A Day During Calving Season - January 30th, 2024

When a cow is having trouble calving on it's own, if an experienced ranch hand knows when to help her out and how, it can save the life of the calf.
When cows are brought into a barn in the winter, cleaning out the barn and putting down fresh bedding is an on going chore.
Not only does the whole herd doesn't fit in the barn, but also getting vitamin D from the sun is very important for the health of cattle. So, a rancher is constantly deciding who needs the barn the most, and setting up outdoor pens and pastures for the mama cows who haven't calved yet and the cow calf pairs who are ready to get back outside.
One of the main jobs on a ranch during calving season is checking the cows every hour or so (day and night) to see if there are any cows calving that need help, and to sort them off fresh calves and put them in a pens with their mamas. This not only helps the bonding process (knowing which cow is it's mama), but also makes it easier for us to keep an eye on them and make sure the calf has learned to stand and has figured out how to nurse before we put them in a bigger pen outside where the calf has room to run and play with other calves.
Work on a ranch during calving also usually includes setting up calf shelters, spreading out clean bedding, making sure each pen or pasture has a way for the cattle to water, taking feed to all the different groups, and setting out minerals.
Get a glimpse of what it can be like working on a ranch for a day during calving season!
Filmed at Lazy TV's North Ranch, mostly on January 30th, 2024, with a clip from February 1st so you can see how the calf is doing 2 days after it was born.

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