Buying Baby Calves

[Dana Kopp]

Just an interesting discussion thread/thought. What are baby calves selling for in your area(s)? Dairy vs beef, bull vs heifer?

 

[bigbull338]

heifer calves are going from $50 to $400 or more.bull calves from $10 to $150.wean heifers from $700 to $1000 weaned bulls $150 to $225.

 

[angie1]

heifer calves are going from $50 to $400 or more.bull calves from $10 to $150.wean heifers from $700 to $1000 weaned bulls $150 to $225.

Holy Smokes ~ they are giving them away!
I'll check the auction site and see what Mondays sales were.

Edit~
Nevermind. Livesock report on the barn we use is over a month old. Things change too much from the first of Feb to the first of March.

 

[TexasBred]

heifer calves are going from $50 to $400 or more.bull calves from $10 to $150.wean heifers from $700 to $1000 weaned bulls $150 to $225.

Holy Smokes ~ they are giving them away!
I'll check the auction site and see what Mondays sales were.

Edit~
Nevermind. Livesock report on the barn we use is over a month old. Things change too much from the first of Feb to the first of March.

Saw some holstein bull calves sell this week....$40 down to $15. Haven't been to a dairy sale to see heifers sell but I hear they still bring big $$$$. IF you can find one a 4-5 day old beef type calf will still bring $150 up.

 

[JERSEY MAN]

BOUGHT 4 7-10 DAY OLD HOLSTEIN BULLS TODAY FOR 25 EACH, HAD 1 FREEMARTIN HEIFER, THEY WANTED 100 FOR HER, OTHER GOOD HEIFERS WERE 650 FOR 5 DAY OLD.

 

[FFACOWGIRL]

I just got into cattle through my vo-ag school project. I made a deal with the local dairy farmer for a holstein bull calf(4 days, big calf) for 150 and he threw in a 50lb bag of grain and a 50lb bag of milk replacer. After two months i went back because he had a sementhal/holstein heifer 3 days old and he gave me the same deal. I have two happy, helathy, growing calves so id say i made out pritty well. And im thinkin about goin back to get one of his sementhal/holstein bull caves just for the expirience and the hope to make a liitle money when i send him on the meat truck.

 

[GMN]

I just got into cattle through my vo-ag school project. I made a deal with the local dairy farmer for a holstein bull calf(4 days, big calf) for 150 and he threw in a 50lb bag of grain and a 50lb bag of milk replacer. After two months i went back because he had a sementhal/holstein heifer 3 days old and he gave me the same deal. I have two happy, helathy, growing calves so id say i made out pritty well. And im thinkin about goin back to get one of his sementhal/holstein bull caves just for the expirience and the hope to make a liitle money when i send him on the meat truck.

I'd say throwing in a bag of milk replacer and a bag of grain, is a good deal for you, but hard to believe that a dairy farmer would do that, especially with todays prices for each of these items.

GMN

 

[TexasBred]

Charging you $150 for a holstein bull calf he should be able to give you a bag of milk replacer and feed and still make money. He puts the cash in his pocket and writes off the feed and milk replacer. Very good deal, but what the heck. It seems to be working well for both of you. Good Job. :lol:

 

[RVF]

I am not sure of the price of calves, but we are seeing 400+ lb holstein steers sell for $.45 per pound in Canada. Quick math would say there is very little money in raising holstein bull calves.

 

[bigbull338]

550lb hol steers are bringing .65 to .70lb here in notheast tx.not any profit margin.

 

[cowpunk'd]

Here on Vancouver Island, Canada, alot of the baby Holstein or Aryshire bull calves are killed right away, they no longer have any value at all. Too expensive to grow and slaughter.

 

[spinandslide]

In my area, I heard the heifer calves are bringing $140-$180 a piece.

 

[dyates]

I bought a holstein bull calf for 150, but it was ten days old and guaranteed healthy. I won't make any money off of it, but I needed something to graft onto a cow that lost her calf. At least I won't lose as much as I would have with no calf at all.

 

[Double R Ranch]

The bull calf holstein I bought was $10.00 to graft onto a cow that aborted. Drop calf heifers (holstein) are $300.00
Double R

 

[allen alberts]

i live in crowell texas anybody know of any dairies around me that sell calves even if its a drive thats ok

 

[backhoeboogie]

Saw some holstein bull calves sell this week....$40 down to $15. Haven't been to a dairy sale to see heifers sell but I hear they still bring big $$$$. IF you can find one a 4-5 day old beef type calf will still bring $150 up.

They split some young calves off of aged cows since no one was biting on the old gals as pairs, at a recent sell I attended. They started the calves at $100 with no takers. Calves dropped to $70. They only split those two and split no more afterwards because no one was bidding on the calves. Just my luck. Murphy's Law it seems. If my nurse cow was wet, those calves would have been in the $150 to $200 range. The calves did not look bad at all.

 

[chippie]

I gave a jersey steer calf away couple of weeks ago. He was a couple of weeks old. It would have cost me more to haul him to the auction than he would bring.

 

[novaman]

I gave a jersey steer calf away couple of weeks ago. He was a couple of weeks old. It would have cost me more to haul him to the auction than he would bring.

Your lucky you found somebody to take it. I have no jerseys but some neighbors do and they can't find somebody who will take those little guys. For this reason they use sexed semen on all of their jerseys. They so it is worth the extra expense of semen and lower conception rates.