It’s all about the nuts.
Young bull* calves in one side, young steer* calves out the other. My preferred method of castration starts with a very sharp clean knife and ends with two warm little oysters in the nut bucket. It doesn’t take long; first a small slice across the scrotum, squeeze firmly for grip, a little tug, another slice on the cord, and bingo….another steer just entered the world.
Seriously, if a guy really gets his hands properly wrapped around the problem the whole process is quick….say 20 to 30 seconds…
That is my job at the branding. I am the cutter. Castration is the task. And cleanliness is the rule. Always wash your knife and hands between animals.
Around our neighborhood there is a hierarchy at the branding. The elders place their mark, the help (irreplaceable neighbors) push calves and turn tables, and the organized keep score on a rugged PC and administer the health regimen. The joke around here is that it takes a lifetime to get from the back of the table to the front.
We probably do it slightly different than the next, but not in any manner that is necessarily better. It is called branding season and it precedes irrigation season.
Bull – an uncastrated (in-tact) male bovine.
Steer – a castrated male bovine.
Source and Age Verification – Source and/or age verified programs utilize the RFID tag technology (like what Timmery is holding above) to record and verify the sources and ages of beef cattle.
From RealRancher Jim Hellyer – Lander, Wyo.
Photos taken by Marcia Hellyer.
I’m positive there’s no “take a little rest” season on the ranch, is there?!
Hello! I’m really excited to discover this blog! We create WY LIfestyle Magazine, and we work with Jim Waggoner from Laramie who writes our ag column for each of our issues. We’re always looking for more collaboration in terms of our expanding projects that we’re working on — and we’d be happy to help promote this blog! This is fantastic! Could someone please e-mail or call me? I’d like to make a contact and work together — thanks!