Big bucks for lil ones

[MurraysMutts]

Bottle calves just ain't slowing down. Let someone else buy the black heifer today. 285 dollars. I quit at 250.

300 to 390 last week

200 to 240lbrs brought 675 to 715 in fairview yesterday.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

We have one. He's a hoot!

 

[MurraysMutts]

More fun than a barrel o munkees!

 

[Dave]

Well people paying that much don't plan to make any money. I have raised hundreds of bottle calves. I never did it for fun. I did it to make money. That the present price of milk replacer and calves there sure isn't any money in it.

 

[Rydero]

$400-$500 here pretty consistently. They're for putting on cows. The milk costs almost half what the calf will bring in the fall. $500 is the other half.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Had another hfr uterine prolapse. Her calf was less than 24hours old, had colostrum: $400 off the farm.
Had an old cow calve early. The calf weighed maybe 40lbs. I could carry him under one arm. Got the cow in the chute twice a day for 3 days and fed him. He went to the sale barn $220. I don't think he was going to make it.

 

[collegeboundgal]

I bought one for a 2nd calf for a dairy cow we have to raise. Heifer, all black but dairy cross. A week or so old. Guarantied to not be a free martin and she didn't look like one. She was $250 or 275.
Back in January, I bought 2 cross heifers for my jersey to raise (she lost her own calf). The guy said they weren't twins (different mothers) or free martins, but they sure look like free martins to me on a external exam. They were $250 each and I was glad to pay it. Finding calves that were within a reasonable drive on the day I had available to go get them was like finding hens teeth. And I was tired of hand milking her even though she was easy and enjoyable to milk. Those two little heifers and the best looking fat little calves I have ever seen on a nurse cow. She took right to them even though this is her first freshining.
I enjoy seeing one cow raising two calves, even if I need to find a second one to put on her.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I bought one for a 2nd calf for a dairy cow we have to raise. Heifer, all black but dairy cross. A week or so old. Guarantied to not be a free martin and she didn't look like one. She was $250 or 275.
Back in January, I bought 2 cross heifers for my jersey to raise (she lost her own calf). The guy said they weren't twins (different mothers) or free martins, but they sure look like free martins to me on a external exam. They were $250 each and I was glad to pay it. Finding calves that were within a reasonable drive on the day I had available to go get them was like finding hens teeth. And I was tired of hand milking her even though she was easy and enjoyable to milk. Those two little heifers and the best looking fat little calves I have ever seen on a nurse cow. She took right to them even though this is her first freshining.
I enjoy seeing one cow raising two calves, even if I need to find a second one to put on her.

I find seeing a good mama do an excellent job pleases me as well!
I'm considering getting another one thatll raise more than one. Seems like all the good ones are too far away or way too expensive.

 

[Hereford2]

I saw a beef bull calf probably weighed 40 pounds for $150 today, knew I should have bought it lol

 

[MurraysMutts]

Bottle calves up to 475 in Cherokee ok
Today in Fairview 375
There are some cheaper ones. Mostly colored heifers. But still 310

I got very lucky yesterday. Wonder why so high on a bottle calf...

 

[suzorse]

calving season here so bottle calves are high , same in the fall during fall calving
Suzanne

 

[BFE]

Bottle calves up to 475 in Cherokee ok
Today in Fairview 375
There are some cheaper ones. Mostly colored heifers. But still 310

I got very lucky yesterday. Wonder why so high on a bottle calf...

Possibly 4H projects. In Illinois they have to be born Feb1- April 1, don't know about OK rules.

 

[kenny thomas]

Bottle calves up to 475 in Cherokee ok
Today in Fairview 375
There are some cheaper ones. Mostly colored heifers. But still 310

I got very lucky yesterday. Wonder why so high on a bottle calf...

Bottle calves are almost give away here. Nobody wants one unless they need one for a cow. 100 to 150 for the best ones.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Bottle calves are almost give away here. Nobody wants one unless they need one for a cow. 100 to 150 for the best ones.

Bring a load!
You could double your

Or flood the market.

 

[kenny thomas]

Bring a load!
You could double your

Or flood the market.

Another thing is there is rarely a baby calf for sale at the stockyard.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I did learn quite a few were split off old cows yesterday.
With the price of cull cows so high, that makes sense too.

 

[farmerjan]

We are in a dairy area even though there have been many dairies selling out there are still quite a few. Holstein bull calves bring 25-75 and the black crosses are bringing 100-250. Jersey calves, even heifers are in the 25-50 if they are lucky. So many of the dairies are using black bulls... angus, limi, simmental, on their lower end cows and using sexed heifer semen on the best cows. Not sure why the holstein bull calves are so cheap when holstein steers are up in the 1.00 /lb range now for 5-900 lbs. Of course the milk replacer is high, but they don't eat anymore than the black 1/2 bred calves and they don't bring alot more at the sale when sold as feeders because you can see the dairy in them and there are limited buyers for the crossbreds. Some take after the beef but some look like black holsteins too.

 

[Rmc]

Crosses are higher because they have more vigor and have a higher will to live . Less chance of getting sick or dieting if they are crossbred then strait holstein

 

[farmerjan]

The crossbred calves here used to be giveaway prices until about 2 years ago. You could get 100 for a holstein bull calf and 25 for a black crossbred. I have raised many many calves on bottles and nurse cows and I don't find them anymore hardy if the calf gets colostrum. I buy directly off dairies after years of "nursing" iffy calves from the sales. Several of the dairies I milk test for will have both to sell since they mostly all breed the "bottom half " of the herd to black now. My son made the comment at the sale we were at that we used to buy those black calves for next to nothing in comparison to the straight bred holsteins. Since he does very little with my nurse cows, it was rather interesting to see his noticing the difference.
One thing here, if a beef farmer has a cow needing a calf, they prefer the black calves if possible. But there are still a few that will have this hulking holstein calf running along with a cow. Seems like so many nowadays don't try real hard to get a calf on cow... with the cull cow prices going up, they just ship them.

 

[MurraysMutts]

Nice lil 160 lb black heifer only sold for 200 this afternoon. Too big for me to wrestle a bottle into. She was all fired up too!