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Seasons at the Ridge
The Ranch is a busy place all throughout the year.

During the winter months, the cows are gestating and getting ready for spring calving. In the wild, their bodies require less feed this time of year as their metabolism slows in anticipation of the cold weather and less food available. This is true for our animals as well. Less feed is given to the cows to prevent calving problems in the spring. Too much feed in the winter can mean calves that are too large in the spring. This time of year, the bulls begin to shed their antler and their bodies prepare to grow an new set in the spring. They need plenty and feed and mineral to reach their true potential.

 large elk
elk in the forest
 Spring is a beautiful time of year at Pea Ridge! The trees begin to bloom and the animals are shedding their winter coats. Bulls begin to grow their velvet in late March and will continue until summer. Antler growth actually takes place over a 90-110 day period. The hard antler seen in the fall is done growing in July and will remain on the bull until spring. The cows begin to calve in late spring. Here at the Ranch, the first calves should arrive in mid-May. This is a wonderful and exciting time of year for us as we finally get a look at what our careful selection and planning has achieved. The new calves born in the spring my be our next champion.
As summer approaches, calving comes to an end. The focus turns from new offspring, to handling bulls and removal of velvet. Velvet is the first phase of new antler growth and correctly describes the outer casing protecting it. The growth starts in spring and ends during the summer months. At the Ranch, we remove velvet from most of our bulls in the June. This process includes selecting animals based upon their stage of growth and then removing the velvet from the animal. If harvested in a timely manner, velvet has many medicinal uses. The velvet is freeze dried and made into capsule form. It contains naturally occurring glucosamine and chondroitin which is often used to alleviate joint discomfort in humans. Though not widely used in the United States currently, Asian countries can't get enough! If making a trip to the Ranch this time of year, visitors should look to the water to see the elk bulls. They spend the long hot days in the shade or standing in the ponds to cool off. Cows and calves graze the pastures and do their best to stay cool. buy elk meat
hunting elk Fall at the Ranch, is a spectacular site! The hills are filled with trees turning deep shades of gold and orange and these majestic creatures never looked more at home. The sounds of elk bugling can be heard throughout the fall as the bulls claim their territory and begin the breeding season, known as "Rut". Bulls that did not have their antler removed in the velvet phase, will now be in hard horn. The calves that were born in the spring have been weaned and are now growing at a remarkable rate. The cows have been turned in with the bulls for mating season and our next set of champions is on the way!