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Ranching with Kids

Raising Homeschool Kids on a Cattle Ranch in British Columbia.

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Ranch Life: Morning Chores in the Winter

February 16, 2019

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Today, we woke up to about 5 inches of fresh snow and sunshine!  I have to admit, it was nice to see some snow.  Between breaking records for being so warm in December and having very little snow, this now feels a little bit more like winter. 

Morning Chores on the Ranch in Winter. #ranchlife #farmlife #countrylife

Fresh snow means we get to shovel during our morning chores!  Luckily, I had some keen helpers today.  I love watching my boys work together when we are feeding.  We talk about team work a lot in our home and this is just one example. They love working together to feed the animals. When one isn’t tall enough, the other one is there to assist. 

Morning Chores on the Ranch in Winter. #ranchlife #farmlife #countrylife

This bull was enjoying the beautiful sunshine as much as we were today!

Morning Chores on the Ranch in Winter. #ranchlife #farmlife #countrylife
Morning Chores on the Ranch in Winter. #ranchlife #farmlife #countrylife

Next, we had a little visit with Milk.  Milk is a heifer calf that was born towards the end of February last year.  Her mother had twins, one heifer and one bull which means that Milk is a freemartin.  When a heifer calf is born with a twin bull calf, the heifer calf is most likely infertile.  Since Milk’s and her brother were from a young cow, my boys supplemented each of them with a bottle twice a day until we were able to graft Milk’s brother onto another cow.  The boys can easily recognize her from across the pen.

Morning Chores on the Ranch in Winter. #ranchlife #farmlife #countrylife

We definitely took our time doing the chores and soaked in the sun for as long as we could. The fresh snow glistening was beautiful. Let’s hope for a few more days of sunshine!

Morning Chores on the Ranch in Winter. #ranchlife #farmlife #countrylife
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I am a homeschooling mom to two busy boys & a baby and beef cattle rancher in British Columbia. My passion in life is family and all aspects of agriculture.  My hope is that this blog gives you some insight into our ranch life while being a homeschooling mom.  I would love to hear from you about your journey in agriculture, raising children and/or homeschooling!! Click here to read more about me.

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ranchingwithkids

Homeschool mom of 3 boys giving you a glimpse into managing the many tasks of ranch life.
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Ranching with Kids
Though I spend most of my days multi-tasking betwe Though I spend most of my days multi-tasking between all the tasks of being a mom, I tend to get my BEST work done outside in the fresh air. There is just no better place to be with three young boys than outside, running off all their energy and living life on the ranch! Who agrees?
Wow! Winter came in with a blast! We are now feedi Wow! Winter came in with a blast! We are now feeding hay once per day to our 2 year olds and a few of the older cows. We will soon start feeding the cow herd hay as well. But right now, the cow herd is grazing some amazing grass that we had saved for when the snow arrived. We also supplement them with protein tubs to make sure they get sufficient protein as the grass may not have quite enough protein this time of year. 

PS - This is one of the photos in our 2023 calendar, which we are now taking orders for.
What a busy week and it’s not over yet! Between What a busy week and it’s not over yet! Between hauling square bales, moving sheep fence, helping the boys with their show projects, checking hay, running the boys back and forth to the tractor for their “turns” baling hay, beef deliveries, tending to the garden, and doing all the other mom tasks, every day has been full. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being a mom on the ranch to three incredible boys is so special. Watching their keenness, enthusiasm and love of life is the reason why I do what I do. However. I have to admit, I am not sure how to keep up to their energy level sometimes. They don’t tire out!
We check the cattle on our summer pastures on a re We check the cattle on our summer pastures on a regular basis throughout the entire summer. This is important so that we can ensure that the animals are healthy and have adequate water and salt.  It is also very necessary to check the condition of the pasture to help us determine when the cattle need to be moved to maintain, and often to continue to improve, the land and the grassland ecosystem.
Recently I got stuck trying to figure out how to s Recently I got stuck trying to figure out how to stop some predators from continuously trying to take our lambs. I felt like I was constantly getting discouraged as we couldn't stop the lambs from getting out of their fenced pasture.  Then, I reflected on what I have been learning on social media by watching other sheep producers. This gave me a fresh outlook and I was able to figure out a new solution for all of the sheep to help better manage their large pasture and keep the lambs contained.  Everything changed, and all it took was a new perspective.  I didn't need to continue doing things the way that I had been.  Sometimes we just need a new perspective. Do you agree?
I will be the first to say that I was a bit scepti I will be the first to say that I was a bit sceptical about using electric fence for our sheep as I haven’t had the best experience in the past.  However, I am now 100% confident in using it while increasing our grazing potential for sheep on our operation. We currently use 2 sets of the electronet with the energizer from @fencefast_ .  I was amazed with how well it is keeping the sheep in, even when it is placed within tall grass. It is helping to protect the ewes with lambs from predators and allowing us to rotational graze the pasture. We are resting some areas of the pasture that have been grazed heavier and grazing areas that have a lot of grass that needs to be used.
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