Money, Money, Money!!

Well we finally sold some of our cows yesterday, 15 Steers to be exact!  Jared loaded them up and hauled them down to Lethbridge tuesday evening and yesterday, Wednesday, I took the boys down to the auction to see them sell!  It was a really neat experience, and yet sad to see them go!  I had my mom come with me because I wasn't quite sure what I needed to do or where I needed to be, she is an old pro and we had a blast together!  Our steers did really well, their average weight was around 500 pounds, with one really big one at 615 pounds, and his mom also happened to have the biggest calf this year, also a steer!  And they averaged a price of $1.40/pound!

Calum loved the experience, we were able to sit right against the viewing area! 

The notorious escapee, is the steer on left with the white face, Number 16!

Since we weaned the calves from their moms this past winter we have had one steer who was constantly getting out!  We eventually stopped trying to force him back into the corrals because the next morning he would be out again.  I even got him in all by myself one day only to find him out the very next day!  He always stayed on our land and would wait by the gate to be let back in when he wanted the company of other cows.  We started to put him in with the cows out in the field instead of the corral with the other yearlings, it turned out he wanted to be with his mom!  We have found him curled up right beside her many times!  We only had one neighbour call to tell us we had a cow out, and it was when he ventured onto the main road, the Fireguard Road, and was laying down in the middle taking a nap!  Otherwise I think our other neighbours realized it was a common occurrence.  The night before Jared took the steers to Lethbridge we had to get this notorious steer into the barn and locked in a pen.  It went a lot better than we were both expecting it to, but he sure didn't want to be locked up, Jared was paranoid so he made sure all the gates that could be closed were as well as both barn doors.  To get out he would have had to bring the entire barn down, thankfully he didn't!  Having cattle has been a very fun experience, yes with many challenges but ones that we have learned from and I think grown closer over.  I enjoy helping Jared when we have to work the cows, he is so calm and patient with them.  I truly admire the love he has for animals and the respect he shows them when he has to work them.  I look forward to what the years of ranching will bring!