Provider: Rick Kuntz
Profession: Rancher
Hometown: Dillon, MT - Diamond Bar J Ranch
December, 2007 Diary Entry
We have just gotten through our first major cold snap
of the year. Temperatures fell to the single digits in the early
part of the day. High temperatures were in the teens and the 20's. We
also got a pretty good dusting of snow. Two to three inches here
at the home ranch and up to five or six inches on parts of the upper ranch
at Coyote Creek. We've been busy putting out mineral blocks to our
cows and chopping ice at their watering holes so they can get a drink of
water when needed.
Our calf vaccinations and weighing went pretty well
in early October. Calf weights were down a little this year, but
a lot of the area ranchers are reporting the same problem. Our steer
calves averaged about 515-520 pounds and the heifer calves about 475# after
we took 55 head of the best heifer calves out for replacement purposes. They
will grow up to be a part of our cow herd the next few years. The
replacements were weaned on the day we worked the calves and hauled to
our main ranch on Grasshopper Creek. The calves that were to be sold
were turned back with their mothers for another two weeks.
In late October we 'delivered' our calf crop to the
company that bought them. We gathered all the cattle in the early
morning, sorted the calves from the cows, loaded the calves onto the semi-trailers,
and sent them on their way to their new home in Kansas. Everything
went smoothly. The calves brought a pretty good price and the money
we received for them represents our biggest paycheck of the year.
In early November we ran our cow herd through our squeeze
chute and the local veterinarian performed a pregnancy check on them. We
took this opportunity to give the cows some health vaccinations, weight
them, and also applied a de-wormer to prepare them for next calving season. Because
of the hot dry conditions we experienced this summer, I was afraid a lot
of our cows would not be pregnant - about 95% were pregnant and we only
ended up with 21 'open' cows which will be sold at the local auction barn
shortly after the first of the year.
In mid-November my hired man and I moved a small bunch
of cows (about 100 head) from our upper ranch to the Grasshopper ranch. This
involves two days horseback and a trail of about 20-25 miles to move the
cows. Two men, two horses, and four cowdogs performed the task. Morgan
did skip school the second day to help - she'd never trailed cows home
through the hills before.
She found out it can be mighty cold sitting on a horse trailing
behind a bunch of cows! All went well and the cows arrived safely
to the Grasshopper ranch. The remaining 250 cows still at the Coyote
Creek ranch will be trailed home later this month.
On tap for the rest of the month will be cleaning some
corrals, patching mangers for winter feeding, pregnancy testing our 57
head of replacement heifers (coming two year old cows), and trailing the
cow herd home as mentioned earlier.
I hope this finds you in good health and happiness. I
hope your Thanksgiving went well and that the upcoming Christmas
season is good for you. Remember to 'COWBOY UP' and study hard!
Rick Kuntz
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