cowboys put some chains around the legs and connect it to a sort of jack.  Its brilliantly name “The Calf Puller”… With some steady pulling the baby is able to come much easier.  And Ta Da!  A calf is born!

Congratulations, its a bull!

To see all of the many exciting pictures, click the “read more” link below!

 

 
 
 

 

 

Wintertime Horses

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Every few days The Rancher takes a bale of hay out to the horses.  The last few times that he has gone to feed he has a slight issue… the horses have been getting out!  He pops the gate open, drives the tractor into the pasture and then once he has cleared the gate out they go.

But being the ever vigilant ranch wife I’ve been there to the rescue.  I mean, you can’t really miss eight horses running down the road.  I feel guilty admitting this, but I do love to see them run.  Its like back in the day when bands of horses would run wild, free… and crazy.  Ya they were crazy, but still beautiful!

It really only took a minute to get the horses back to their pasture on those few days they were out roaming.  Giving a good cowgirl whoop and holler is just the trick to get those horses to turn back.  Do you think it would work to get my kids to come back like that?

One fine morning we had the privilege of helping The Rancher feed the horses and we must have been good luck.  Not a single horse ran out!  They must have known that I wanted a few photos.  I love a winter shot of the horses in the snow. Their long, thick winter coat is its own kind of beautiful.

Making Some Blog Changes

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I’m sure that you have noticed the changes on the blog.  We are working on a facelift over here!  All of these efforts are for you, my dear friends.  I want this to be a blog that is easy to read and find whatever you want. I hope its a place that you want to come back to read often and share with all your friends.

So please be patient while these changes are happening.  If you ever have suggestions, please tell me.  I want to hear of the things you love or the things you don’t love.  Every bit will help! 

“They’re Sheep… Not Cows!”

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On our last outing to check water we came across some range neighbors.  As soon as The Rancher’s Sidekick could pick out what they were he shouted, “They’re sheep… not cows!”

Apparently we need to get out and see more critters than what we normally see on the ranch because our kids loved seeing those sheep!

There is a big sheep herd sharing the range with our cows in Locomotive.  They blend in with the country side really well and when you finally recognize that the sheep are there they just POP out at you.  Hundreds of sheep!  There is even a little sheep camp and their very own sheep cowboy, sheepboy, shepherd…

I think that they must have been surprised to see us because they just took off running.  Little fluffy sheep running all over.

 I had to do a double take when I saw a black sheep in the midst of the other white sheep.  I had to ask what it was… I assumed it was a herd dog!  I think that I had better stick with what I know best-cows!
 

Out to Locomotive Checking Cows and Water

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We are about to put a lot of miles on the ranch truck.  It happens every year when we take the cows to Locomotive (we also get a LOT of mud).  Its important that we take the time to check out the scene in Locomotive because we can’t let our cows go without feed and water. 

For the most part, the work happens from the truck.  We drive across the range to make sure that all of the troughs are working and filling.  Generally we keep some supplies in the truck in case there is a trough that needs some work.  If ever there is a bigger problem the cowboys come home to gather up the bigger tools and head back out.

Along the way we see how the feed is.  A drive though helps us gauge when we need to move cows or if we would ever need to bring any feed down (but that usually only happens when the snow comes).

Of course we check out the cows too.  Occasionally we find a few on the wrong side of the fence.  Apparently, the grass really is greener on the other side! 

I let The Rancher take care of all the hard work or keeping the wheels on the road and I just make sure to document the cow scene!

Hauling Cows to the Calving Pasture

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The Rancher has sighed a big sigh of relief last week.  All of the cows that were home (about 500) have been hauled to the calving pasture in Locomotive. 

It took 3 days to get them all moved down and we jumped in to “help” take them down

Now that we have all of the cows moved we will be making the trip down to check them, but Locomotive is a great place to calves out our cows!

About Me

Hello! I'm Allison, The Rancher's Wife! There's nothing I love more than being out on the ranch with my husband and kids. Join me for a look at what goes on here at the ranch and the life being a rancher's wife!

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