Buying Old Cows Strategy

[Auburn_Ag]

So these 10 head have been on grass, chicken litter and corn gluten.!

Feeding sh1t to cattle is still legal in the states?? :shock: :roll:

No Sr. it is not illegal. The ban was lifted last year. I have 4" to 6" of grass and they will absolutely knock you down for a bucket of it. I know everyone has there on opinion; I just have to do what works best for me.

 

[Little Cow]

You guys are a lot braver than me! I'd be worried about diseaes brought in by the cows. Just curious, if you buy cows that came in from several different places, what type of general vaccines would you do? If you owned a bull to turn out with them, I imagine the risk to him would be pretty high as well.

 

[RazorbackRed]

I don't plan on turning them in with my current herd. I am only considering it because I have a place coming up for rent. I will leave them confined for a week or so, worm them etc. then I'll put a bull in with them and see what happens.

 

[Bobg]

I've been wanting to do this for a couple of years, but don't have enough hay to feed them. 6 month bred, mid to older broken mouth cows have been selling for $350 - $450 at the local auction. If I was going to do it I'd by them calve em out and then sell in the spring when cattle are going to pasture. If we've had a lot of winter precip there would be plenty of grass and the market goes up then.

Bobg

 

[aplusmnt]

I wouldn't feed cattle anything but grass, hay or feed, and you can take that to the bank. If they pick up bird crap of some kind out in the pasture, well I can't control that. I can't imagine they would unless there was absoluely nothing else, and there is always something else for them to eat.

I am with you, it does not seem like it should take Rocket Science to know what to feed cattle or any animal for that matter.

 

[backhoeboogie]

You guys are a lot braver than me! I'd be worried about diseaes brought in by the cows. Just curious, if you buy cows that came in from several different places, what type of general vaccines would you do? If you owned a bull to turn out with them, I imagine the risk to him would be pretty high as well.

We have feral hogs running rampant. That is everyone's biggest scare for disease introduction. There is no control. Best to vaccinate for everything. But if you have neighbors on 8 adjoining properties, your cows are going to be touching noses with something you have no control over anyway.

Who knows where the feral hogs have been and what dead critters they have been eating out of the river bottoms. Now they are wallowing in your stock tank.

 

[S.R.R.]

So these 10 head have been on grass, chicken litter and corn gluten.!

Feeding sh1t to cattle is still legal in the states?? :shock: :roll:

No Sr. it is not illegal. The ban was lifted last year. I have 4" to 6" of grass and they will absolutely knock you down for a bucket of it. I know everyone has there on opinion; I just have to do what works best for me.

That is just the kind of aditude that got us were we are today!
Screw all the other folks that depend on the money from their cattle I am just going to do whatever I want wether it hurts others or not!! :roll:

 

[Beef11]

I've seen alot of people do the old cow game myself included. It seems that their are a few things the ones that make money most of the time do and few things the ones that go broke do. Firstly the ones that make money always buy them right and that is huge no matter where the market is prices are still going to fluctuate 15-20% on cows, color, condition, cleanliness, grouping and so on. I prefer odd thinner cows as they will go for less per lb and have less lbs making them much cheaper the downside is they are tougher to breed. I would be leery of really fat cows as there isn't much of an upside on the weight side. Get your cows home, worm them feed them.

Cheap feed is crucial for this type of an operation it doesn't matter where you get it as long as it works and is cheap.

Window of oppritunity is what makes for success, if you are really strapped and have to sell them immediatley you are at the mercy of those around you right then. Know the market and watch it carefully for anything that can impact it from seasonal highs and lulls to events of interest in different industries. Put together a list of people who buy animals like the ones you will be marketing and see if you can strike a deal and cut the Auction yards overpriced fees out of it and maybe get a couple cents more as well.

Be careful where you get in at. I've got a good friend who just got a loan to buy cattle with. He bought Old bred cows a year ago with the plans to run the cows sell the calves and the cows in the fall and then start it over with a few more nickels in his pocket. Prices dropped and if he sells his calves and his cows he can get what he bought the cow for and he has ran her for a year. So he is now stuck having to run those cows until he can afford to get out of them or they die. I myself would only try this old cow enterprise in a down market. If the market is low you can make a little money if it goes up you make alot of money. If you buy in high you can make alittle money and the odds are it won't go much higher but there is plenty of downside.

 

[VanC]

I don't plan on turning them in with my current herd. I am only considering it because I have a place coming up for rent. I will leave them confined for a week or so, worm them etc. then I'll put a bull in with them and see what happens.

Just remember, if you buy open cows it's going to be at least a year before you get any return.

 

[aplusmnt]

I don't plan on turning them in with my current herd. I am only considering it because I have a place coming up for rent. I will leave them confined for a week or so, worm them etc. then I'll put a bull in with them and see what happens.

Just remember, if you buy open cows it's going to be at least a year before you get any return.

From what I saw at the sale I went to today, open cows were not near enough cheaper than bred cows to even think about taking the year hit on return and gamble they never would settle.

 

[preston39]

SRR.,
What is the 3-9 on the back? Here it generally would be age/gestation. Did you say HE puts the numbers on the back? Not the vet?

 

[S.R.R.]

SRR.,
What is the 3-9 on the back? Here it generally would be age/gestation. Did you say HE puts the numbers on the back? Not the vet?

gestation.

Numbers are put on their backs at the sale barn after a preg. check.

I like the way he sells the bulls at the same sale as the cows. With each set of cows run through they tell you if it was the Blonde or black bull that bred them. It gives you a nice idea of the kind of calf you will be getting.

 

[Earl Thigpen]

"So these 10 head have been on grass, chicken litter and corn gluten."

This is the second or third time I have seen reference to feeding chicken S--T to cattle. You folks keep doing this and you're goin' put all of us out of business! All it's goin' take is one case of BSE to show up and people are NOT goin' to be eatin' beef. Don't you get it????

 

[Wewild]

Anybody got a link that has a negative report about feeding CS to cows?

 

[mwj]

"So these 10 head have been on grass, chicken litter and corn gluten."

This is the second or third time I have seen reference to feeding chicken S--T to cattle. You folks keep doing this and you're goin' put all of us out of business! All it's goin' take is one case of BSE to show up and people are NOT goin' to be eatin' beef. Don't you get it????

Did you miss the news on the bse cows in Texas and Alabama :shock:

 

[Wewild]

"So these 10 head have been on grass, chicken litter and corn gluten."

This is the second or third time I have seen reference to feeding chicken S--T to cattle. You folks keep doing this and you're goin' put all of us out of business! All it's goin' take is one case of BSE to show up and people are NOT goin' to be eatin' beef. Don't you get it????

Did you miss the news on the bse cows in Texas and Alabama :shock:

Were they eating CS?

 

[MikeC]

Been thinking about this and wanted to bounce it off ya'll.

Assuming I had the acres and the hay, what if I went to the sale barn and bought 20 Old Cows. Typically we can buy them around here for 300-350 bucks. Take them home and put them with a good bull. Chances are 50% will get bred. The other 50% that remain open I return to the barn, and hopefully I have cleaned them up a bit and I can get my money back or maybe even make a little on them. I guess since they are old my mortality rate will go up a little, but if I buy right shouldn't be terrible. I could just take the 50% that did get bred and take them back to the barn, with the 50% open cows, and get double what I paid for for the bred cows and try to break even on the open old cows, with little to no risk? Or I could roll the dice and try raise the calves and sell them weaned. Ultimately i would buy a new set of 20 old cows every year, and sell the ones who made it open or bred every year.

Is there any merit in this strategy as a way to make money?

Any thoughts? Maybe I am out of my mind.

Why don't you just buy 10 GOOD cows and know what you are getting?

Thinking like this is what is hurting the problem of "Inconsistant" beef on the grocer shelves.

Putting a "GOOD" bull on a danged cull still won't cut it. :roll:

 

[Wewild]

Why don't you just buy 10 GOOD cows and know what you are getting?

Thinking like this is what is hurting the problem of "Inconsistant" beef on the grocer shelves.

Putting a "GOOD" bull on a danged cull still won't cut it. :roll:

It came down to squeezing a nickle for my granddad. If it was good then it is probably good now. He could do it and I can't so I do as you have said above except we retain.

Low cost and high return on investment is what he was looking for.

He always used good bulls.

 

[mwj]

"So these 10 head have been on grass, chicken litter and corn gluten."

This is the second or third time I have seen reference to feeding chicken S--T to cattle. You folks keep doing this and you're goin' put all of us out of business! All it's goin' take is one case of BSE to show up and people are NOT goin' to be eatin' beef. Don't you get it????

Did you miss the news on the bse cows in Texas and Alabama :shock:

Were they eating CS?

You tell me where they came from and I might :shock: You sure as the devil can't prove they wern't!!!

 

[MikeC]

Why don't you just buy 10 GOOD cows and know what you are getting?

Thinking like this is what is hurting the problem of "Inconsistant" beef on the grocer shelves.

Putting a "GOOD" bull on a danged cull still won't cut it. :roll:

It came down to squeezing a nickle for my granddad. If it was good then it is probably good now. He could do it and I can't so I do as you have said above except we retain.

Low cost and high return on investment is what he was looking for.

He always used good bulls.

I admire your Grandad and I admire my father for doing it too!

But the beef business is changing fast. The Choice select spread is widening and the cost of gain has become more important than ever.

Where do people take their culls? To the salebarn. ;-)