Buying at auction

[tukie]

We have been going to the livestock auction with the idea of getting into cattle eventually. I have been watching for almost a year, but still can't always tell when some cows are ill or what to look for. I know it is a chancy thing at best to buy here, some are great and some are poor at best. I have been told that if they drool it is most likely lung worms, and if they are coughing, it's pneumonia. I have seen hernias, and foot and leg problems. But my question is, in Holsteins they all seem to drool, are they all sick or is that a Holstein thing? We see skinny cows all the time that aren't drooling or coughing, and look young enough, could be that a little feed would bring them up, but I am suspicious with all the dairys around here that they would be selling cows. Mastitis or bag problems could be an issue as well....On the upside, most of them sell from .10-.40 cents a pound. Everyone buys the steers for eating. Angus/Herford goes for more of course but you can still get good big calves for about $250.if you have any suggestions, I would GREATLY appreciate it. Thanks
Tukie

 

[stocky]

Tukie,
Unless it is a dairy cow sale especially to sell cows to go back to the farm, stay away from the holsteins or or other dairy breeds because they are being culled for slaughter. If you are thinking about buying cows, you need to buy when there is a complete herd sellout. You need to spend time in the pen area and find out who is selling and why. If you are buying calves, you need to buy when it is a farmer selling his calves and not a jockey that is reselling calves he has bought. The only way to find these things out is to spend time in the pen area and ask the hands who brought them in or if they have owner slips on the pens, look at who the owner is. Good Luck

 

[llcupit]

Check your area and buy prviate treaty less risk. ;-)

 

[Matt S]

You would cut the learning curve greatly if you would befriend some of the haulers. Ask them who, locally, has a good herd. Go to those farms and talk to the farmers. Ask them when they plan on weaning calves and see if they'll sell you a few.

That way, if you have any problems or questions, you can go to the source and get an answer.

 

[alabama]

Don't buy cull cows at the sale barn. Always buy seed stock at a replacement sale. Some time a sale barn will hold this sort of sale just ask.

 

[BC]

Talk to the sale barn owner and have him recommend an order buyer. Pay him a commission to buy the cattle. Most will do you a good job and hope that it works for you so that you will be a repeat customer.

 

[Bobg]

If you want to buy at the sale barn find a reputable buyer. Ask around at the sale barn about which buyer they would deal with and then keep an eye on them. We always bought through the ring using a buyer, he knew who's cattle were good and why they were there. Never had a problems.

Bobg

 

[Frankie]

We have been going to the livestock auction with the idea of getting into cattle eventually. I have been watching for almost a year, but still can't always tell when some cows are ill or what to look for. I know it is a chancy thing at best to buy here, some are great and some are poor at best. I have been told that if they drool it is most likely lung worms, and if they are coughing, it's pneumonia. I have seen hernias, and foot and leg problems. But my question is, in Holsteins they all seem to drool, are they all sick or is that a Holstein thing? We see skinny cows all the time that aren't drooling or coughing, and look young enough, could be that a little feed would bring them up, but I am suspicious with all the dairys around here that they would be selling cows. Mastitis or bag problems could be an issue as well....On the upside, most of them sell from .10-.40 cents a pound. Everyone buys the steers for eating. Angus/Herford goes for more of course but you can still get good big calves for about $250.if you have any suggestions, I would GREATLY appreciate it. Thanks
Tukie

Here's a link to the Angus rep in your state. Contact him and ask him for info on breeders who sell a lot of Angus bulls. Talk to them about some customers that would be selling replacement females or bred heifers. If you're not interested in Angus, you can probably do the same thing with other breeds. Buying direct from someone is generally a better way to go than buying blind at the sale barn. One of our sale barns does sometimes have a "replacement female" sale where they you can talk to the owners and get a feel for what/why the cows are being sold. Not everything going through the sale barn is bad. Even in the registered business, a cow that works for me might not work for someone else and some people's "culls" would make me happy.

http://www.angusproductions.com/api_rm11.html

 

[Dave]

Ok, tukie, beings as you are from Washington and there is a limited number of sale barns in the state, odds are I have sat in one the same time as you. Those holstein cows you see selling for .10 to .40 cents are cull cows from dairies. They are there for any number of reasons. If you want some hamburger they will work. If you want to get into the cattle business they wont work.
If you do go to the sale barns in the southwest part of the state PM me and maybe we can talk at the barn.

Dave

 

[tukie]

Wow, thanks guys....there is a wealth of information here. I have sat in the sales with one guy who has bought cows for the last 40 years, but he is about 85 years old and hasn't been there for about 4 months now due to illness....I learned a lot from him, but not enough that I feel totally comfortable buying there. I thought about the herd sales, but they get really spendy, and we are kind of a limited budget. It would seem to me though, that if I bought heifers and spent the money wisely on two or three, I could build my own carefully. I don't necessarily want pedigree though, we were raising one cow and getting a calf for the next year and then butchering. But if I could have a couple, one to butcher and one to sell that seems to be a good way to pay for feed.
Thanks for the information, I appreciate it.
T.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I disagee with many of the above post. Sale barns are good places to acquire good cattle at good prices.

I buy at that sale barn. Occasionally have had a problem and return the animal to the sale. Most of the time I get good animals at decent prices.

I sell at the sale barn frequently when I sell.

People get divorced and sell good cattle at the sale barn. People pass on and the descendants sell good cattle at the sale barn. People sell heifers to keep from inbreeding.

People do indeed sell culls at the sale barn. Don't buy them.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I disagee with many of the above post. Sale barns are good places to acquire good cattle at good prices.

I buy at that sale barn. Occasionally have had a problem and return the animal to the sale. Most of the time I get good animals at decent prices.

I sell at the sale barn frequently when I sell.

People get divorced and sell good cattle at the sale barn. People pass on and the descendants sell good cattle at the sale barn. People sell heifers to keep from inbreeding.

People do indeed sell culls at the sale barn. Don't buy them.

Those that don't know are skeerd, salebarns are not for the rookie hobby boy wantabee.
There are lots of good buys at the evil salebarn but you better have a`cattleman's eye.

 

[dj]

I buy at that sale barn. Occasionally have had a problem and return the animal to the sale. Most of the time I get good animals at decent prices.

Do you mean you resell them or you get to return them for your money back?

 

[Bama]

Buying from the salebarn is risky, but more money to be made this way. Also more to be lost. Don't look at an animal as is, but look at it as a potential. Lots of great quality animals come through the ring. These will be bought at a high price most of the time. Then there are the ones that are not in top form, but could easily be gotten there by feed and parasite control. These are the ones that most of my profit comes from. There are also a lot of culls. Key to the whole shebang is knowing what is what. And knowing when to start and stop bidding. The biggest influnce on my profit come from purchase price. Buy a great animal, pay a high price, sell at a high price = little profit. Buy a lesser animal, pay a low price, sell at a high price = lots of profit. Buy a cull, pay low price, sell for a low price, = lots of LOSS.

 

[tukie]

I have only bought one so far, and I did pretty good, she turned out to be just skinney and wormy. She fattened up to a good 1200 pounds. So I was lucky there. I see what looks like good stuff, but then no one buys it, and I wonder what is wrong with it. I think you can get good deals occassionally, and I am not a "smalltime, hobby...whatever"...(except maybe in cows but that will change). Just want to gain the knowledge and eye yet. So tell me what to look for then.
T.. :cboy:

 

[stocky]

Tukie,
Some things to look for in a cow: Bright and alert eyes, not dull eyes that have that far away look. Ears up and alert, not droopy with a sour appearance, also not straight up like she is ready to go over the fence. No protruding knots or bumps or growths under the skin. No, sores or bleeding or unusual growths around the eyes or eyelids. No snotty noses. Look at the feet real good, look for long toes. Sometimes they are thin because they dont walk good. Sometimes you can trim the hoof and it will be fine, but I dont think this is a job you want. Watch the cow walk, look for limping or stiff legs. You cant always see this in the ring because they keep them moving and punch them so they have to move fast enough to cover up problems. Look for scours, or badly colored urine. In the pen check for bad odors that might mean an infection or intestine problem. Look at the udder, see if it is even or if a quarter is too large or dried up or if the udder will be too large when she freshens. Look under her tail at her anal and vaginal openings. If they are too large or too floppy or too loose or lopsided, she may have been sewed up from a prolapse or bad calving problem. If her udder is too drawn up and too small, she may not give enough milk (unless it is a heifer). If she is rolling fat, she either doesnt give much milk or she hasnt raised a calf in a long time. In general, look for a medium flesh (depending on how long since she suckled a calf) bright eyed, cow with clean lines and a clean rear end that walks without problems. What age cow and what period bred and purebred or commercial will all depend on how much you want to pay.
Good Luck

 

[aplusmnt]

Bad hay year and bad winter so far. Might not be just a bunch of culls at local sale barn, I bet there is lots there just because they can not afford to keep them. Around here at least.

 

[Bama]

Aside from the conditions that are easy to tell (droopy ears/head, slow, bad utter, runny nose, cough, movement, etc... ) the other conditions are hard to describe. You have to get an overall "eye" for them. Some of the things to look at are eye clarity, hair condition, fleshynish, (is that a word) alertness, reaction to stimuli, feet, condition of herdmates (if possible) teeth, fullness, deepness, rib spring, tailset, pins and hooks, conformation, ease of movement, posture, marketability, topline, girth, length to height ratio, excitability, baby making parts, overall appearence, etc... and most importantly purchase price.

 

[HOSS]

Bad hay year and bad winter so far. Might not be just a bunch of culls at local sale barn, I bet there is lots there just because they can not afford to keep them. Around here at least.

Same situation here. Hay is scarce so good stuff is going through the sale. Fortunatley I have an abundance of hay so I am buying. Bought two very nice 6+ weight BA heifers at the local sale yesterday. Heifers were VERY nice and I paid .76 per pound which was higher than the rest were selling for but a good deal in my book as they should be ready to be bred this summer.

1100 pound BA steers were selling for .56 pound. That is cheap. We have folks calling and begging to buy hay so I think the situation may get worse before it gets better. I will probably add some more in a month or so.