Buying lightweight heifers

[Bfields30]

As of now i have 3 cows one has a calf at her side thats 4 months the other two one is 7 months preg and the other is open. they were skinny when i got them and they gained a lot of weight since march of spring break when i got them a lot of people have been telling me how good they look and how much i turned them around. when is the best time to sell older cattle the pregnant one is 6 yr old and 7 mo the cow with the calf on her side is 8 yr old with a 4 mo old calve and another cow that 8 yrs old.

 

[Son of Butch]

All 3 currently in good flesh.... assuming no bull, I'd sell all asap... but
6 yr old cow 7 months pg.... sell now as bred cow or if you want calve her and sell with 2-3 week old calf at her side
(she'll bring more in 2.5 - 3 months with the calf at her side)

8 yr old cow long time open and now has good flesh.... sell her for slaughter asap

8 yr old open 120 days (4 months) if you put cow/calf in the ring, cow will bring slaughter price with or without
the calf.
IF you choose to calve the 6 yr old, then I'd wean the calf from the 8 yr old in 8 weeks and sell all 4 on 1 trip.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Light heifers may be a sucker play. Steers usually have a higher VOG than heifers.
Profitable stocker guys make about half their money on the buy, so you need to find an edge there, regardless of the program you put the calves on later.
Light pasture calves need a lot of feed supplement because their rumen is not developed enough to grow well on 100% forage.

 

[Bfields30]

All 3 currently in good flesh.... assuming no bull, I'd sell all asap... but
6 yr old cow 7 months pg.... sell now as bred cow or if you want calve her and sell with 2-3 week old calf at her side
(she'll bring more in 2.5 - 3 months with the calf at her side)

8 yr old cow long time open and now has good flesh.... sell her for slaughter asap

8 yr old open 120 days (4 months) if you put cow/calf in the ring, cow will bring slaughter price with or without
the calf.
IF you choose to calve the 6 yr old, then I'd wean the calf from the 8 yr old in 8 weeks and sell all 4 on 1 trip.

I paid Pair 1100
Angus 8 yrs old 600
Angus 6 preg 7 mo 775

They all gained a lot of weight in the Lil over month I have had them. They got weight on them if I took them to the sale barn would I probably lose money on them or gain a little profit .

Or should I try and sell the preg cow and 8 yr old open cow on Craigslist maybe ?

 

[Son of Butch]

Who would want an 8 year old long time open cow for anything but slaughter?

My wild guess is you bought a shelly 1225 lb slaughter cow for 49 cents lb ($600) and maybe fed her into a 1300 lb
56-59 cent utility cow = ($728-767) or $700-740 after sale barn fees/commission, based on your description.
paid $600 cash out 700-740 = $100-140 return and the sooner the better before spending more on her.
Unless you think a few more weeks of feeding will increase her Net value more.
I'm thinking you've already put the easiest pounds on her. Sell her and find out how you did.

4 month calf = 350 lbs = maybe $450-500 plus 8 yr old 4 month open cow $775 = $1225-1275 pair
paid $1100 = $125-175 return
Put them in the ring together and maybe you'll get an extra bid or 3 from someone wanting to try and breed her.

6 yr old cow with 2 week old calf at side probably $1150-1200 paid $775 = $375-400 in another 2-3 months
or Maybe you can sell her now as a bred cow for $975-1075 on craigslist = $200-300

BUT I don't know the markets at your location.
What was your plan when you bought them? Improve by feeding and cash out for quick profit, right?
You won't know how you did until they're all sold. Maybe you want to do it again or maybe not. Cash out and see.

 

[Bfields30]

Who would want an 8 year old long time open cow for anything but slaughter?

My wild guess is you bought a shelly 1225 lb slaughter cow for 49 cents lb ($600) and maybe fed her into a 1300 lb
56-59 cent utility cow = ($728-767) or $700-740 after sale barn fees/commission, based on your description.
paid $600 cash out 700-740 = $100-140 return and the sooner the better before spending more on her.
Unless you think a few more weeks of feeding will increase her Net value more.
I'm thinking you've already put the easiest pounds on her. Sell her and find out how you did.

4 month calf = 350 lbs = maybe $450-500 plus 8 yr old 4 month open cow $775 = $1225-1275 pair
paid $1100 = $125-175 return
Put them in the ring together and maybe you'll get an extra bid or 3 from someone wanting to try and breed her.

6 yr old cow with 2 week old calf at side probably $1150-1200 paid $775 = $375-400 in another 2-3 months
or Maybe you can sell her now as a bred cow for $975-1075 on craigslist = $200-300

BUT I don't know the markets at your location.
What was your plan when you bought them? Improve by feeding and cash out for quick profit, right?
You won't know how you did until they're all sold. Maybe you want to do it again or maybe not. Cash out and see.

Thanks for the response but yeah but I also was thinking maybe I could get one more calf out of the older two cows then sell them
Next yr once the calf and then take them to sale barn I'm just lookin at all opens but my main reason getting these older cows was just get my feet wet and learning a little bit which I have learned a lot In this short time... but thanks for your insight helping a lot.

 

[Son of Butch]

Who would want an 8 year old long time open cow for anything but slaughter?

Thanks for the response but yeah but I also was thinking maybe I could get one more calf out of the older two cows
then sell them.

Where's your bull and why isn't he already with the 2 long open 8 year old cows already?
At this point I'd sell the 2 eight year old open cows and plan on taking 2 or 3 calves out of the 6 year old.
But you should have a goal and a plan for having her bred by 80 days after calving.

 

[Bfields30]

Who would want an 8 year old long time open cow for anything but slaughter?

Thanks for the response but yeah but I also was thinking maybe I could get one more calf out of the older two cows
then sell them.

Where's your bull and why isn't he already with the 2 long open 8 year old cows already?
At this point I'd sell the 2 eight year old open cows and plan on taking 2 or 3 calves out of the 6 year old.
But you should have a goal and a plan for having her bred by 80 days after calving.

I'm going to buy a beefmaster 15 month sometime this next month