Payday!

Mornings are my time, I get up, put my lovely, fluffy robe on that was a gift along with the fluffy socks, go downstairs, make coffee, build a fire, check emails and read my tablet while waiting for the fire to catch. Finally, when I am sure the horses are ready to revolt, I pull on my overalls and go do chores, then come in and get dressed, make the bed and start planning what to cook for dinner.

Not this morning, I found this laying on the counter when I came down....

.....Bruce's billfold was laying on top, that could only mean we were selling heifers today at Sheldon. He planned this last year when we were working cattle, he usually implants the feeder calves with a protein anabolic agent for growth promotion and better feed conversion in beef cattle and beef replacement heifers. We never implant the heifers that we are going to save for our own future cows and replacement heifers were bringing good money so Bruce did not implant any of the heifers, planning on selling them later. He had to sign this paper to verify no implants.

Today was the day, he made the decision while eating his Wheaties. No lazing around the house, get dressed, get your chores done and be ready to load cattle. I was ready when Bruce called to come help sort, usually he prefers to do it himself because they are used to him but some gates were frozen.

 My job was to be a gate.

I could do that.

Cattle do not like to be separated from the herd, when I got there Bruce already had some sorted off the rest were not happy. They were sulking at the end of the alley.

But as soon as I climbed the gate and started down another alley, they all had to come see just what I was doing.

"SHOO! Get back where you belong!"

Bruce is busy sorting heifers into another pen and running the steers back out into the yard.

Meanwhile, I'm a gate that I hope to heck they don't try to go through....

.....these girls are very amiable and go where they are directed.

Out in the yard are the boys and the smaller girls who are staying home.

The sorting continues and the last of the girls who are going to town are making their way to the barn for loading. Bruce has an alley inside the barn for loading into the trailer and it can be a challenge when they don't want to go. These girls wanted to go, so much that they were trying to charge down the alley two abreast. When they came to the trailer there was only room for one at a time and we had a cattle jam, I was trying get some to back up but they didn't know they had reverse. I pounded, poked and prodded and, in frustration, finally yelled and that got their attention, they shifted and made room and loaded. WHEW!

We had a uneventful trip to the sale barn, got there just as the yard riders arrived with their horses, it saves the workers a lot of steps, now that is a job I would like.

Now that the girls were in the trailer, they didn't want to get out.

Bruce 'encouraged' them to depart.

We decided to stick around and watch them sell and it wasn't long before the first batch came in. We took 11 head, they sorted 4 of the smaller ones off and ran them through first, then the other 7. I thought you might enjoy a little video of the action.

Bruce was a happy camper when we left, it gave us an idea of what the rest of the calves weigh because we have more to sell.

It seem like a long time to wait for a payday since these calves were born last spring. It makes all the night checks, lost sleep, work and worry worth it......

.....and it's a good thing because we will be doing it all over again, soon!

To be continued....