auctions

[rookie1978]

when purchasing calves what characteristics do i look for in a good calf versus one of poor quality?

 

[Rookie]

when purchasing calves what characteristics do i look for in a good calf versus one of poor quality?

What exactly are you wanting them for?

george

 

[rookie1978]

lookin to buy a few and fatten out possibly for dinner table and profit (hopefully)

 

[Bez]

Oh no ... now we have Rookie AND Rookie1978! Oh to be that young again.

Best you come up with a whole bunch more questions and details about your plans before you will get much in the line of decent answers

Lots of advice here - it's all free and most of it pretty fair.

Otherwise, it's "buy cheap and sell expensive" - there's your profit.

So come back after looking around the BREEDS and let us know what you want in detail

Bez

 

[CattleAnnie]

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but here goes:

Healthy (no snotty noses, no droopy ears, no constant squirts of diarreaha, no coughs or hunched backs. Also try to avoid ones that are bouncing right off the ring walls...seems like the high headed ones have a harder time gaining as they're too busy looking for that hole in the fence to waste time getting fat.)

Besides that:
Thick, deep, long-bodied animals (breed choice would be dependant on locale, as in some regions cattle with ear are hot, in others they're not, same for buckskins, blacks, etc)

Also nice if you can get a run-down on the previous owner's herd health regimen. Ie. Vaccinations, deworming, etc. You don't want to waste your hard earned coin on a bunch of pot-bellied, louse ridden calves. You'll be getting them on the road to health before you get them gaining properly, and that's not cost efficient.

If you're in the northern climes, watch for really short ears and tails (a calf that froze his ears and tail at birth may also have frozen his feet, and it makes them poor gainers in the feedlot in most cases.)

Hope this is of some help. Good luck with your venture.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Rub shoulders with someone who knows what they're doing and ask them to come with you.

 

[jkwilson]

when purchasing calves what characteristics do i look for in a good calf versus one of poor quality?

If you are starting out and don't have much in the way of facilities, the number one characteristic to look for is disposition. Go to the pens before the sale and find some calves that will come and sniff at your hand at the side of the pen. These will be far cheaper and more profitable than the most structurally correct, high-headed fence-busters, regardless of price.

 

[Medic24]

Also as a novice to the cattle business, it might be best for you to actually go to a producer's farm to look and buy, versu going to a sale, becuase lets face it, not every animal going to auction is prime stick, we do send our culls of every age there too, experienced buyers can see them, but newbees are often more excited about the low price.

With a farmer or producer you can get the history on the cattle, as well as often alot of sound, free advice as to how to make your purchase grow out well.

What we often forget is, a current producer also has a number of existing contacts for feed, health care, and related item, and can offer advice to not only give your animals a good start, but save you money as well. After all, as stated earlier, the name of the game is to stock the freezer as cheaply as you can, or sell for the highest price while keeping your production costs as low as possible. Good luck in you venture!

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

We breed & raise seedstock registered Longhorns for both Longhorn producers and for the commercial cattle(wo)men's cross-breeding program. On a purchase we furnish a computer print-out of their health record, weight record, horn growth record, and a six generation pedigree report. Also provide the buyer with photos of his/her purchase.

When a buyer comes to our place he/she can see our herd, how we care for our cattle, our facilities and working areas, see the sire & dam (if it is our bred offspring). We provide care & management instructions to newbies as well as to commercial people who are getting their first Longhorns. Additionally, we discuss our feeding and mineral program.

Bottomline: we want the buyer to be completely satisfied with their purchase and we stand behind every purchase. We want a repeat customer. We want customer referrals. We follow-up all sales with phone call(s) and literature. And, we promptly process all registration transfer paperwork as soon as their money is in our bank...lol.

 

[Rookie]

Oh no ... now we have Rookie AND Rookie1978! Oh to be that young again.

Bez

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bez but unfortunately I ain't that young any more. Who knows, the way the world is goin, I'm not so sure I'd wanna be :roll:

george