FEEDING IN WINTER 37 



Castration of the steers, and branding and ear- 

 marking of both sexes, should all be done at the 

 same time, so that the calves are then free of any- 

 further attention of this kind until their death at 

 maturity. 



Newly-branded animals should be herded for a 

 week or two and watched closely. Should flies 

 cause the markings to fester, a weak solution of 

 carbolic acid and water may be applied until the 

 wounds heal, after which they may be turned loose 

 on the prairie to roam "fancy free," presuming you 

 have not bought them shortly before the approach 

 of winter, in which case they must be held at the 

 ranch. 



Feeding in Winter. 



A good deal of judgment is required in tending 

 cattle through those variable seasons, late autumn 

 and winter, for as a rule the stock-raiser seldom has 

 more hay than he can do with. It is usual to turn 

 loose to shift for themselves all steers over a year old, 

 and to keep the she-stock a few miles from the ranch, 

 so that, should a severe blizzard come up, they are 

 easily accessible, and can be driven into the corral 

 to be fed hay in the shed. This would, of course, 

 involve a desultory herding of the she-bunch each 

 day, but only with the object of keeping them 



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