Winter routines etc

[Nicky]

A hundred Pounder propane tank , works well with

How does it work?

 

[jodywy]

How does it work

we got two of them have pretty good luck one behind a barn and we haven't had a problem of the pilot blowing out. We set one up at edge of a winter pasture where we haul water and have it blow out a couple times. usually happen when propane gets low. Has a heat setting dial 1 to 10, you can warm up a tank hot enough to hot tub in. We usually set heat at 2 to 3. We found a little propane torch works best when lighting the pilot. We have replaced regulator on each of them one twice now, usually end up buying a set with tank hook up regulator and hose.

 

[jodywy]

really, they are are just a propane torch with a thermostat and pilot light

 

[Faster horses]

When they got to the river (a short walk) they sure drank. I saw that at least some of them found their way back to the feed bunk.

On the Powder River in WY, that ranch was owned at one point by Texans. They bought a bunch of yearlings and turned them out without locating them on water. This was a big ranch, 28,000 acres but in that country, there isn't water everywhere. It can be quite a long ways away. When we lived there after the Texans went bankrupt and the place was sold, there were deep cattle trails along the fence lines where the yearlings had walked the fence. Many of them died. They never did find water. Seems so unlikely, but with yearlings, anything was possible. They were not familiar with that country. Whenever I was riding near one of the fences and saw the deep ruts that were cattle trails (that had eroded over the years), I felt bad about those poor yearlings.

 

[leanin' H]

LDS church ranch ran the manager of who had done a spectacular job for over 20 years. Idiots who manage it now sold all the cows that knew the range and bought three year old pairs from Montana. Cows had no idea and no older cows to learn from. They literally walked the lower fence all summer. They look like hell, the calves do too and I bet they have 30% opens if they are lucky. Dumb SOBs

 

[Faster horses]

LDS church ranch ran the manager of who had done a spectacular job for over 20 years. Idiots who manage it now sold all the cows that knew the range and bought three year old pairs from Montana. Cows had no idea and no older cows to learn from. They literally walked the lower fence all summer. They look like hell, the calves do too and I bet they have 30% opens if they are lucky. Dumb SOBs

We had friends who ran a really good herd of registered Red Angus cattle. They sent them to a ranch in Montana because of it being so dry in their area. The manager was really good and as they checked on the cattle, the cattle were well taken care of. So they relaxed. Unbeknownst to them, the good manager was let go. The next time they checked on the cattle, it was a disaster. They were rail thin, being fed staw on a blowed out ridge. They had to SUE to get their own cattle back. It took awhile and the cattle really suffered.

 

[Pumpkin1456]

I wondered if you used horses, what kind are they? Ours stay out year round.
How much precipitation do you get a year, and when does most of it come? And in what form? We get 9 inches (i lucky). We can get up to 3 feet of snow but most years less than a foot.
When do you calve, and how do you market the calves? We calve in Feb/march and sell them in the fall. So you have dairy and beef cattle?

I've got 4. I've got a coloured mixed breed who I've had since I was a kid, he's the best, then there is mum's rescued pure bred Arab. The big lads are a KWPN dutch warmblood, Mr Toad and a thoroughbred x shire, Socks, my 2 hunters. We don't work the farm with horses though, we use quads and on foot with the dogs. I just like to take the opportunity to do my stock checks and odd cow move on the patchwork pig, gets him out the stable and he loves it.

We get around 13/14 inch annual precipitation. We get some decent thick snow but it usually comes in after Christmas. We suffer ice and floods here. Sometimes you can't see the fences or walls because the water levels it all out, luckily mostly by roads and not on our land but it does circle us so can end up stranded at home. I've been snowed in a couple times, having to throw myself and the dog out the higher window

We are similar to you guys with calving. Spring block calving aim for April/May to be ready for sale in late autumn when we gather up off the fell. The dairy cattle are all year round calving, we run the bulls on rotation through the year. We have the milk cows split into 2 groups with a bull in with each. We A.I from time to time too.

 

[Pumpkin1456]

LDS church ranch ran the manager of who had done a spectacular job for over 20 years. Idiots who manage it now sold all the cows that knew the range and bought three year old pairs from Montana. Cows had no idea and no older cows to learn from. They literally walked the lower fence all summer. They look like hell, the calves do too and I bet they have 30% opens if they are lucky. Dumb SOBs

This is madness. We rely on older cows to teach the younger ones the terrain, how to behave, where the good shelter is and what the crack is with life in general. Otherwise they wander too far, get in trouble in the bog lands and never get hefted. I hate fixing fences so I prefer them to have nanny cows to keep them right