DADDY SANG BASE MAMA SANG TENOR

Meet the group of calves that I lovely call the Young Guns born on the Ponderosa February. They have been a lively bunch providing me with exciting entertainment, especially the males of the herd. Each morning they can be spotted engaging in the head-butt challenge. It is kind'a like a group of boys playing king of the mountain to choose the leader of the day. The Young Guns are always together having a foot race or playing follow the leader. They once escaped through an open gate (Hubby dislikes closing a gate he is just going to drive back through) faster than this chick could run. Gone in sixty-seconds! We usually try to vaccinate and castrate our calves when the reach 200-250 pounds but time got away from us this year.

We dedicated last Saturday to this unwelcome yet necessary task. Oh, the cutting of the bulls who are now weighting in around 500lbs. Castration is the removal of the testicles of these young macho studs which allows them to fatten better for the food-chain. Gathering all necessary supplies for working the clan we headed to the working pens. Hubby operated, vaccinated and implanted the calves. A hired gent ran them into the alley and head gate then held the tails. I pulled the vaccines, handed syringes, handed scalpel and implant gun. Hubby and I have this system down to a rock and roll science.

The day went unusually smoother than anticipated. Things rarely go smooth on the Pondersoa. No one was injured, not even a foot smashed to smithereens . We all lost count of the number of bovine castrated and vaccinated but in our soreness knew we had put in a day. The new steers daddy may sing base and mama may sing tenor but the Young Guns.......hum-mm........well......their now singin' soprano!!!