Cattle

Working cattle here has been a learning experience, to say the least. This part of Queensland used to be Hereford country, but they've gone to Brahmas and a breed called Droughtmasters, which look to me pretty much like red Brahmas. Charlais and Angus crosses can also be found here. The average herd is around 1000-2000 head, but far larger herds are common. Like anywhere else, the number of acres needed to support each animal varies, but twenty acres per head is a good estimate around here.

The order of magnitude difference between herd sizes and acreages in Australia and in Montana may make ranching in Australia seem unmanageable, but the lack of having to put up hay should be considered. The cattleman here are no doubt busy and are very hardworking, but hay is a very expensive and time consuming necessity in raising cattle, and not having to deal with it is a big time saver. The efficiency of Australian cattleman, at least the ones I've met, is commendable. Don't think I'm ready to give up on Montana yet though.

The cattlemen and women I've worked with are all first class horse hands. Spending 150 or more days a year in the saddle is not uncommon. Many riders carry stock whips. One character I met was a horse breaker and trainer. I guessed he was my age or less but was actually close to thirty, and was already well-known and well-regarded among stockmen. I didn't find out until after the ruddy-complexioned, very red-haired Aussie clearly of Irish descent had finished up and gone south for other contracts that he was one of the best saddle bronc riders in Australia.

Handling entire herds here at once would be madness. Instead, branding and shots are administered to one manageable bunch at a time, usually less than a hundred. This is made possible because each station (ranch) is divided into several paddocks (fields/ranges/etc.). All branding is done on tables. Ropers are not common, cattle yards are not set up for roping, and crews of only three or four are usually available.

The first full day on the place, Larry and I helped sort about seventy pair. These were dipped, which meant sending them down an alleyway filled with solution and making them swim about twenty feet, something for which Montana cattle would be unlikely to volunteer themselves. This submerged them in pesticide, which was the only way to get rid of ticks. I'd like to note that Brahma bulls can make a big splash.

The calves were all branded the next day. This bunch was all stud or registered breeding stock, so they received the brand of the owner, an “11” for the year, and a three digit ID brand. They were also tagged and dehorned as needed, which was almost always. The bunch was then turned out.

The two days of branding I was sent to the place near Alpha for were a bit more work. About eighty were done the first day, and about seventy the second. These calves weighed at least 200 lbs and several were over 350 lbs. I pushed calves up the alleyway, but also had to hold back legs if they were wild, or if a bull needed to be cut. You would be mostly right if you thought I am not quite tough enough to handle calves that big, as many of them definitely worked me over. I caught on to the tricks the Aussies use, though, and had a much easier time after that. Grabbing the leg before the calf starts fighting makes a big difference.

The second day was the bloodiest ordeal I've ever seen. All those calves were Brahman, so they were light gray. Every one of the seventy calves were soaked red after they had been dehorned and the bulls cut. One bull had also slammed himself into a steel panel for all he was worth, then went stiff and his eyes rolled back in his head, something I had never seen before. Once he came round, he was on the fight, albeit slowly, and further beat himself closer to death in the alleyway. It smelled like a butcher shop.

Most of the cattle here are flighty. Contrary to my experience, in which you slow down to keep them calm, this meant you've got to be more aggressive with them, or they'll just stir up more. Keeping them calm was very difficult because almost any movement, especially climbing over fences, walking, breathing, or sweating in their general direction sent them to the far corner of the corral. Only a very small minority of the cows are mean, and they're just over-protective. One cow at Alpha did seem to be out for blood, and wouldn't let anybody within thirty feet off the fence.

Helicopter mustering (herding) is common here, but I haven't gotten to see any. Some cattle can only be handled by chopper because they travel so much, the paddocks are so big, or both.

I haven't done any riding. I didn't bring my boots with me, and even if I did, I'm pretty certain I look like I have no experience whatsoever with livestock because they do things so differently. It's just as well I suppose, because getting lost or bucked off in the middle of a paddock somewhere is about the last thing I need at the moment.