Well folks, It's Monday!
MooCow Monday!
I went on a bit of a spending spree this weekend.
A Rancher Girl spending spree is not a day at the spa, shopping for fancy clothes, shoes, or purses.
A Rancher Girl's dream shopping spree is buying cattle!
Meet Mouse!
She is a Angus Charolais Cross.
Cattlemen call this crossbreed "SMOKE".
We had a few "off season" calves that needed to be sold.
(Off season calves are calves that are born outside of our Fall or Spring 45 day calving window)
Friday evening, Drewman came home and helped gather the off season calves and the fancy heifers.
The fancy heifers needed to come home to the lots, because they are due to start calving within the next week to 10 days.
I know I'm spider webbing here, but it is necessary to lay the ground story of my shopping spree.
Early Saturday morning, Flower Boy and I started in the working pens.
The off season calves were sorted, loaded in the trailer, and headed to the cattle sale.
We arrived at the sale, unloaded, and as always, Flower Boy needed to walk to the back and watch them bring the calves to the holding pen.
There are many reasons he needs to watch this happen.
The main reason being to make sure the cattle aren't injured after being off loaded from the trailer.
If an injury occurs, buyers will not pay top premium for the cattle.
Normally, when injured cattle are brought into the sale ring, the auctioneer will point out the injury and start the bidding at a greatly reduced rate.
Anywho...
While walking on the catwalk, Flower Boy is focused on finding The Rockin' B cattle, while I am always looking below at the other type of cattle being sold.
I spotted this little gray mouse colored heifer, grabbed Flower Boy's arm, and said "That's a nice little gray heifer down there. She need some groceries, but she has the frame and style of our cattle."
He looks at me, asks me to point her out, takes a long gander at her, and says "Well you better go get your checkbook!"
I took the keys, from his hands, before he could say another word.
On my way out to the truck, I notice he was behind me...
OOPS!
I grabbed the checkbook and headed to the buyers counter to get a number.
Just like any other auction, you must have a number to bid.
The mouse heifer was mixed in with several other odd sized calves, ranging from day old calves to larger finish sized calves.
It was a pretty sure bet, with that pen of cattle, the calves would sell as singles.
Sure enough....
They were!
AND...
We snagged her up for a pretty good price too!
I quickly sent the big kids a text.
"Just bought Bower a little gray heifer! I think she needs some color in her herd."
Her Daddy's response...
"LOL OK"
I may not have been able to help Bower Marie's Daddy with his college education, but I have vowed to have a nice nest egg set back when Bower heads off to further her education.
She currently has 4 head in the 6th generation Rockin' B herd, with plans to add more each year.
Thinking to myself....
"Well shoot! Now I have to buy another one because you don't want that gray to be lonely!"
Honestly, I don't have to buy another one.
We have Luta in the pasture.
Mouse and Luta will pair up nicely.
Speaking of Luta....
I don't think I ever told you about her!
Luta is another "off season" calf.
Along about September of last year, the neighbor's longhorn bull got into the pasture with the Fancy Heifers.
The heifers were gathered, brought home, and given shots of Lutalyse.
Lutalyse is a veterinary product that is used to synchronize estrus cycles.
Since the bull had only jumped the fence and was in the pasture no more than 3 days, Lutalyse could be administered to the Fancy Heifers as a form of birth control.
Luta is a product of her momma's dose of Lutalyse failure.
Hence her name.
When she was born Bower Marie's momma was so excited and couldn't wait to see pictures.
It was that very moment that Luta became Bower Marie's calf.
She is a keeper!
Although she is half longhorn / half angus, she is growing into one awesome heifer!
She is long bodied, has depth of rib, straight legs, tracks/walks well, and holds her head in true Rockin' B fashion!
Mouse is the same!
She just needs food!
She will be a different calf in a month with our feeding program.
This little girl has never seen grain.
She didn't know what to think of it last evening when Flower Boy gave her receiving ration.
Receiving ration is a starter feed for cattle just being weaned or in Mouse's case, never eating grain.
Flower Boy will transition her to different types of feed, before turning her out with the other cattle.
This will take a month or so.
About the time the Fancy Heifer's are finished calving and are ready to be taken back to pasture, Mouse will be ready to go with them.
Remember me telling you about cattle getting injured when unloading and sold at greatly reduced prices?
Well....
I bought one of those too!
She was purchased with Drewman's money and much like the Mouse heifer, a text was sent "Just bought you a heifer."
His response "What? Wait! Do I need to go to the bank?"
My thought was he was probably sleeping and wouldn't respond to my text.
We took a bit of a chance on her.
She came in with a group of fancy heifers.
She had a limp on her right front foot and a bit of a slip in her back end.
The auctioneer quickly told the ring hand to cut her off and sold the remainder of the pen.
She was sold as a single.
She is worth the chance.
She has a brucellosis tag in her hear, which means she has seen a veterinarian.
Within the state of Oklahoma, Brucellosis vaccines can only be administered by veterinarians.
This is also a good indicator that she has had her calf hood shots, too.
We will administer her boosters for safe measure, as well as a few doses of wormer.
She too will be taken to pasture when the Fancy Heifers are finished calving and are ready to return.
She will be placed with the bull, along with Bower's older two yearling heifers, in the spring, adding to our fall born calving season.
Drewman has named her 50sumthin.
His Rockin' B eartag numbers are 50's and she is a bit thin.
That too will change over the next month or so.
As of Sunday morning, this little girl had no limp or slip and the swelling in her right front hock had gone down.
A chance well worth taking!
Happy Moo Cow Monday!
XOXO,
Rancher Girl
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