Collars, Cows, and Creative Ranch Solutions
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This week was less eventful than last week, but I still had my share of mishaps and learning opportunities. On Tuesday, we put collars on the fall calves and turned them out with the main cow herd. In the process, I got to learn how the collars work and how to use and manage cows with the Halter app.
However, while putting collars on the fall calves, one steer got its ear caught on the chute wall and nearly ripped its ear off! We quickly switched gears and took it to the vet, who was thankfully able to stitch the ear back, but the jury is still out on whether the ear will survive.
Currently, I am still unconvinced that the benefits of intensive grazing outweigh the disadvantages. I understand that intensive grazing ensures more of the undesirable forage gets eaten, but I had a hard time this week watching the herd cooped up in their small break, unable to reach fresh feed. When we took them across the road to fresh pasture, I was very relieved.
When we worked the cows this week, I was amazed by how much one skilled rider on horseback could do compared to the rest of us on foot. It made me realize for the future that many of the things I might want to do with cattle (doctoring, flushing, AI, etc.) are impossible without a good horse and rider to sort and rope. If I want to do these things, I need to learn how to rope and ride well.
At the end of the week, we worked on what will be a small living space in the calving barn. I enjoyed learning how to run wire, put up insulation, and sheet drywall. I am still curious about mudding and how we plan to make the set of outdoor stairs in the coming weeks.
The trait I want to highlight this week is creativity. One might not think much creativity is needed working on a ranch. On the contrary, this week was filled with small problems that required a creative solution. How could we efficiently sort cows with only two people available? How can we get water in a trough using only a high-pressure irrigation riser as a source? By thinking outside of the box, we were able to tackle and solve every issue.
Submitted by: Anna Steinle
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team
