J Lazy S Angus Ranch

J Lazy S Angus Ranch 1st Generation (backed by 6 generations of knowledge) ranchers here to share our day to day life and answer questions. Established 1999
Ranch Purchased 2006

We raise mostly Angus cattle and Quarter Horse Morgan cross horses that we train on the ranch.

09/01/2026

Short story long …

… went hunting for a lone cow up the mountain, guessing that her behavior on the map showed she may have calved and I was correct.

Trailing out a couple day old calf means a completely different approach to herding/pushing and it also means I’m in it for as long as that calf wants it to take.

Even the cow was letting the calf choose the route!

We took lots of nursing breaks, which made me realize I didn’t pack a drop of water for myself. We crossed several springs and seeps so the dogs, horse and cow also got a drink, but I’m just not cowboy enough to wet my whistle that way.

Took all day, but got them to the closest corral (at the bottom of the mountain of course) and hauled them home.

08/21/2026

What’s the difference in water usage between dry cows and pairs?

A dry cow isn’t nursing a calf and even if she’s very pregnant or recently weaned she requires a LOT less water.

What we’ve noticed with our switch to fall calving and running dry cows on our ranges is the areas that the cows naturally gravitate to are completely different now that they aren’t nursing calves.

Granted I’m saying this standing in a well running stream in August, but there’s no cows here and there’s no sign they’ve been here at all this year.

What we’ve noticed did find were small groups of 4-6 cows spread out across ridges, just on the south sides and near each group we found seeps (basically refilling puddles) that kept the cows hydrated enough that they weren’t traveling down into the creeks at all.

Address

24 Smith Ranch Road
Carmen, ID
83462

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