Cattle must be cared for every day of the year , during good weather and bad . In ranching homes , holidays , weekends , birthdays , vacations , and special events all come second to the welfare of the cattle . Because the cattle cannot do it for themselves , it is up to the ranching families to provide them with proper nutrition , health care , adequate and clean water , and a safe place to be .
The first need of all living things is water and cattle are no different . Beef producers must provide clean adequate water for their animals whether they are penned or in open areas . Water tanks must be kept full of water in their penned areas and springs and other water sources must be developed and maintained in the open areas . The cattle should not be further than one mile from the nearest clean water source . In Colorado ’ s more arid areas , the beef producer must haul water to the animals . During the Colorado winters , especially in the high country , water tanks freeze over with ice and the rancher must remove the ice from the top of the tank so that the animals may drink . This must be done daily , and sometimes more than once a day .
All living things need food . The rancher must provide adequate food with the proper nutrition for their cattle . This means that the rancher must grow and harvest hay to feed the cattle during the snowy winter . In the lower country , where cattle can graze all year around , this means that there is enough land and pasture to provide adequate grass without over grazing . In addition , the rancher provides salt , minerals , and supplements to meet the changing nutritional needs of the cattle . Ranchers must check on the condition of their land and animals on a daily basis .
The beef producer provides health care for their animals . Just like human babies receive shots to help prevent illness and disease , calves also receive preventative shots . In spite of these preventative shots , sometimes cattle still get ill or hurt . When that happens the beef producer calls in the large animal veterinarian ( animal doctor ). Large animal veterinarians are some of the few remaining doctors who make house calls and may visit the animal in its pasture , at the corrals of the ranch , or the animal may need to be loaded into a trailer and taken to the animal hospital .
Providing a safe environment for the animal is important to the beef producer . Ranchers fence their property to keep the animals off the roads and safe from being hit by cars and trucks . They look at their pastures to make sure that the needs of the animals are met . Ranchers in the high country , where there are many winter storms , make sure there are areas where the cattle can be sheltered . In the arid areas , ranchers look to see that their cattle can get relief from heavy winds and hot sun . If these areas are not there naturally , the rancher will build them .
An important part of providing a safe environment is in the handling of the cattle whether working with them in the corrals , moving them from one place to another , or loading them into trailers to travel . Beef producers have joined together and developed standards for the treatment of their animals under all circumstances .
Beef producers know that taking care of their animals and land will allow them to continue to provide the country with open spaces , meat , leather , and a wide variety of co-products which improve the lives of the people of this country .