Buffalo Dan's Bison

On of the female bison in our herd developed symptoms of a copper deficiency, and, after many attempts over several weeks to get her to ingest copper supplement voluntarily, I called my veterinarian.  After a discussion of our options he agreed that I could try darting the female with a dose of a trace mineral injectable supplement called MultiMin 90.  When it comes to my bison herd's health and well-being I don't like to leave anything up to chance.  For this reason, prior to darting the bison, I practiced extensively by shooting a water-filled dart at a 50 lbs bag of grass seed covered with an old pair of bib overalls (see above video).  I practiced shooting at 15, 20, and 30 feet until I could hit a grapefruit-sized target consistently from each distance.  The dart gun I was using is a Dan-Inject CO2 Dart Pistol , which makes virtually no noise when fired and is used for darting animals worldwide. Unfortunately, I was so focused on not messing up when I actually did

I call it "celebratory running" because the bison appear to be running out of sheer joy rather than fear of something.  I don't know if this phenomena is seen in other bison herds but my herd appears to do it every month or so.  The above video captures a brief moment of the beginnings of one of these runs.  It's unfortunately the only video I've been able to record of the event.  The process starts when one or two bison begin energetically chasing each other in close proximity to the other bison.  The other bison will watch with interest and several more will then join in the chase as it weaves through and circles around the herd.  More and more animals join until eventually the entire herd is a swirling energetic crowd of bison moving across the pasture at a fast pace. To many people celebratory running can look a lot like other types of running, but there are differences.  Bison in a herd running out of fear, for instance, will focus more on things outsi

During the warmer months our current pasture system provides enough grass to feed the entire bison herd.  However, during the winter months I now provide them with hay purchased from a local source.  The following video shows the feeding process from a first person perspective.