FALL WEANING OF THE CALVES

                                          Fall round-up to separate cows and calves.

           It’s time to wean the calves. Some of the older calves will probably already be weaned by their moms, and that’s

            I wear more than one hat at this time of the year. First I’m the cook. I have to decide what I’m going to feed the multitude that shows up to help round up the cows and calves. I usually have two menus in mind, one for a cold stormy day, and another for a warmer day. That way I can usually decide the day before the grand event which menu will work best. I get the beans cooked for chili, and the hamburger browned for sloppy joes. Those are in the freezer about two weeks before, and the rest of the ingredients for either are on hand.

            This year we moved our camp trailer over to the corral at Hell Creek, so that was much easier on me – I didn’t have to transport the food. We fed 11 the first day, 13 the second day and lost count the third day as we had quite a few come to help that we hadn’t planned on. But everyone got something to eat! I had a commitment on the third day so just made sure that food was at the ranch for the guys and they served themselves.

            We had a big crew helping with our three day round-up. Because summer pasture covers quite a large area, the men divided it up into three areas and worked one area a day for the three days. It worked out really well. 

            The other hat I sometimes wear is the “helper” hat. I might be needed to drive a pickup or the gater and be right out with the men rounding up the animals. I no longer ride a horse, didn’t do much of it before, but at this age the saddle and I don’t always feel good together, besides the problem of getting my leg up and over the saddle. Gravity has a greater pull on my body now than it used to.

            We always hope for some rain or even snow a few days before we start the round up, so we can possibly get by without having to doctor for dust pneumonia. That can kill a calf pretty fast, so we don’t want those calves running through any more dust than necessary.

            As the cows and calves are separated, the noise is almost deafening; the calves bawling in one pen, cows answering from another. We truck the calves to the valley to put in corrals behind our house, right close to our bedroom window. The calves bawl for about three days and nights – 24 hours straight – or at least it seems like it. And it keeps us awake. Have you ever been around a group of babies, say about a year old or a little younger when one of them starts to cry? It isn’t long before all of them are crying.  Well, calves are the same way. Wean one calf and the time is much shorter for the bawling period than when a herd of calves are weaned.

            The cows will be trailed down in about a month, and when they get down they nor the calves seem to recognize each other. The time of dependence is gone.