bison calves

Southern Plains Bison Pointers April 2018

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Calves Are Comin’   They’re here!  It’s raining red-dots (again) and anyone blessed by the scene that does not find themselves smitten with the colors of the southern plains in spring, should consider having something checked. It is a brilliant combination of reds, purples, blues, browns and sable that only unfolds for folks raising native-grazers, as opposed to our neighbors in the exotic business raising Bos taurus & indicus’. Here’s the deal; all that beauty and ‘miraculous-ness’, brings with it realities that need the attention of conscientious stewards and ethical action, or the lack of action – ‘ethically’. Any and … Read more

Southern Plains Bison Pointers March 2018

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Get Ready – Get Set – Stop!   Bison are unique in that they are tended-wildlife in production models that require some management (and) they require some, ‘being left alone’. Some herds in the southern plains are still engaged in herd-works for good reason, but it’s time to wrap things up and give them the benefit of our absence for the calving season. One of the reasons for working this late is a clean spring green-up with regard to pasture deposits of internal parasite L3 Larvae. A good clean up this time of year can get your herd off to … Read more

Southern Bison Plains Pointers November 2016

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Fast Times Where the Buffalo Roam     Everything is happening all at once and my advice is to: get ready – get set – & SLOW DOWN.  In the southern plains, we tend to work herds later in the year than in the north, mostly because our weather cooperates and the calves tend to be heavier and more able to leave their mother seamlessly.  Our cool season grasses and other forages also tend to kick into gear about now, so working to early may interrupt some late breeding. Personally, I consider a late-bred cow half full, rather than half … Read more

Southern Plains Bison: April 2016

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Calving & Adapting To Us Things tend to happen all at once this time of year, or so it seems in the southern plains, leaving us charged with thinking ahead and managing for stepping aside and letting nature take its course.  Calving problems can happen with bison. Heifers do heifer things like spook at the new shadow, cows can choose ‘the herd’ over a slow-starter, and young bulls can be a problem if they confuse the scent of calving with estrus. It is also true that 90% of the fetal development occurs in the last trimester of pregnancy. This is … Read more

Southern Plains Bison: Mar 2014

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Spring has sprung and it won’t be long before it’s “raining red-dots” across the southern plains. There are a few points of interest in preparing for a new generation of American icons. The lush spring green explosion in the south can be less mineralized than the harder grasses during the warm-season, or summer. Micro minerals like copper have a direct impact to uterine tone and function. I like to make sure that a good mineral supplement, formulated for breeding stock in my area, is readily accessible to the bison herd prior to calving season to reduce the occurrence of calving … Read more