Bird Hereford Ranch Knows Their Cattle

 Bird Hereford Ranch is set in the beautiful valley of Halfway, OR presently under a winter back drop of the snow capped Cornucopia Mountains. AgriTimes was acquainted with the Birds over the years and and hadn't seen their operation first hand. David and Lynda Bird had careers in education for 30 years and currently are living on her family's ranch in Halfway. Several historic buildings are still standing and in use. The Bird's have a lifetime of experience raising Hereford cattle. David was raised on a commercial Hereford ranch along Big Sheep Creek in Wallowa County. He and Lynda met met while attending Eastern Oregon College in LaGrande. The ranch sits on 440 acres of flood irrigated and sprinkler irrigated grass meadows. They raise and harvest their own meadow hay crop. Their attention to detail from barn layouts, corrals, and efficient handling of cattle was very evident during our visit. Birds purchased their first registered Herefords, 5 cows from Oveson Herefords, Wallowa, in 1978. “We were hoping our first calves would be heifers, but their offspring was all bulls. Crawford Oveson allowed us to trade the bull calves for replacement heifers,” said Lynda. They later purchased cows from Hutton Herefords, Shaw Herefords, Clyde Herefords and Harrell Herefords. They credit Willard Wolf, former American Hereford Field man, for their success and guidance in selecting superior genetics and helping market their cattle. Birds use AI extensively to breed their cow herd. The AI program allows them to select semen from the best Hereford bulls in the country. When selecting sires, Bird's research pedigree and EPD information to provide genetics for breeding quality cattle. This years bull sale is offering sires are predominantly from H5 5019 Advance 9241, CL Domino 0186H, UU Belmar 8082F and Churchill Roughneck 0280H. Disposition is a priority for selecting their replacement cattle. They manage their cattle on foot so they admire the easy going Hereford characteristics. I enjoyed viewing the cows and calves as we walked into the pasture and found them to be very docile. Birds typically begin feeding hay, 2.7 tons/cow, after Thanksgiving until the first week in May. They begin calving season in November. Halfway is the western gateway to Hells Canyon and the Snake River. Snow fall can often be deep! Dave and Lynda spend a lot of time with the cows during calving season. They have a fully insulated and heated maternity ward with three pens. Birds have an interesting management process for calving out heifers. After a heifer calves they bring the pair into a straw lined large pen in the barn. David will place a halter on the calf, lets the calf nurse for an hour, then lets the cow out into the pasture leaving the calf in the straw covered maternity ward. The cow is waiting outside the gate to be let back into the pen to nurse her calf at 3:00am and 3:00 pm. Benefits are the calf is protected from the outside elements and predators, a higher live calving percentage, and minimal labor is required to clean up the pen each day. The calf will remain in the barn for 14 days before being released into the cow herd. Later, after they are turned out with their mothers calves have a shelter they can duck into to eat hay under the barn roof on straw bedding. Bird's criteria for selecting cows is adequate size, low birth weights, good udders, and adequate milk numbers. Their cowherd is known for their longevity of producing offspring. Bird Schwartz kopf Lass 634 “Belle” gave birth on March 16, 2023 with her 16th calf. Increased longevity genetics in the cowherd reduces cattle production expenses. It was clearly evident during my visit, that Bird's know their cattle individually. “Each cow has a name. The calf's name starts with the first letter of its mother's name,”said Lynda. When we were walking through the cowherd they would comment on various cows using its personal name. Birds have been active in the American Hereford Assn. activities over the years and have had several leadership positions. The Bird's showed their love and passion for raising quality Hereford cattle during our visit. They continue to strive to raise performance based cattle for the cattle industry. They will have 25 bulls consigned to the NW Hereford Breeds Assn..Sale on March 8, 2025 at Double M Sale barn, Stanfield, OR. They will also have 3 pens of three heifers consigned to the sale. AgriTimes wants to thank David and Lynda Bird for their warm hospitality (on a cold day) and for allowing us to share their story with our readers.