Buyers, what do you look for?

[fenceman]

I've always been impressed with the order buyers ability to weigh and judge cattle. There is no less than half a dozen that work my usual sale. Most don't even walk the catwalks or write anything down. All done in a glance. What do you look at in determining a calves age and if it's been weaned or not.

 

[TexasBred]

Damd if I know. Amazes me how they can take a glance at a calf and know within a few pounds of what it weighs and what it's worth not to mention every weakness. I'm sitting there like "Slow things down a bit so I can look at these things". :lol2:

 

[Dave]

Weight isn't a problem. Sit in enough sales and guess weights in your head on everything that comes through the ring. After a while you get to be pretty good. Always sitting in the same place helps. How they move as they walk, alert ears, sunk in dull eyes are things I look at or for. Knife cut vs banded is easy to spot. On a banded calf is there too much penis development which can be a sign that they missed one when banding. The signs of a weaned calf are tougher. The hair right above the nose will tell a calf who has recently nursed but that isn't the only thing. Obviously milk fat calf is easy to spot.
I will say I sure like sales with a ring scale. Generally speaking sales which have up graded to a ring scale also seem to do a better job of gathering and announcing weaning and vaccination information.

 

[skyhightree1]

I am amazed at buyers skills for sure im not buyer but sale I buy at I go get in the pens and look closely at them and write numbers down to bid on ... Not quick enough to judge like a order buyer.

 

[kenny thomas]

I am amazed at buyers skills for sure im not buyer but sale I buy at I go get in the pens and look closely at them and write numbers down to bid on ... Not quick enough to judge like a order buyer.

I looked through the pens before the sale started today and didnt see anything I liked so I only bought 5. :help: Junkers of course.

 

[skyhightree1]

I am amazed at buyers skills for sure im not buyer but sale I buy at I go get in the pens and look closely at them and write numbers down to bid on ... Not quick enough to judge like a order buyer.

I looked through the pens before the sale started today and didnt see anything I liked so I only bought 5. :help: Junkers of course.

:lol2: I will be looking for Junkers soon.

 

[kenny thomas]

I got 4 bull calves averaging 444 lb and one weighing 240. Averaged 1.48 a lb. That should tell you how they looked.
But now they are steers, had a haircut, had their shots, wormed, implanted, are eating hay and look lots better.

 

[skyhightree1]

I got 4 bull calves averaging 444 lb and one weighing 240. Averaged 1.48 a lb. That should tell you how they looked.
But now they are steers, had a haircut, had their shots, wormed, implanted, are eating hay and look lots better.

:lol2: that's cheap surprised they walked

 

[Ojp6]

Age isn't that easy to tell. A good hair trimming could fool you. Long hair in there ears and stuff usually means they are older. Long broom tailed calves are usually too old for their size and won't grow as good as you like. Bull calves will sometimes be more manly looking than a breeding age bull and only weigh 500 lbs. Most calves that just look harder and thinner you can assume are a quite a bit older than there weight would suggest. I have seen a set of three hundred lb 9 month old heifers and plenty of 5 weight yearlings at the stockyards. I'm sure I'm forgetting some ways of telling them. Kenny could probably think of more.

 

[Brentp]

Amazing what a little haircut will do for them. They get that as soon as they get back to my farm. Ha ha.

 

[cattle60]

When you all give a haircut what do you cut?

 

[kenny thomas]

When you all give a haircut what do you cut?

Some needs more thn others but as mentioned I cut the long hair in the ears, trim the top of the head and sometimes down the top of the neck. The tail will need it also if the calf is older. Sometimes even the long hair on the belly will get a little trim. I have in the past just done the haircut and gain .10 to .15 a lb in a couple days.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Rough haired and long tailed tells alot. Might not always be completely weaned, but will have a little extra age for there size, and that's the only kind that come to my place to get fed. I don't need fat, slick 450lb 4 month old calves.

 

[cattle60]

Kenny, Thanks for the answer.

 

[kenny thomas]

Kenny, Thanks for the answer.

You are welcome, but alway read my signiture below before putting a fortune in my thoughts.

 

[cattle60]

Read your sig. Thanks again for the info and what Denver said. I was just wondering about some tricks of the trade as I have thought about buying some bulls to cut and add to the ones I raise to make a bigger lot to sale. Do you cut the tail hair shorter? I will probably not do it on a large scale but a few would help.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

if your going to keep them for a while and feed them after you cut them, that will straiten them out some. Worm them and feed them good and that will change there look. Some multimin will help also.

 

[kenny thomas]

Read your sig. Thanks again for the info and what Denver said. I was just wondering about some tricks of the trade as I have thought about buying some bulls to cut and add to the ones I raise to make a bigger lot to sale. Do you cut the tail hair shorter? I will probably not do it on a large scale but a few would help.

If you are going to put them with yours to help the group numbers it may be harder to do unless yours looks bad also. Some of them dress up real well as Denver stated and some of them still look junky later just not nearly as bad. They usually do grow well if given the chance.
But to answer the tail trimming cut the hairs shorter but not just cut them straight across and make it a stubby end. Just cut it to look like it already does only much shorter.

 

[wacocowboy]

I was watching a sale today and I have no idea what this guy was doing. He wasn't a regular and he was bidding up the soup bone cows and buying several of them. Unless that man is making a big pot of soup with a side of cancer eye, lumps, and prolapse he just lost a lot of money. Maybe he thought he was getting a good deal because they were cheaper than the other cows.

 

[TCRanch]

What about residual effects of frostbite? We're getting ready to sell 18 steers & 4 of them lost the tips of their ears, "Stumpy" even lost part of his tail (brutal winter!). Otherwise they're big & healthy, nice coats. Should we be concerned about the entire group getting docked because of the 4?