calving season at witcher ranch
The Witcher Ranch at High Trails is over 100 years old! Located on the southwest corner of our property, a few miles from the lodge, Witcher’s is reminiscent of the ranches developed north of Texas after the era of great cattle drives. Today it is still in operation, with horses and about 75 cattle.
Spring is calving season at Witcher’s. Walking past the ranch in April you’ll pass by skittish calves, not yet used to seeing humans. These little guys are born with the ability to walk within an hour or two. See the little black calf below on the left, getting a nudge from its mother to get up and stand for the first time.
Our Ranch Manager, Eric, keeps a close eye on pregnant cows in the days before a birth. When a new calf is born, he brings the baby and its mother into the pasture by ranch house so he can put the identification ear tag onto the new calf. He then watches the two closely — experienced mothers know how to care for their babies expertly, but new mothers don’t yet have their mothering skills perfected. The calf should get cleaned off by their mother and then nudged into standing for the first time. The calf will try to stand under its mother to milk, and the mother must be very careful not to step on her clumsy baby!
The mother will stay very close to its calf for the first few hours. After a couple days the new calves start to play with other calves or nap in the sun together. The calves don’t have any problems recognizing their mother. They always go find her at mealtime.
As of today, we have 68 new calves on the ranch this spring!
Posted 5/12/20, Jessie Spehar & Sarah Adler
About Jessie Spehar: Jessie began her career at Sanborn Western Camps as a counselor in 2006 and returned each subsequent summer, taking on more responsibilities each year, including those of Camp Photographer and Supervisor of Canoeing and River trips. She joined the year-round team in 2013 as Marketing Director for the camps. Jessie has a B.A. in Elementary Education and an M.A. in Special Education and taught for 4 years before joining the COEC full-time staff. She has spent many fall and spring seasons teaching students at High Trails Outdoor Education Center.