COYOTES AND ROUNDING UP CATTLE!

While enjoying our campfire Monday afternoon, Ralph caught a pack of coyotes walking across Hoppy and Loy's ranch. We counted 5 coyotes. They did not seem in a hurry, just kind of walking merrily across the pasture. I loved seeing them, it was quite a thrill for us.

Yesterday, Hoppy called Ralph to see if he could lend a hand and help him and his neighbor Richard cut out the yearling's. They needed to be separated from their mothers because the yearlings were heading to the cattle auction.

This had to be done on foot. Hoppy got rid of horses and cattle years ago, but over the last couple of years he got back into cattle. So these 3 cowpokes rounded the herd up and got them into the arena. There they separated the calves into the loading chute.

I almost went to help, but I would have cried, I know how traumatic it is for cows. As soon as they started separating them, Ralph said the mother cows started to bawl and the bull started getting real angry. The bull charged and made contact with the chute a few times. He was trying to break the yearlings out.  Hoppy did not want the bull harming the yearlings by accident, so he started throwing small rocks at the bull to get him off the fence. The bull would then take off, start bucking only to turn around and come back and try again. He snorted and pawed the ground and showed his anger.

The calves got loaded up and down the road they headed. The mother cows actually followed the truck and cattle trailer down the lane to the ranch gate and that is as far as they could go. They stood there all afternoon just bawling. We heard them all day long.

I took this picture of the bull last month.

Happy Trails until next time................