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Sorting heavies, February 27, 2010

Soapweed

Well-known member
Sortingheavies.jpg

Sorting heavies
Tryingtogettherightone.jpg

Trying to get the right one
Thewindreallywasntblowingtoday.jpg

The wind really wasn't blowing today, even though it looks like it could be in this photo.
Gettingthegateandgettingbackon.jpg

Getting the gate and getting back on
Surebeatswalking.jpg

Sure beats walking
Muleinamaze.jpg

Mule in a maze
Committeedecision.jpg

Committee decision
Lookingoutthewindowfrommyofficechai.jpg

Looking out the window from my office chair
Mykidsaremycrew.jpg

My kids are my crew.
 

Soapweed

Well-known member
Big Muddy rancher said:
About what percentage do you get right pulling heavies?

How often do you check the ones you leave behind?


Nice to have great help. :D

It is definitely not a one hundred percent deal, but we try to get the majority of the close-up calvers handy to the house for easier checking. There are always enough mistakes to keep a feller humble. :wink:
 

Shortgrass

Well-known member
When I was in the sandhills, at Hub's, Johnny McMurtery would sort weekly, and we never got a calf that wasn't with the heavies, but, the way he sorted, some cows would be in there quite awhile before they popped.
 

Soapweed

Well-known member
Shortgrass said:
When I was in the sandhills, at Hub's, Johnny McMurtery would sort weekly, and we never got a calf that wasn't with the heavies, but, the way he sorted, some cows would be in there quite awhile before they popped.

Here is a story I wrote back on the old original Ranchers.Net, before it changed formats to be able to post pictures. Hub McMurtrey was the old rancher involved in this deal.

A Wreck Working Cattle, originally posted Nov 16, 2002

We have a good friend who is cowboy through-and-through. He has worked on many Sandhill ranches in the past thirty years, and has broke quite a few horses. He has helped us calve the past four years, and always has a way of keeping morale up when the going gets really tough. He loves a good story and also writes cowboy poetry that has a way of hitting the nail on the head with authenticity. One time he asked another rancher what the biggest cattle working wreck was that he had ever seen. The other gentleman didn't bat an eye and said that was an easy question. He had been helping his old neighbor when this deal happened.

This old rancher had put together a dandy cow outfit deep in the heart of the Sandhills. He had pulled himself up by his boot-straps, with a lot of hard work, diligence and frugality. He worked hard, played hard, and "didn't believe in coffee breaks." When work was getting done, this old feller liked to see things happen, and he most of all wanted to see everybody look like they were busy.

On this particular autumn day, a good-sized group of cowboys (including both ranch hands and neighbors) had gathered about a thousand cows with their calves off of several thousand acres of summer range. The goal of the day was to corral this bunch of cattle, separate the cows from the calves, and keep them apart to wean the calves. The calves would be wintered with hay and cake, summered the next year, wintered again, and eventually all the steers would be sold as two-year-olds off of summer grass. The heifers not retained as replacements to make into cows were probably sold as yearling feeder heifers. Anyway, things were going smoothly and the big bunch of cattle was all just about maneuvered into the corrals. The owner, who was getting up in years and a little crippled, was carrying a cane on his saddle horse. Impatient to get the rest of the cattle behind the corral gate, this old feller pulled his cane along the ribs of a corrugated tin windbreak to make a little extra racket. This spooked the herd of cattle and they all hit the other end of the wooden corrals with great gusto. The fence went down and the cattle stampeded in all directions. Most ended up ten miles from headquarters after going through several barbed wire fences. They were at the far end of where they had started from, and not nearly as easy to get along with for the second round-up. Five days later the cowboys had the herd gathered again and back where they were before the windbreak ruckus. It was a good thing that the owner himself caused the commotion, because anyone else would have been fired right on the spot.

Oh, for the life of a cowboy!
 

leanin' H

Well-known member
When I worked for Utah State University back in the 80's on their experiment station, we had a "Professor" come down for three weeks during calving. He'd drive out through the cattle and call out numbers of the heavy cows and we'd get them in like you are doing. I am not sure where he learned to spot cows close to calving but he was in charge and made sure we knew it. :roll: It got so bad that when i'd go out on night check, i'd just skip the close stuff and head for the meadow where calves were actually being born. :D He went back to Logan Utah after three weeks and we turned out about 60 head we'd put in and brought in some that weren't dry. I sure missed that guy. :wink: He sure had a gift......... for picking cows ready to calve in about a month and a half. :wink: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Bless his heart! :wink:
 
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