Cow value

[325abn]

Other than weight what effects the value of a cow? IE: age, how many calves she has had, dispostion etc

I am in the New England and I am thinking of selling this cow. She will be 5 years old this summer she is somewhat tamed and gental.

 

[dun]

As usual, it depends! Are you selling her as a breeder or a cull cow? Regional variations also come into play. A cow that would bring 800 in one place may bring 600 or 1000 some where else. Demand for the type of cow and desirablity of a particular type of cow plays a large part. Bred or open and if bred what she's bred to also enter into it.
You need to look in your area at your market to really assign a value.

 

[Caustic Burno]

The only value a cow has is what a buyer today is willing to pay at the salebarn. Dun was correct on regional differences, you also have to remember on any given sale day there may be no one interested other than an order buyer. If that is the case you get white cow prices that day.

 

[Aaron]

Dun and CB...as usual, have some good advice. In your particular case, I would say worm her, put another couple hundred pounds on her and breed her to the best Red Angus bull you can find. That would basically optimize your chances of getting the best price possible as a bred cow.

 

[LonghornRanch]

(she is somewhat tamed and gental)

She better be with that fence!

 

[mnmtranching]

Unless she is close to calving, she will go for kill price. Looks like about .48 cents a pound.

 

[325abn]

(she is somewhat tamed and gental)

She better be with that fence!

The fence has worked so far for her and the bull calf. As long as I keep the wire maintained and hitting at 7K volts. The only time she has ran off was the day after she came hear as a small calf, she ran though the fence. Now when I need to move them around I let them out of a particular fenced in area and they will generally :banana: :lol: follow me to where I need them to go. Now I am worried about the bull as he gets older. As long as I can get him to the Fall he will be in the freezer.

.49/lb thats all they are worth?? Can you guesstimate her weight by the picture?

 

[gerardplauche]

I'll take a stab at it. At MY salebarn (assuming she is a healthy producer and open) she would bring about $450.00 - $500.00. Heavy bred - around $700.00.

 

[mnmtranching]

I'm guessing she is nursing and not showing signs of being bred. Not carrying a lot of flesh. Fair size maybe close to 1200 pounds. and I still say about .48 per pound.

 

[msscamp]

Other than weight what effects the value of a cow? IE: age, how many calves she has had, dispostion etc

Cycles of the market would be the first thing. Conformation would be the second thing, followed closely by temperament, mothering ability, fertility, and age - usually in that order.

 

[2/B or not 2/B]

Before taking her to the sale barn, you might try listing her on craigslist or posting flyers at the feed store. Id include photos of her, the sire if she's bred, and any previous calves as well as vaccination, health, genetics and disposition info. If you do take her to the sale barn, I agree with the prices given by other posters. You never know who's going to be there or exactly what you're gonna get, but so far I've never hit the jackpot.