Hi, I’m Mike.
Today is all about the projects no one wants to do, but someone has to.
Roadkill and manure, its all coming up on the project list, on our Wyoming life.
Hi there, and thanks for joining me on our Wyoming life.
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Behind me is the project list, a board on the wall in the shop where we keep track of
all the projects that need done around here, we add to it constantly and we keep crossing
them off as we get them done, some days we’re ahead but to be perfectly honest, most days
we end up in the hole.
It’s a constant battle and a lot of times what we tackle on the list comes down to weather.
It still winter here in Wyoming, but here over the past few days we have been lucky
enough a warm front moving through, temps have been up in the 40s which has been melting
the snow and giving us a bit of a break from the bitter cold.
It will be back, replacing the cold, is something that usually moves in when we have warmer
temps in the winter, the wind.
Its been blowing a steady 30 miles per hour for the past few days, and our first project
for the day ties in with the warmer temperatures and the wind.
As you probably noticed a two-lane state highway runs right by the ranch, in fact it goes through
the ranch, separating a large chunk of land from the main part of the ranch.
During the winter, our heifers live on the other side of the highway, our bull pasture
is also over there along with the horse pasture.
Having a separation like that doesn’t seem like much for me it can be a large pain.
I cross the highway many times per day but I’m not the only one.
Mule deer inhabit this area of Wyoming and because food is scarce and water is even more
rare, the deer are constantly on the move, crossing the highway probably just as much
as I do.
My mom taught me a long time ago to look both ways, deer, well that don’t take that precaution
that often and it’s a common occurrence for us to look out the window and see a car
pulled off to the side, people pulling off to help and a deer laying in the ditch.
I don’t know the exact statistics but a lot of deer and antelope get hit on the highway
along our stretch.
The unfortunate part of the deal, besides cars being damaged and of course the death
of the deer, is the fact that deer is usually just pulled off the road and left in the ditch.
Sometimes a state employee will come pick them up and take them away, more often than
not, it ends up being my problem.
You may ask why we care?
And that is a good question but one that I actually have an answer for.
As the deer decompose in the ditch, predators move in, coyotes, bobcats, whatever can get
a free meal.
Those predators, I’d rather keep away from the area that I’ll be calving in, in just
about a month or so.
Also, with neighbors selling land, and subdivisions going in like crazy, we now deal more with
dogs than we ever have in the past.
Last year 3 houses were built that border right on the ranch, and those decomposing
deer also entice dogs and bring them onto the ranch as well.
The year before last, we lost almost 30 chickens to one dog in just the span of a few minutes.
The dog wasn’t trying to eat them, but he was chasing them and that kind of stress will
cause a chicken to just drop dead.
So, as everything thaws here for a few days, up until now has been a few frozen carcasses
are now thawing and smelling and they need to be taken care of.
I’ve given up on anyone coming to get them so we will head out in the tractor to pick
them up and take them to the dump, where we can bury them the next time I can borrow my
neighbors back hoe.
Its not a complicated job, but it can be messy and disgusting, and luckily, it’s not one
that I have to do that often, although in the summer time I will pick them up as they
are hit on the road, getting them away and buried as soon as possible.
I counted 5 deer in our stretch, a little over a mile and with each one the job doesn’t
become easier, they are pretty spread out and some have already been visited by a predator
or two.
But once they are all loaded I can take a breath.
Deer can also carry diseases, most commonly tick-borne diseases and even though these
deer are dead, I’m not taking any chances.
And once I have them picked up, taken to the dump and disposed of then its back to the
shop to spray some bleach on the bucket and wash it and last but not least, my gloves
go into the incinerator.
But the fun doesn’t end here, after grabbing a new pair of gloves, I pick these up for
around a dollar a piece at home depot, its back out to tackle another weather induced
problem.
As the temps rise, snow melts and that resulting water can get things a bit messy.
Our steers that we are finishing for butcher live in this corral, where unfortunately,
the run off from the roof of the shop drains right into.
There’s another thing for the list, some sort of drain tile to move water from the
downspout on the shop out farther in to the pasture and away from the corrals.
About once a week, I end up cleaning this corral out, weather permitting and these steers
know the routine, soon after opening the gate, they head right through to wait for me to
do whatever it is that I plan on doing in their corral.
They are pretty patient about it, mostly because they know when I’m done they get a nice
new bale of hay, but that comes later.
The ground is still frozen and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it means that we
can scrap along the ground, picking up manure and waste without having to worry about digging
out a bunch of soil.
Using the box blade on the tractor we can begin picking up all the manure we can, moving
it into smaller piles then picking it up with the bucket of the tractor.
Which I know I just cleaned but will probably need it again by the time we are done.
Each trip around the corral picks up more and more and before too long we can switch
into the bobcat, using the smaller and more maneuverable tractor to get into tighter places
and corners including inside the shed where the steers are able to seek shelter.
Round and round we go, I think I’m getting dizzy.
Two more big loads go onto our manure pile which will become compost for the ranch and
recycled.
Then we can switch tractors, yet again, and this time into the John Deere 6420, the feeding
tractor.
Which we are going to us to go and get the steers a bale of hay, as well as a bale of
straw for bedding in their shed.
Back across the road we go, where the heifers are standing guard, we can grab a bale of
straw, weighing about 800 lbs. and a bale of hay.
Back across the road again, and into the stall, placing the bale of straw into the shed, cutting
the strings that hold it together, spreading it out a bit and then heading back out of
the corral to grab our bale.
This bale will go into this bale feeder.
Bale feeders work great when feeding smaller groups of cattle as only about 10 or so cows
can stand around this at one time and eat.
They still make a mess, pulling it out of the feeder but it keeps most of the hay contained
until they are able to finish it up.
Cutting off the net wrap, which is always fun in the wind and then getting the tractor
out of the way and bringing the steers back into their corral, where they get to spreading
out the rest of their straw.
Somedays out here you can almost stay clean, other days you might as well not even try
but I have to say, cleaning the corral is so much better with the equipment that we
have, the smell however is something the permeates everything it touches.
Erin can tell from the house when I’m cleaning corrals and if its springtime and I’m doing
it and heaven forbid she has a window open, I can guarantee I am going to get an earful.
Lucky for you, you don’t have to smell anything.
I just checked the forecast and we are back down in the single digit temps starting soon
so it’s a good thing we got done what we did, as with life, there sometimes a few small
openings and if you don’t take advantage of them now, you never know when the next
will come around.
Speaking of coming around, thank you for joining me today, rarely ever is ranch life glamorous.
Even when the truly great things happen, you just saved a calf for example, your still
covered in afterbirth.
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more ranch life from our little corner of Wyoming.
Have a great week and thanks for joining us in our Wyoming life.