Buying a bull at the sale yard

[Alan]

I've talked about going to a A.I. program for my small herd of Reg. Polled Herefords. My plan is to let my current bull cover the cows after calving season and then ship him. I'll start the A.I. program the next year after a little (lot) more education on my part. I plan to A.I. each of my cow and then go to the sale barn and buy a black clean up bull and send him back in a couple of months.

The buyer beware posts has me wondering what type of things to look for in a sale barn bull. ie; Some of the bulls I've seen look pretty thin, but I figure that could be just comming out of the breeding season. Some thing well be obvious such as injuries or lameness.

Thanks,
Alan

 

[dun]

Sterility, dispostion, Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD), other general diseases, parasites, libido, quality of the calves, size of the calves. Can;t think of any others.

dun

 

[MikeC]

I've talked about going to a A.I. program for my small herd of Reg. Polled Herefords. My plan is to let my current bull cover the cows after calving season and then ship him. I'll start the A.I. program the next year after a little (lot) more education on my part. I plan to A.I. each of my cow and then go to the sale barn and buy a black clean up bull and send him back in a couple of months.

The buyer beware posts has me wondering what type of things to look for in a sale barn bull. ie; Some of the bulls I've seen look pretty thin, but I figure that could be just comming out of the breeding season. Some thing well be obvious such as injuries or lameness.

Thanks,
Alan

You usually get what you pay for.

 

[Saltydawg]

I've talked about going to a A.I. program for my small herd of Reg. Polled Herefords. My plan is to let my current bull cover the cows after calving season and then ship him. I'll start the A.I. program the next year after a little (lot) more education on my part. I plan to A.I. each of my cow and then go to the sale barn and buy a black clean up bull and send him back in a couple of months.

The buyer beware posts has me wondering what type of things to look for in a sale barn bull. ie; Some of the bulls I've seen look pretty thin, but I figure that could be just comming out of the breeding season. Some thing well be obvious such as injuries or lameness.

Thanks,
Alan

I'm in the same situation and considering doing the same...cept my Herefords arent registered.

I started with 2 hereford cows a few years ago and now I've got 13 of them.
I am considering purchasing a couple registered Hereford Cows to use for replacement heifers and go from there.

I am thinking breeding my registered cows to a nice AI Hereford bull for replacements/growth and then running an Angus with the 13 commercial cows.

One of the vet's in my area raises angus and there is a new Angus farm that started up 2 years ago closeby so that is probably where my Angus bull is going to come from.

I have never bought an animal from a sale barn......don't like the thought of it to be honest.
(although I sell my animals there and I have never passed off a bad animal on someone)

I really like my Hereford cows...but the black stuff seems to be whats hot at the sale barn.

 

[Bez!]

Well, there are options. All require a veterinarian's clean bill of health due to all things mentioned above.

I assisted a neighbour many years ago by doing the following:

He needed a clean up bull. I had a bull that I was considering getting rid of.

He rented my bull for a total of the insurance money - simply because I did not want him back as damaged goods and I did not want to have a problem selling him. I think the total cost to the neighour was in the area of around 100 bucks.

Some time ago I needed a bull - in fact, twice I have done this - found a neighbour with a decent animal that he was finished with - rented him one time and bartered him another time.

I insured him and used him and then shipped him for the owner.

Might try that - you have time to do the telephoning and looking around - better than taking a chance.

You might also look at any dispersal sales - they tend to be a rather good place to look for cattle and the prices may be lower than you think.

Lots of options - and yes you cab do well at a sale barn - especially when they have their "special" sales.

Don't paint yourself into a corner by delaying - start looking today for the animal you need in a year.

Bez!

 

[badroute]

I would advise you to be very careful about buying a bull at the sales yard. More often than not you will get into some serious trouble. 99% of people who sell a bull at the sales yard do it for a reason, my thinking is if it isnt good enough for them to keep why would I want it. A guy in this area bought a few sales yard bulls a few years ago hoping to save a little money. He introduced trich into his herd and eventually sold all his cows for slaughter price and started over and we aren't talking about a small herd, he got rid of over 200 cows. The sales barn has a notice not to buy bulls that go through the ring for breeding use. Please take that into consideration, I hate to be too brutally honest.

 

[msscamp]

The buyer beware posts has me wondering what type of things to look for in a sale barn bull.
Thanks,
Alan

You're braver than I am. I wouldn't buy a bull from the sale barn. More problems and trouble than it's worth to me.

 

[Anonymous]

Buy or lease from a known source you will be happier in the long run.

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the advice, everyone is saying the same thing. I guess I had better listen.

Alan

 

[Beefy]

most sale barns have special breeder cattle sales at least once a month. you can get good bulls there. at the sale barn here they usually announce if the bull is sound for breeding or not if they know. Lots of bulls go through the salebarn to prevent inbreeding and the only thing that is wrong with them is their 3 years are up. biggest thing with salebarn bulls is STDs i think. i wouldnt risk it with a registered herd.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Put your best $$ in a good, proven bull from a reputable breeder. Any "intact" bull at a sale barn is probably most appropriate for freezer (hamburger) meat. Bottom line: why would anyone sell a "good" or "quality" bull at a sale barn for anywhere between .45 and .55 cents a pound???

A bull determines the direction your herd will go...this year, next year, and the next.

Cavaet: A $500 bull will get you $50. calves... ;-)

 

[Beefy]

i think youre missing the point. he jsut wants a bull for a very short period of time to serve as a cleanup bull for the AIs that dont take. he wants to sell it soon after so he doesnt have to pay for its upkeep. (this is what i'm getting out of the post anyway?) and he doesnt want to pay a lot of money for a bull that isnt going to be staying around for very long. i'm guessing he will be selling teh calves out of that bull too.

As far as selling bulls at the salebarn A LOT of people sell bulls only to prevent inbreeding. since most people dont want to buy bulls that arent virgins those bulls end up at a salebarn. there may or may not be anything wrong wtih them but few people want to buy a 5+ bull that has been used.

Having said this i dont buy bulls from the salebarn, but i might buy one from a breeder sale at teh salebarn. my suggestion is to rent or borrow a bull from a neighbor or relative to use as a cleanup.

 

[la4angus]

I've talked about going to a A.I. program for my small herd of Reg. Polled Herefords.

Alan, I think you had said previously that you had gone to an AI School. How long has that been. Are you gonna hire an AI Tech or are you gonna do the AI yourself.

 

[plbcattle]

why turn a unregistered salebarn bull out with a registered herd. if you are using the black bull to see if the cow took to the AI. wait about 3 weeks and turn your bull out. time will tell you the bull that got her preg. just my 2 cents worth

 

[Beefy]

he wont have a registered bull next year when he is AIing if he plans to sell it after it breeds the cows this year. i think that is the point of getting rid of his registered bull AND the bull he plans to buy, so he wont have the expense of keeping a bull around all year..

 

[Susie David]

I have a friend that buys the older bulls that have covered the herd and are sold because of the number of daughters in the next season. Swears by this, says the genetics are the same only the price is less...of course he buys private treaty.
We're still up in the air...just may try renting a bull this spring.
DMC

 

[Alan]

I've talked about going to a A.I. program for my small herd of Reg. Polled Herefords.

Alan, I think you had said previously that you had gone to an AI School. How long has that been. Are you gonna hire an AI Tech or are you gonna do the AI yourself.

No I haven't been to to A.I. School, I'm leaning toward A.I.ing myself since this is a hobby for me and I don't depend on it as an income. Going with A.I. will give me a better gene pool to build my herd quicker and more diverse. My cows will start calving in early to mid March, I'll use my current Bull on them starting in mid May and Ship him in July or August. So I'll have about 18 months to get everything lined up and myself educated. It's something I feel I can do, but if I can't get them settled I'll get a tech.

Thanks LA,
Alan

 

[aplusmnt]

We have a farm in our area that rents out lots of bulls a year, you can pick from many breeds and types. Surely there is someone in your area that rents/leases bulls? If you are set on buying I would check the farm papers, classifieds in your area for some private treaty bulls for sale. They pop out of the wood work around here during breeding season. This way you can get a semen test done and make sure he is a breeder. You can find some good deals privately like this.

 

[Alan]

i think youre missing the point. he jsut wants a bull for a very short period of time to serve as a cleanup bull for the AIs that dont take. he wants to sell it soon after so he doesnt have to pay for its upkeep. (this is what i'm getting out of the post anyway?) and he doesnt want to pay a lot of money for a bull that isnt going to be staying around for very long. i'm guessing he will be selling teh calves out of that bull too.

Beefy, You're right on the money, I want a clean up Bull for about two to three months and then ship him. I have reg. Polled Herefords and don't plan on keeping any calves. I plan to use a black bull for two reasons, black baldies due a little better here and if I find a bull sooner than I plan to turn him in or need to turn him in with the cows early it will be pretty obvious who's who. Also I figure I can keep 1+ to 2 cows for what he cost me to feed.

STD's are a concern for buying a non virgin or renting a bull.

Thanks,
Alan

 

[Beefy]

Alan,
if you insist on buying a bull through a stockyard, find out if the salebarns around you have breeder sales, i'm sure they do. We have some good guys running the one i go to, and they will sure help you all that they can. Call in prior to any sale and find otu what they are getting in and from who and what they know about their herds. tell them what you ar elooking for and if they have anythign coming that might fit the bill. most of the time there will be calves out of the bulls for sale also selling that day. get there early, walk out over the cattle and see the bulls and ask around about them. if you can talk to the owner, do, and get a feel for his operation, find otu about the bulls calves, etc.