With the arrival of winter last weekend, we had to rearrange our schedule and start trailing the heifers to our winter range. In the fall, after we wean our calves, we start combining smaller groups of cows into larger bunches for the winter. In this bunch we have our replacement heifers and our first-calf heifers. Creating these large groups of cows makes it easier to move them and to care for them throughout the winter.

This group of heifers requires the most care. They will be calving for the first or second time in just a few months, so their nutritional requirements are higher than our other cows. We try to make sure they get a little more TLC, and that includes being the first group of cattle to move to the winter range!

It took all day to trail them from the six inches of snow they were standing in to their new home with only two inches of snow.

 

The kids are out for Thanksgiving break and are hoping to do some cowboying over the next few days. Boy, are they in luck! The old cows and our group of solid red cows are still waiting to move to the winter range.

I love school breaks, it gives us a chance to put the kids to work!