Moving Bulls on the Miller Ranch

Jun 10, 2020 | Ranch Work

Moving Bulls on the Miller Ranh

Moving bulls on the Miller Ranch, as with any ranch, means riders, horses, and dogs need to pay special attention to a bowed neck or a sudden halt.

The Miller Ranch had some winter moisture, but hot days and dry winds have seared much of the green. Our cows are calving now, and we are getting ready to drive them to the Lower Pasture. Because of this, bulls that wintered there needed to move.

Rising early . . . feeding horses, eating breakfast and saddling before the heat set in. Deciding which dogs to take.

Ringo, Pica, Faye, and Samuel were our four-footed partners and worked hard keeping the bulls moving and breaking up testosterone-fueled arguments.

The Miller Ranch normally only keeps bulls until they are five to six years old. Older bulls get ornery and are harder to work and move.

These bulls had been together in the same pasture so there wasn’t much drama. Bill’s brother, Walter, changed that as he drove up on a four-wheeler with five bulls that had stayed down in the draw.

moving bulls on the Miller Ranch - IMG_0771

The bellowing, posturing and challenges erupted, especially among the older bulls and one little whipper-snapper that had been challenging the dogs every chance
he’d gotten. Thick dust, busy dogs . . . horses and riders paid attention to the bulls.

The Lone Red Ranger decided he didn’t want any part of the new bulls, so he charged through the herd, pushing everything in front of him. So we made good time to the gate into Two, the bulls moved on through and fanned out to enjoy new pasture.

Bill and I jogged back to the trailer. The dogs happily jumped into the water trough to cool off before loading up and driving back to headquarters: another job
done on the Miller Ranch.

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Rim Rock Photo Adventure Miller Ranch Oct 5-7 2018

Jun 17, 2018 | photography

Rim Rock Photo Adventure

Are you interested in photographing wildlife, landscape, or ranch life? How about shooting pictures out of a helicopter? Then you’ll probably be interested in the photo adventure I’m having here at the Miller Ranch October 5-7, 2018.

Click here for Rim Rock Photo Adventure Info

Pronghorn Season Miller Ranch 2017

Nov 1, 2017 | Hunting, wildlife

Pronghorn season on the Miller Ranch ran from September 30 through October 8 this year. Overall, the Miller Ranch has had a successful summer and fall. We had fairly good spring rains. Then the rains stopped for several months, the grasses dried up and turned brown. For the first time we left the cows up in the mountains because it was still green up there with water in the headers and tenajas. In July it finally started raining again, the country greened up and we made grass.

The Pronghorn herd adjusted by scattering out and moving between pastures. Many Pronghorn does successfully raised their young. We had some nice bucks guarding their group of does and battling for breeding rights. The Miller Ranch donated one hunt to the Houston Safari Club, and Kevin Chestnut from Washington had bought that hunt. Our other hunter, Geoff Murphy, had booked a hunt through Jim Breck Bean’s guide service, High West Outfitters. Both hunters left with nice bucks, and now we’re looking forward to a good quail season.

Ranch TV Interviews Bill Miller – CE Miller Ranch History

May 1, 2017 | history

Ranch TV Interviews Bill Miller

Dan Hale, Texas A&M professor and Extension Meat Specialist interviewed Bill Miller about the history of the his family’s CE Miller Ranch in the fall of 2015 for Ranch TV on YouTube. The ranch was established by Bill’s grandfather in 1925.

“Ranch TV video library and Ranch TVU online courses are developed and maintained by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, in partnership with the Texas Beef Council for the purpose of extending information to livestock producers and ranchers on the best management practices that enhance our environment, food safety and food quality. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension is an agency with the Texas A&M University System. The Extension Beef Cattle Unit lead the development of these educational programs.”

Pronghorn CE Miller Ranch

Apr 28, 2017 | wildlife

Pronghorn CE Miller Ranch

The Pronghorn is one of the “flagship species” of the CE Miller Ranch and the Trans Pecos Region of Texas. Here on the Miller Ranch, we are fortunate to normally host about 50 to 60 Pronghorn. In the winter, the Pronghorn run in large bunches on several parts of the ranch, and in the spring they break into smaller groups and spread out to find available forage. We see “bachelor groups” of young males running together. The does form another group, and in late April and early May, they go off by themselves to give birth. We work to keep the predators down to give Pronghorn fawns a chance to survive. If the fawn lives, it can join the ranks as one of the fastest land mammals in the Western Hemisphere!

In the 1950s, Clay Miller helped Texas Parks and Wildlife catch and transport Pronghorns from the Rocker B Ranch in Texas to the Trans Pecos Region. In 2011, after the Pronghorn were declining in numbers from drouth, Texas Parks and Wildlife once again set out to relocate Pronghorn from the Panhandle to several area ranches, including the CE Miller Ranch. Since 2011, Texas Parks and Wildlife have successfully relocated Pronghorn several more times to various areas in the Trans Pecos Region.