b'Cowgirl With A PenBRANDINGBy Naomi LoomisPlease follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @thecirclelranchVisit our website at thecirclelranch.com and send any comments toLoomis489@yahoo.com. I would love hearing from you.B randing is a special time on a ranch, it just really is.so you might rope for a while. Then you might be asked toBranding EtiquetteAll ranches are different but for the Circle L, we starttrade with somebody else to rope and you would wrestle calving in mid-March. Mostly my husband does itor vaccinate or something like that. When all the calves areThe owner brands the calves. Its the top all and we do come in and fill the cracks at night but werebranded and turned out then its time to eat. I dont cook injob. The owner is the boss. They also delegate making sure that every calf that is born has the best start thatthe house. I cook out on the fire, so we always have steaks,who should rope and for how long. They also they can get. We do a lot of stuff getting the cows prepared toand all the wives would send either salads or desserts. Itsdelegate who should cut and give shots, etc. have their babies. We dont put them in barns but we makekind of like a big picnic and you sit around and chat.Always wait to be asked to do your job.sure they have shelter enough that if theyre going to have a calf it can get up and get going.Theres so much controversy about branding or thatIts an honor to be asked to rope at a were hurting the animal or its crying. Ive heard, Ohbranding. You should respect the other ropers. The brand itself, for example, ours is a Circle L Ranch, somy goodness, the calves cry when you brand them.Help them out. Dragging one calf with two its just a circle with an L in it. When my husband and IWorking with cattle, I can tell you they cry when theyreroped back feet is better than dragging five with got married, we decided that we were going to get a branduncomfortable so when youre holding the calf down, itsone back leg. Take your time. If you can pull ourselves. Its a process. You have to make up your brand,crying. You havent even touched it and its crying. Its kind ofyour calf to the wrestlers closest to the branding send it to the state brand office and they will approve it or saylike changing a 1 -year-olds diaper thats rolling over andpot (so branders dont have to walk so far). If Nope, there are too many brands like that. So its actually anot sitting still. Poop is going one way, youre trying to cleanyou high hock a calf, try to get the rope down.really unique brand. Codys dad also had brands that he gottheir diaper and theyre screaming. Thats seriously about likeThe brander gets first dibs on a calf. They when he was married and then also with his grandparents.holding a calf. have a hot iron that cools quickly. Shots and Brands are passed on from generation to generation. I grewcutting can wait.up in Wyoming and my mom and dad had a brand. I stillIts uncomfortable for the kids. Its uncomfortable to the own that brand and its something that I dont brand my cattlecalves because theyre like, Hey, weve never been touchedYou are expected to wrestle at a brandingwith but Ill never ever let it die. Ill never let somebody elseand we dont like it. Thats how I tell people about calves.if you can. You should never let your calf up have it because its a tradition. Its something that is importantThey dont want to do what you want them to do becauseuntil he is done. Watch for the ropers, dont to me. The Circle L Ranch brand is significant to us and Ithey dont want to sit still, right? I mean, why should they sitstand in their way.want to be able to pass it on to my kids as well as the brandsstill when they could move and thats why they cry. passed on to them from the grandpas.Brandings are really not a place for colts The branding iron is really hot and thats why I said its the(unless they are ready and wont getYour tag on a calf or on a mama cow may be rubbed off, ormost important job because the person that puts the brandsomeone hurt).fall off, or you lose them and so branding is another way thaton my calf, I want to make sure that it is fast, thats its done says, Hey, thats a Circle L cow and she needs to go back toright and it doesnt hurt the calf. The heated branding iron isIt is a nice gesture to bring something to the where she needs to go. So it makes life a lot easier when theyreally important because the hotter it is, the less time it takesbranding for lunch, usually a salad or dessert.have a Circle L on their hip or the neighbors brand so youto just put the brand on the hide and get off. If its not warm know where they belong. enough, it takes a long time; you have to sit it on the calfsThe men/women that helped in the branding side. If you put it on too long then you burn the hide. Wecorral eat first.A typical branding will start anywhere between 5:00 a.m.dont want that. Its like an art.Make sure you thank the lady of the houseto 7:00 a.m. Everybody comes, saddles their horses and wefor lunch.gather all the cows and the calves. Everyone is assigned aWe wait for those calves that are older. Theyre growing their duty. When its our branding day, my husband Cody is theskin and growing their bodies, theyre growing everything.You are in charge of your own kids at brandings.boss. I wait for him to tell me what to do and so do all theSo its not a young calf that were talking about; were talking people around. He doesnt tell me what to do because Imabout months old calves. Their skin is thick. So when weLeave your dogs at home.the cook but if I wasnt his wife then I would wait for hisbrand, we dont want to go through the second layer of their direction to say, OK, Naomi, I need you to vaccinate theskin and thats why we make sure that the branding iron calves, and heres the syringe. is hot. You do it fast so you dont hit that layer of skin. Its uncomfortable for the calf but its more uncomfortable for the The most important job is the brander and hes the one thatcalves to be lying on their side with you holding them than itCHECK THIS OUT!puts the brand on the calf. If you are asked to brand, you areis with the brand.pretty high up. Its always been that way. Its a tradition and soLets Go Brandinthats how that is. You need a brander, you need to vaccinateI talked to a lady the other day and she had done theirRecipes for Farming & Ranching Crewsand then you3-month-old babys ear piercing. I dont have my ears piercedBy Ranch Wives andneed wrestlersso I do not know what it feels like at all. I asked, Did sheFarmers Wivesbecause wevecry? And she was like, Well, yeah, a little bit but not bad.I am making an ordergot to wrestleThats how I feel we have to think about our animals. Theyreand wanted tothe calves downnot a 3-month-old kid but theres not really much difference plus we needwhen youre doing things with your kids. include you all. ropers that $12 a cookbookrope the calves.I get to make a decision about what I do with my calves just $5 each for shippingEverybody like when you make decisions with your kids. Yeah, sheThis book is fullhas a job. said, She was more upset that she had to sit down in a chair,of tried andyou know being subdued than she was that she got her ears Then you maypierced. This is the same thing with the baby calves; theyreapproved recipes.get askedmore upset that youre holding on to them than you areEmail:to trade offputting a brand on their rear.Loomis489@yahoo.com14 August 2022'