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Nebraska
Ranch Adventures
What
is it like to visit a working cattle ranch? If you’d
like to experience a western adventure, the Double R
invites you to participate in seasonal ranch activities,
which might include:
• Rounding up and moving cattle
• Checking windmills and fences
• Harvesting the hay and moving the bales
• Calving and feeding the cattle
• Vaccinating, testing and treating the cattle
• Shipping calves
• Branding calves
• Other miscellaneous activities
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may wish to watch the round-up and/or the moving of the
cattle. The cowboys may do this on horseback, with 4-wheelers,
the pick-up, or all three. It may take half an hour, or
half a day, depending upon the mood of the cattle. The
cattle can be unpredictable. Prior to moving the herd
to a new pasture, you might want to go along to help check
the fences, gates, and windmills, and to put out mineral
blocks and salt. The cattle and the windmills are checked
on a daily basis. In the fall and winter the cattle are
fed cake cubes and hay almost every day. |
Rancher
an amateur veterinarian
Most
of the time, the rancher will do his own veterinary
work because of the great distance away from town and
the need to get some things treated quickly. That is
why the rancher will always be watching for signs of
sickness or disability in the herd. He or she will treat
most illnesses without professional help. That usually
will require getting the critter into the corrals where
they will have a cattle chute available to hold the
cow prior to treatment. Treatment can run to giving
shots, oral meds, lancing sores, pulling calves, and
a myriad of other possibilities |
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Calving
Time
During calving time, the rancher generally brings the
cows to the pasture nearest the facilities. The pregnant
cows (heavies, in “cowspeak,”) will then be
checked by driving thru the herd 2-3-4-5 times a day and
usually 1-2 times a night. This assures that help is available
in case the cow is in need of delivery assistance. The
rancher will sometimes have to pull a calf or perform
a C-Section to save the cow and calf. Calving time in
the sand hills is usually from late March thru mid-May.
Although this is a busy time for all, it is probably the
most fun and rewarding time to be a rancher. The baby
calves cavort and play and torment their moms just like
little children do. It is delightful to sit and just watch
them. |
Branding
Time
During May and June, while the calves are still small
enough to handle, the babies are branded. Generally, the
area ranchers and their families gather to help each other
roundup the cows and calves. Then the cowboys and cowgirls
will sort the calves from their mothers, and they will
rope and drag the calves to be branded, castrated, vaccinated,
and dehorned. There will be several sets of ropers, and
several groups of cowhands to brand, castrate, and vaccinate.
As incredible as it sounds, this whole process will take
only a few seconds to work each calf. The calf is then
released back to its mother who has usually been watching
the whole process from behind the barbwire fence. |
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Social
Time
With the business of branding done for another year, all
thoughts turn to food! The meal is served by the neighborhood
ladies, and what a meal it is! The tables groan with an
abundance of foodstuffs. Almost always there is roast
beef, done to perfection, heaps of mashed potatoes and
gravy, veggies and salads, and gobs of homemade pies and
desserts, and always a plentiful supply of beverages to
please every taste. When the meal is over, the games begin.
They will play horseshoes, the new game of sand hill golf,
basketball, cards, or just have fun catching up on the
latest happenings in the neighborhood. |
Harvest
Time
In July the meadows and some of the hills are harvested
for hay. The hay is mowed, raked, and then put up in big
round bales weighing upwards of 1100 pounds each. After
the baling is finished, the hay is allowed to rest for
a day or so and is then moved, usually a bale at a time,
to higher ground for the reason that the meadows will
quickly become too wet and spongy to drive upon. Also,
the hay can become too wet and spoil if left on the meadow.
In a few weeks the hay is then moved again into a stack
yard. The stack yard is fenced off from the cattle to
protect the hay bales for winter feeding time. The rancher
will begin to feed the hay when the cattle can no longer
obtain enough food from the hill grasses and cake cubes.
The time to start haying the cattle depends upon the winter
temperatures. Generally, they will get fed hay from December
thru April and sometimes into May. |
Round-up,
Wean, and Sell
In the fall the cows and calves are again rounded up and
the calves are weaned a few weeks prior to selling time.
Then the rancher will sort off the calves he intends to
keep for heifers, and the ones he intends to feed longer
and sell later as yearlings. The rest will be trucked
for sale at the local sale barns, or sold by private treaty
to a buyer, or they may be sold by video auction on television.
Thus, the cycle ends, and begins again, for another year.
Days on the ranch are full of surprises and are usually
quite busy and full of activities year round. |
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Call
(866) 217-2042 or Email info@sandhilldoublerranch.com today for
reservations. You will find that Sand Hills, Nebraska’s
Double R Ranch is a perfect year round retreat for sportsmen, couples,
families, small groups, writers, or other adventurous vacationers. |
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