Soapweed's Ranch
Ramblings |
It has been a busy fall, but things are looking up as the cattle work winds
down. A week and a half ago, we weaned our replacement heifer calves. We had
left a little meadow with fresh after-grass (grown up after haying in July)
for this purpose. It was close to a set of corrals, so our three-person crew
got them in, sorted the cows away from the calves, put the cows into a dry lot
with hay in bale rings, and put the calves around the corner into the fresh
meadow grass. There was plenty of "music" for a couple days, but the calves
soon got to be big girls and took to their new status well. We also "caked" them
on the ground, giving them a twenty percent pellet. They took to this new treat
like a duck to water.
The day before yesterday, Dr. Susan came out in the morning and we bangs vaccinated
the 202 head. Also, we decorated the girls with new ear-apparel and their new "permanent" cow
number. We double tagged each heifer, and their new numbers are 400-499 purple
or 400-499 yellow. The extra two heifers are 400l and 4002 yellow. We used the
Universal Ritchey pre-numbered ground-in tags on one side, and pre-numbered stamped
Y-Tex tags on the other side. Hopefully the tags will stay in for many years,
but by double tagging, a back-up system is in place. At pregnancy checking time
a year from now, we will also put a hot-iron year brand "4" on their left shoulders.
That afternoon, after processing these calves, two trucks arrived and we loaded
the heifers so they could go to their new winter home. They will spend the next
six months at a "heifer-development" feedlot south-east of Gordon. We used this
facility two years ago, and were happy with the outcome. Last year, we didn't
keep any replacement heifer calves. We loaded ninety head onto each truck and
twenty-two head onto our 24' gooseneck trailer. We didn't individually weigh
the calves, but by weighing the loaded trucks and weighing again empty, the heifers
weighed an average of 640 pounds going into this feedlot. A target weight gain
per day is about a pound and a half. In early May, these heifers will be AIed,
and we are planning to use an Angus bull named Bextor. He worked great on our
heifers that we calved for the first time this last spring.
All of our calves weighed well this fall, and the price was good, too. The steer
calves averaged 624# @ $124.70 per hundred-weight, and the heifer calves averaged
612# @ $113.60. Selling expense came to $13.20 per head, which included trucking
to the sale barn, commission, insurance, brand inspection, and beef check-off.
We pregnancy checked all of our cows this fall, and also gave them vaccinations
of C&D and Stay-bred (Vibrio-Lepto), and Warbex for grub and lice control.
The cows checked out 94% bred and 6% open. We didn't mouth the cows this year,
having decided to keep anything that was bred regardless of their age. We did
cull a few cows for other reasons. So far, the open and cull cows that we have
sold have averaged bringing about $680 per head.
The weather is still nice, so we are coasting along with the cows grazing left-over
summer pastures and after-grass on the hay meadows. We haven't started caking
with protein supplement as yet, but will do so when the weather turns for the
worse.
We've been horseback almost every day since early September, and have enjoyed
the nice fall. We appreciate the ranching life-style, and living out in the hills
with plenty of fresh air and elbow room. Our mission in Life is to do our part
in providing this great nation and the rest of the world with the wonderful tasty
and nutritious product of BEEF.
Copyright © 2005 Steve
Moreland
All Rights Reserved