Blog - The Idaho Rancher's Wife

Twitterpated Part III: Turn out the Bulls

June 11, 2013 by Allison

So we have talked about the major prep for AI and we have talked about the day we AI. Shall we continue?

We have been focusing on the heifers mostly (because that’s how our breeding season starts) but now we will focus on ALL the momma cows.

The last step is fairly simple- we turn out the bulls. Load ’em up, haul ’em out, turn ’em loose… but I guess there is a little more than that.

Before we can turn out the bulls they have to go through a series of inspections. We want to know that their semen is good (I mean what is the point of a bull that shoots blanks, right?). They also need to be trich (said like “trick”… its an abbreviation of some long bacteria name…) tested. This is SUPER important because they can spread this to cows, who can in turn spread it to other bulls which equals BIG PROBLEMS. So we test them…

The final inspection is done by the ranchers of the cattle association we run with. Everyone must turn out bulls and every one’s bulls need to meat the expectations of the other ranchers. Its only fair, right? If our bulls breed their cows it had better be with a bull they like. And vice versa.

So when the bulls are all approved then it is time to load ’em up, haul ’em out, turn ’em loose!

Twitterpated Part II: AI

June 7, 2013 by Allison

Transitioning into part II requires a little work before the vet can AI. If you recall that during Part I we put in the CIDR, which purpose was to release hormones as well as physically block any semen from entering the uterus. Now that we are ready for them to be bred we need to pull out the CIDR.

Now we are ready to AI

Is a fairly simple process but it will be easier to explain with some pictures I think…

The semen is stored in individual straws that put in a tank that is filled with liquid nitrogen to keep it viable.

The vet will first put one arm into the cows rectum- this is so that he can feel the cervix and will serve as guide to place the semen He then takes a straw (filled with semen) and puts it into an AI gun (the arrow is pointing to the gun) which is inserted into vulva.

He threads the rod of the AI gun through the cervix and into the uterus. Once it is into the cervix he slowly pushes the plunger which injects the semen into the uterus and then removes the gun.

And that’s it! The cow is bred and out she goes. I said it is a simple process… simple if you are explaining. The entire time the vet is doing this he can only go by feel and by his grasp of anatomy. You should be impressed at these cowboys… I am!

Add caption

Twitterpated Part I: CIDRs

June 5, 2013 by Allison

On our ranch we really run on Mother Nature’s clock. What I mean is that we grow in the summer (crops and calves), migrate at the end of fall (take our cows to Locomotive), and have babies in the spring. (I would love to hibernate for the winter (what a long nap!) but I don’t think that would work so well…) According to Mother Nature (and Bambi) springtime also means that all the animals, including our cows are twitterpated.

Every May you can count on two things AI-ing and turning the bulls out. This is definitely not a one day thing, in fact what we do is done over a series of weeks and the bulls are left out with the cows most of the summer. So we will break it up into the different parts too!

With our first time heifers we AI (artificially inseminate) them. We want to make sure that they have the best chance of getting bred up well. We also want a little more control of what bull breeds them. When we chose our semen we are able to find bulls that are known to have smaller calves which will be easier for these first time mommas.

In preparation to AI them we first synchronize the heifers so that they will all come into heat at the same time. This makes it easier for The Rancher because then they can all be bred on the same day. We use CIDRs, controlled internal drug releasing devices, which will release hormones to begin them cycling as well as prevent any heifers that may already be in heat from getting bred.

This is sounding way too much like a research paper… In The Rancher’s Wife’s terms the poor girls get all sorts of hormones and birth control to make sure we know when it is… TIME.

The heifers coming in

The Rancher at work

Putting the CIDR in

The Rancher Sr. putting a CIDR in

Grandma helping Rancher Sr.

I always volunteer to help… Even though The Rancher tends to get in the way…

And The Rancher’s Boy, never missing out on the action or a chance to “Hey cows! Hey!”

Date Night

June 4, 2013 by Allison

When you live in the middle of no where you get to be creative when it comes to date night. We have had date nights where we go riding (horses) or for a drive (in the truck or playing Mariokart) or just some playing card games at the kitchen table. We have even had our own “comedy” night by youtube-ing our favorites and reading laffy taffy jokes. Like I said, we get creative.

But during the school year the sports can provide some fun entertainment. This time of year that is High School Rodeo. It may not be your top-stock-top-cowboy sort of rodeo but it still is a fun time to be together and to support the local cowboys/girls (like The Rancher’s brothers!)

For the record, this cowboy is not one of The Rancher’s brothers, its just one of the better pictures of the night. : )

But this sure is! (a picture of a brother, but not a good picture…)

Moving to Spring Pasture

June 3, 2013 by Allison

Ok friends… I was looking through pictures and realized that there were some fun things that you have totally missed out on (my bad!). Since I totally owe you after my long hiatus I am going to back track a bit. I think we will all be ok with that, right?

The heifer cows were moved up to their spring pasture a few miles east of the ranch. It really was a perfect little afternoon. The spot that we took them to was quite beautiful (you can disagree… I used to…). It was so green- even the sage brush is green this year! The cows moved well and as always The Rancher was one good looking cowboy.

The only thing that would have made this absolutely perfect was if I would have taken the camera. Ya, Ooops! I figured I didn’t need to this time but I was so wrong. In attempts to still capture the day I headed up at sundown to try and snap a few pictures. I’ll admit they don’t do it justice but at least they serve as a reminder to NOT leave the camera at home.

On Vacation

May 31, 2013 by Allison

A rancher is always busy… ALWAYS. Its one of those unspoken rules that a rancher wife just gets to deal with. There are two ways to approach it. Either you go solo and leave the rancher behind to his chores or you chose to help out with the chores and never leave the ranch (which is what this rancher’s wife usually prefers to do). That is for about 95% of the time. But occasionally the rancher will admit that he needs some time off of the ranch so then we quick load up the posse and head out!.

So that’s what we did! We headed to Las Vegas!

I know its the wrong time of year for a cowboy family to head that direction but there are more things than the NFR to draw us to LV. This time my dear friend was giving her mission farewell. She has chosen to serve as a missionary for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We decided that we would go support her, spend some time before she leaves for 18 months and make a whole family vacation out of it!

And that, my dear readers, is why the ranch front has been quiet- we were gone! But I promise to make it up to you because as I said earlier, a rancher is ALWAYS busy!

Cow Dog or Coon Dog?

May 21, 2013 by Allison

The Rancher has a one-in-a-million kind a of dog. He is a darn good cow dog that has a few other skills. Like one day moving cows I look over to see him jump onto The Rancher’s horse and take a ride. Another time I saw him riding on the motorcycle with The Rancher, hanging onto the front bars. This silly dog is the best at loading up into the pickup, even when its date night (what an exciting third wheel!). After Sunday we can add another skill- he can tree a raccoon!

Yes you read it right… I’m not sure if we have a cow dog or a coon dog on our hands but look at his handy work!

Some Time Inside for The Rancher’s Wife

May 17, 2013 by Allison

Being a rancher’s wife calls for more things than being out on the ranch. Sometimes it requires days spent in the house. There are the typical cleaning, laundry and cooking that The Rancher always needs done but this is how I spent my morning…

Can you guess what I did? Here’s a better look…

Yes, those are The Rancher’s pants on the sewing machine (and The Rancher’s Girl keeping me company in the back 🙂 ). I had been putting it off for a LONG time (some of them have needed to be mended for over a year!) and I got away with it because there was always another pair of jeans that didn’t have any holes… until there wasn’t . I finally gave into The Rancher’s request after doing a load of laundry and I realized that EVERY pair had holes… So I sat down with the sewing machine and a movie (because I knew it was going to take a while) and got to work. In the end I mended 7 pairs of jeans and threw out 3 because they had too many darn holes. And now maybe I can go another year before I have to mend his jeans again! What do ya think?

Spring Has Sprung

May 15, 2013 by Allison

Last year it seemed that Ms. Winter hung on forever. And when it finally let got Ms. Summer jumped right in and we didn’t have too many days to spend with Ms. Spring. This year we have! We have had those perfect cool and crisp mornings that warm up just enough to not worry about getting too hot (or sunburned!) We didn’t have too many April showers but enough that we are green. The Rancher spent some busy days doing his spring farm work planting grain and alfalfa (correction, I was just reminded that we haven’t put in the alfalfa yet… but will soon). The sprinklers are rolled out and turned on. We have the new spring chicks and the plum tree is beginning to get its leaves. Yes boys and girls, this year spring is in full swing.

The Rancher’s Sister

May 15, 2013 by Allison

It’s probably not too hard to imagine that I am a rancher’s sister (and a rancher’s daughter, just to throw that out there). I grew up on a ranch and ALWAYS loved that lifestyle, so much that I always told my dad that I would marry a cowboy (doesn’t that sound so romantic?!). To clarify, that meant a rancher cowboy not a rodeo cowboy, although I found both in The Rancher.

Ok, side note over… I went to visit my brother, let’s call him The Lemhi Rancher (yep, you guessed it, he lives in Lemhi!). We were having a family gathering so the kids and I loaded up the covered wagon (aka the Tahoe), kissed The Rancher goodbye and hit the road. The Rancher had to sit this one out because they turning the cows out onto the spring range. Can I get a woot (that the cows are out, not that I went without The Rancher)?

Even though we live on our own ranch and see the horses, cows, 4-wheelers, and ect. daily we always have such a great time at The Lemhi Ranchers ranch. And he does have one thing that we don’t have… BUFFALO.

About 4 years ago the owner decided that he wanted to add buffalo to the ranch. Nope, they didn’t get rid of the cows… Now they have a cattle cow-calf operation and a buffalo cow-calf operation. As soon as The Lemhi Rancher gets done calving out the cows it is about time to calve out the buffalo. The nature of the buffalo (can you say wild?!) changes how they do it all, in fact calving is so hands off that all they can really do is keep a good watch and monitor what’s happening.

We always like to spin through the buffalo. This trip was a little different since they are in the middle of calving so there were tons of new babies jumping around. Most days I will tell you that I find the buffalo to be ugly but there are times that they a sort of rugged beauty and their power is quite awe-inspiring.

And in the barn they had a special treat for us- a baby buffalo! We walked out one night and helped The Lemhi Rancher feed the little guy.