Branding In The High Country

#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk

These past weeks we have been busy doctoring calves and moving pairs to the mountain pastures. This week we kept with it and had a branding for the late calvers. This was an amazing experience to be a part of. We started off by moving the 70 pair to the corrals, which was about a three-mile trail. They sat in the pasture overnight and then the next morning we gathered them into the corral and sorted off the cows so that only the calves were in the corral. We then put panels around the calves with an opening so that the two people that were roping would be able to drag the calves out easier. My host uses forks so that the calves are caught well and won’t be able to move when you are trying to brand or give shots. With every calf, we gave three shots and a nasal spray to help prevent pneumonia. We also tagged them and branded them.

With the bull calves, we banded them so that they will be steers and gave them an implant in their ear to help them grow. They don’t give the heifers the implant because it could potentially mess with their cycle and if they are chosen to be replacements, they don’t want to chance it. Once they decide what heifers are going to be replacements, they spay the others and then the spayed heifers will get an implant. I was able to tag some of the calves, and learned how to band bulls. I also was able to catch the calves with the fork and give shots. It was a very efficient day since we had enough help.

I have also seen other people wet their corral with water so that it isn’t dusty which would help in the healing process of the brand. I wonder if that would have helped on the branding day because at the end it was pretty dusty from dragging calves in the same spot.

I would like to know if there are different methods then using the forks and the benefits and cons of them. I have found out that forks are great when you don’t have as many people to wrestle the calves. It would be nice to know how other family do their brandings and what has worked the best. Another question I have from this week is what are the precise benefits of implanting steers and if there are cons involved with it.

I have learned so much throughout my internship. I think this week was my favorite. The branding was such a good day and I was glad I got to be a part of it. I will use the knowledge I gained this week in my future with the right vaccines to give my cattle and what has worked for them to create a less stressful environment for the calves so that they are able to grow efficiently

Submitted by: Danielle Wadsworth
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team