Our Normal is Not Normal !
The thing I love most about spring is getting to see all our livestock back out and about grazing, scratching, rolling and pecking. Winter can be a long cold dark season in North East BC and no matter what kind of day Mother Nature throws at you, the chores have to be done and the animals need to be fed and looked after. So when we get to mid April and the snow has melted we make sure those chores go away and let the animals be the animals they were designed to be and that is on the pastures. It makes for a happy life for both man and beast!
The chickens are out of the barn and back on patrol. They are spread out in the yard and in the corrals pecking for insects and green grass. Most of the eggs still get laid in the chicken barn but there are a few hens out hiding and brooding eggs. Not only are the hens brooding but so too are our kids. Nero is a chicken freak and so is Oro. Luna is a Duck and Goose fan and all three have a nonstop selection of heritage chicken, geese and duck eggs being hatched in their 150 egg capacity incubator and it’s parked right by my desk. Down in the basement are over 100, 4 day old chicks chirping away that are scheduled to be moved to the shed for further development. A highlight to this year’s hatching is the Cock Fighting Chicken eggs that came back from a Holiday in central america as well as all the ducks Luna is hatching and that she will be fattening to be butchered this fall.
Our beef cows have made their way back from their winter vacation in Alberta and are spreading out cleaning up the leftover hay from the winter’s bale grazing that the bison did not eat. Bison are very finicky eaters and rather than fixing fences because they demand to be let to the next field for new bales it’s easier to open the gate, move the bison and make the beef cows clean up the leftovers. So far no new bison calves but by next week the bison cows will be calving like the Wildebeest in the Serengeti; quick and fast and all at once. Last year’s bison calves were weaned 4 weeks ago and are now mixed with the two year old teenage group that will be fattened and harvested this fall. The herds are very active now and there is a nonstop migration from one pasture to the next, scrounging for green grass and wallowing off their winter hair. The yearling beef animals are also out grazing, enjoying the warm sun and scratching in the willows. A new herd on the ranch this year is a group of 30 Texas Longhorn cows that the kids wanted to buy. The cows have massive spreads, which has fascinated Pasco and Oro, who are our resident white tail deer hunters and have a love for big racks. They have big plans for this Heritage Breed and so stay tuned. Oro completed a new dam for the pasture piggery so there is lots of mud to wallow when the pigs get here 1st week of May. The pigs will be on a 20 acre pasture and all that is left to do now is check the fence and make it all pig proof.
Golden Eagle cleaning up the after birth
I like to think of this as being a perfectly normal way to ranch and raise livestock, because happy animals are healthy animals and nothing makes for healthier animals than being outside in fresh air with the sun shining on their backs and room to roam. They don’t get sick, they don’t need antibiotics, they grow better and make for better healthier food. However, I was reminded that what we do is not normal. I read a Stat about the US meat industry and I am 100% certain it’s no different here in Canada. 80% of the meat Industry is controlled by 4 companies; 99% of Chickens, 95% of Hogs, 78% of Cattle are raised in buildings or feedlots confined and not moving freely. In 2023 the use of antibiotics in these food systems was estimated at 14,000,000 lbs in the US alone! The reality is that this is what is perfectly normal!
Happy Easter to everyone this weekend. We are super excited that we are all back together as a family on the ranch firing on all 6 cylinders (complete family). Nero is now home from University for the summer and it didn’t take an hour and he is gone out checking and ear tagging the beef calves that were born today. I will be hitting the road next Friday with Bison Guy Jr. Pasco and we look forward to seeing you all at a Parking lot near you soon. Please get your orders in by Wednesday am so we are properly loaded and ready to hit the road.
Happy Easter from Our Family and Team to You!
