warm calving--not

 May 21 and in the middle of a snow storm.  The past 24 hours has given about 10 inches and the storm has 12 more hours left in it.  The temperature hangs at 33 degrees so most snow melts a it hits the ground so accumulation has only been about 3 inches at the most.  The ranch calves later then the neighbors to avoid winter storms and to have green grass for the cows after parturition.  As you can see the theory is not 100% successful but we still like the program and it's benefits.

expensive business costs

60 miles from an implement dealer and the escalating price for parts plus labor create  expensive repair bills.  The hydraulic pump on the tractor (only 500 hours on the tractor) went out--so we weren't able to use the loader.  The repair bill was $5,000, but $1080 was to come get the tractor and then to return it.  The labor to replace the old one with the new one was $1900.  The trucker and the mechanics must make considerable salaries.  With cattle prices going down ranching is currently the wrong profession.  There has been other expensive repairs on this tractor in the past.

fraternal twins

Yes these are twins (obviously fraternal) 1 is red and 1 is black.  The ranch had a set of them last year the same way.  They were sired by an Akaushi bull (red) and out of an Angus cow black.  An article in the April 2018 National Geographic goes into skin color gradients and was an interesting read for me since I read it the same week that the twins were born last year.

baby sitting duty

Cows need a break from dealing with their babies so if they desire to graze in a different area of the pasture or go to the water tank or maybe just socialize with other cows of the herd they often will leave calves with 1 cow staying to look after them.  It is not unusual to see 1 cow with multiple calves and no other cows in site.  This probably keeps the calves from running off or it may protect them from predators such as coyotes.