Moving Our Cows Home For Winter

A few weeks ago, we moved the rest of our cows home for the winter.  Yet again, I'm behind with my posts!

The cows have been on the ranch near Sharon, KS all summer, but we like to have them closer to home when they are ready to calve.  They have been brought home in small loads for a few weeks prior to this, and this was our last load of the season.  Our friend Nic volunteered to come and help us this weekend, which was great!  

Fortunately, the cows were all together right over the hill from the house, so it only took a few minutes to get them all gathered and ready to go.  

Heading out for the morning

Since finding the cows was so easy, we decided to ride around the ranch and enjoy the beautiful day for a while before leaving.  It was a relaxing ride and we were also able to check on the grass situation on that side of the ranch.  With a serious drought last year and this year, we have to keep a close eye on the grass so we don't overgraze and damage it for future use.

Handsome men and their horses

My view :)

After we got the cows home to the farm, we rode through both pastures to check for new calves.  Our cows are split between two pastures to give them enough room to graze and make sure they have enough access to water.  We try to keep records of how many babies we have each week, but these mamas are protective and sometimes the calves are hard to find in the tall grass.  To protect the calves, the mamas hide them in the brush or in the tall grass where a coyote can't find them while they are off grazing.  When we're trying to find them to tag them and give shots, it can be challenging.  Not to mention, when you can't see them in the tall grass, you run the risk of running over them in the pickup.

Pregnant mamas

Riding in the back of the pickup trying to find babies

A few of the little ones

Trying to find a hiding calf with the four-wheeler

All tuckered out from a day of ranching :)

We expect to have all of our calves on the ground in the next couple of weeks.  After that, we check on them routinely, and then work both calves and mamas in mid November.  That's when they all get their shots, branded, and the steer calves are castrated.  Stay tuned for a blog about that exciting day on the ranch!