Blog - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

Calving on the Ranch

February 27, 2014 by Allison

*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

February 25, 2014 by Allison

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

February 21, 2014 by Allison

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!”

February 20, 2014 by Allison

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

February 20, 2014 by Allison

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

February 18, 2014 by Allison

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!

First Calf of 2014

February 17, 2014 by Allison

I have been asking and asking when we would finally have our first calf. In fact, I’ve been asking for over a month and I swear that every time, The Rancher would answer that it would be in two weeks. But he was saying that for the last month!

But the wait is over! We have our first baby- a bull (that will soon be a steer).

After bundling my babies up, we braved the cold to find the new baby calf to take some photos of the little fella. We found him nestled in the straw with momma close by.

With the first calf here the rest will follow soon. Remember, in the spring when we AI-ed the heifers? One of the benefits and reasons that we do that is so that they are synchronized to all calve together. Now that we have reached their due date we are going to be swarmed by babies! Hooray!

And now that I’m getting this post out, I think its time to go check to see if there are any new babies before we turn in for the night.

Feeding Cows With The Rancher

February 15, 2014 by Allison

I love going out to feed the cows. Maybe that is because it gets me out of the house or it gives me a chance to play with my camera or maybe its just being back to my cowgirl element. Whatever it is, I love to be out feeding cows.

The Rancher… ah… not so much. He’s not a fan of those things that he has to do over and over, repeating it everyday (read that in a bored, droning voice). It always makes me laugh when he reminds me of how he doesn’t like those jobs. I am the queen of doing the same thing over and over- breakfast, dishes, lunch, dishes, snacks, dishes, dinner, dishes, clean, laundry… repeat. Its a good thing that I’m the house wife and he, well… isn’t.

But back to feeding cows, something The Rancher’s does everyday- that’s what we were talking about. We have a pretty handy system- I cut the net wrap on the bale, he rolls it out to the cows. Then repeat, about 8 times. We have the big group of cows, the bulls and the first time heifers.

I’ll admit that The Rancher has some pretty awesome tractor skills. He makes it look easy to pick up, drop, roll, nudge, or tip a bale. But I know different. I’m not completely inept with a tractor but I certainly couldn’t do it with such finesse.

Maternity Pen Prep- We’re Ready For Babies

February 13, 2014 by Allison

A little something you should know about The Rancher- if there is something that needs fixing he will do and when he does it, he fixes in a big way.

With calving just around the corner The Rancher is finding and fixing everything that needs updated. The major one has been the maternity pen.

Last year it was such a struggle to get the heifers in when you were alone, so that was high on the list to get fixed. He spent a few days in the shop making a new gate to replace some old panels (that, of course, we were there to “help” put up). They put in a few man-gates to make it easy to move from pen to pen. The last day they replaced a handful of poles and added some tin for a windbreak.

It makes me feel better that these new mamas have their own maternity bay- all fixed up and ready to go. Granted, we don’t really want to use it because that means there are problems… but still its nice having it there!

So lets have some babies! (don’t let The Rancher know I’m begging for the calves to start coming!)

Out to Feed

February 12, 2014 by Allison

The cows are heading to Locomotive. They are due to begin calving within a few weeks which means it is time to get them to the calving pasture.

Locomotive is such an ideal place for our cows. We hardly get snow there (or at least enough to matter) so it makes for a dry, warm place for babies to be born. NOT to mention that they are so spread out, that one momma doesn’t take another baby by mistake.

Ya, we really like calving out in Locomotive.

And since the cows are leaving, the kids and I have been taking a few mornings to go out and feed with The Rancher before we missed our chance. There were even a few days that he actually needed me to be the one to cut the net wrap! Oh, the things that make this rancher’s wife happy…