Ever wonder what it’s like to be boots-on-the-ground at Ogilvie Stock Ranch during our fall calf weaning day? It’s a blend of tradition, teamwork, and the raw beauty of ranch life, starting in the cool, brisk air of a 6 am morning. Join us behind the scenes on a day that defines the heart and soul of our ranching lifestyle.
As we navigate through the tasks, from sorting calves to the selection of our replacement heifers, this isn’t just any day on the farm—it’s a testament to our commitment to raising quality livestock and being responsible stewards of the land. So let us take you on a journey.
Gathering the Cows and Calves
We started our morning around 6am with breakfast and then headed outside to do the morning chores. We had a few calves, a steer and the ewes in the barnyard to feed. Then it was time to bring the cows and calves into the corrals to start our day of sorting. We gathered all the cows and calves from the hayfield around the barnyard. There were a couple lower pastures that we have to move them out of and shut the gates. The herd gathered 2/3 mile from the corral and then we started to move them up the hill towards the corrals.
There were some of us on foot walking and we had the Polaris side-by-side to help us keep ahead on the north side. They followed quite well up the hill and across the field to the corral. Once they were in the corral, we pushed them into our top sorting pen. The cows know the routine quite well, so we then started to let the cows out and keep the calves in. Between calling them and having a few people to help hold the claves back and let the cows through, the majority of the cows go out quite easily. We usually have a few younger ones who don’t know the routine yet so we pushed them into the alleyway with the calves and then easily sorted them up. So now we had all the cows and calves separated.
Sorting Calves
Next, we sorted the heifer calves from the steer and bull calves. Sometimes, we do this by putting a group in the alley and letting steers into a pen and heifers go “by”, which means just continue down the alleyway. Other times, we can sort the steers out of the pen from the heifers. It just depends how many people we have and how the cattle are sorting.
We then had to weigh a few calves that hadn’t been weighed yet. So we sorted them and weighed each individually. The rest of the claves were each weighed when they were hauled home from their summer pastures.
Picking out Steer Calves
We picked out a couple steers for the boys to look at and decide which one they want to keep as a show steer. We already chose another from our close family friend and Cody’s family ranch. Then we sorted out the bull calves.
We picked out a couple small steers that will be fed over and sold in the spring. Then we looked at the steers to make sure the rest looked healthy and uniform. We checked their tags and read their RFID tags with the Gallagher tag reader (it works slick!). They were then ready to get loaded and hauled to BC Livestock Coop. My dad hauled while we finished sorting the heifers. The boys took turns going with him!
Sorting the Heifer Calves and Cows
Next our attention turned to the heifers. We sorted out some that are being kept over the winter for grass cattle. Then, sorted out any under 550 lbs. These are smaller than we would like to keep for replacement heifers, so they are being sold at BC Livestock this fall. It depends on the year, as sometimes we keep this size of heifers to sell in the spring. It depends on our hay supply, calf prices among other decisions. We look at each group individually to make sure they are healthy, uniform and then read all their tags with the Gallagher Tag reader.
Since we preg checked the cows last week, we also had some cows picked out that will be sold. Some were open, meaning that they aren’t bred and won’t have a calf next spring. There were a few that didn’t raise a big enough calf so we wanted to sell them as well. We weigh each calf every year so that we can use these weights in our decision making. It helps us to improve the quality of our herd over time. We sorted these cows into the pen of calves going to BC Livestock and they got hauled separately at the end of the day.
Vaccinating and Weaning the Calves
The replacement heifer calves, our calves that will be our grass finished beef, the small steers, bulls and the show steers will be kept over the winter. They had been put around the barn as we sorted them out, so we then brought them into the corrals to vaccinate them. We all had a job for this, as we gave vaccinations and read each of their tags with the Gallagher tag reader. Some of us pushed the calves up to the cattle squeeze, which contains them so we can safely vaccinate them. One people operated the head gate and tail gate. It went very smoothly and then the calves were turned back out around the barnyard to be weaned.
The cows were turned out into the hayfield, separating them from the calves by fence line.
Over the next few days, the cows and calves will adjust to their new lives independent of each other.
A Successful Day
All in all, it was a very successful day. Nothing beats the feeling of a day well-spent working cattle as a family. From dawn till dusk, we gathered and sorted, chose our replacement heifer calves and hauled our steer calves for the sale at BC Livestock Producer’s Coop. It’s moments like these, amidst the beauty of British Columbia, that remind us of the year’s hard work and dedication penned in the corrals.
As we wrapped up the day, driving through the lands touched by the fire which have been getting cleaned up, thanks to salvage logging, our hearts were full. Grateful is an understatement for this life—working together, providing for our community, and being stewards of this land.
