Culling advice

[Douglas]

I have several cows I need to cull after raising a calf this summer. Should I take measures to make sure they are not rebred, or does it really matter?

 

[1982vett]

I suppose breeding them would be wasting their energy so to speak. Better spent raising their current calf and keeping condition since you already know they are not going to be around for another calf. Just depends on the trouble to keep them separate from the rest of the herd while you are breeding the herd.

 

[LoveMoo11]

Depends who you are selling them too. If you are sending them to auction, don't waste your resources on getting them bred and caring for the pregnant cows. But if you plan to sell them to another farm that is going to use them for brood cows, you might as well breed them and get some more money for them.

 

[Horseless]

CULL cows, correct? Sell them as such, slaughter price, bred or not. Don't sell them as bred cows. Some one might try to improve their herd with them. ;-) If there is a quality issue, why put your reputation on the line by selling them as bred.

 

[Douglas]

^So if my circumstance is such that it is very difficult/costly to separate the planned culls, I should not worry about it as long as I sell them for slaughter. Can you typically designate them as such at the sale barn? I probably should have started this on the beginner’s board so bear with me.

 

[1982vett]

^So if my circumstance is such that it is very difficult/costly to separate the planned culls, I should not worry about it as long as I sell them for slaughter. Can you typically designate them as such at the sale barn? I probably should have started this on the beginner’s board so bear with me.

Yes you can designate for slaughter when you unload. I think most barns will ask if you want them palpated. Answering "no" should get them put in the "kill" pen.

 

[KNERSIE]

Making sure they are in a condition fit for slaughter would be more of a priority when selling cull cows.

 

[angie1]

CULL cows, correct? Sell them as such, slaughter price, bred or not. Don't sell them as bred cows. Some one might try to improve their herd with them. ;-) If there is a quality issue, why put your reputation on the line by selling them as bred.

He does not bring up quality as a reason for culling. If they are quality cattle it is not an option to be over looked. I have (and there are many others) improved my herd with other peoples cull cows. I consider buying a cow with experience a balance over buying a heifer with no credentials as a cow ~ her main job. Hope that makes sense.

 

[TexasBred]

CULL cows, correct? Sell them as such, slaughter price, bred or not. Don't sell them as bred cows. Some one might try to improve their herd with them. ;-) If there is a quality issue, why put your reputation on the line by selling them as bred.

He does not bring up quality as a reason for culling. If they are quality cattle it is not an option to be over looked. I have (and there are many others) improved my herd with other peoples cull cows. I consider buying a cow with experience a balance over buying a heifer with no credentials as a cow ~ her main job. Hope that makes sense.

Angie, two of my best cows are cows that were somebody's "culls" and for the life of me I don't know why he culled them. If he had anything better coming along I'd love to seem them, cause these two ol' gals are great cows.

 

[Angus Cowman]

If I was sending them thru the sale barn I wouldn't worry about if they were bred or not
The way I look at sale barns is buyer beware if you don't know enough to buy cows at the sale barn then by all means don't ,

If they are bred and sold as breds then the buyer is taking the chance on buying them and it is not your responsibility as long as the cows are not sick and if they are then you don't need to be selling them at all

I am sorry but just because I cull a cow doesn't mean that they would be a cull to someone else
and I have also bought bred and open cows at the sale that aren't in the best of shape and I am taking my chances doing it and I don't blame the seller if they don't work out

I try to buy 80 -100 hd of trading cows a yr and that is what they are trading cows
They are usually thin short bred cows in the fall or they are open cows and I breed them with a trader bull and and calve them out or sell them as heavy breds in the spring I have done this for several yrs and some yrs I make good money aond some yrs I break even


Also I keep these cows completely away from my other cows and my good bulls

The only way I would be concerned was if I was selling them to an individual off of the farm

 

[msscamp]

I have several cows I need to cull after raising a calf this summer. Should I take measures to make sure they are not rebred, or does it really matter?

As long as you are not culling for temperament(or other issues that would put a prospective buyer, or his herd, at risk), breed them back. One man's cull is another man's treasure, and bred cows generally bring a better price than an open cow will.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I have several cows I need to cull after raising a calf this summer. Should I take measures to make sure they are not rebred, or does it really matter?

As long as you are not culling for temperament

Bad Temperment usually shows up at the sale barn very quickly

 

[Horseless]

CULL cows, correct? Sell them as such, slaughter price, bred or not. Don't sell them as bred cows. Some one might try to improve their herd with them. ;-) If there is a quality issue, why put your reputation on the line by selling them as bred.

He does not bring up quality as a reason for culling. If they are quality cattle it is not an option to be over looked. I have (and there are many others) improved my herd with other peoples cull cows. I consider buying a cow with experience a balance over buying a heifer with no credentials as a cow ~ her main job. Hope that makes sense.

No he doesn't bring up quality as an issue, he doesn't state any reason. That is why I stated "IF" there is a quality issue in the last sentence. If there was a quality issue I would not sell them as bred. Culling can be another expensive issue depending on your sitiuation. Timing can be a big deal. In my situation, if I am culling it is do to a quality issue. The cows need to be in my herd as long as possible and still be productive. I would feel pretty guilty if I sold my cull cows as bred, because there would be a qualtiy issue.
Now, if I had to sell because a lack of hay, or drought or for some other unforseen disruption to my business, then I would probably call it a dispersion or a partial dispersion. Then perhaps a very good time to by "MY" cows. But cull cows to me are just that, culls.

 

[Caustic Burno]

^So if my circumstance is such that it is very difficult/costly to separate the planned culls, I should not worry about it as long as I sell them for slaughter. Can you typically designate them as such at the sale barn? I probably should have started this on the beginner’s board so bear with me.

Yes you can designate for slaughter when you unload. I think most barns will ask if you want them palpated. Answering "no" should get them put in the "kill" pen.

It does here an open cow has a ticket for the last ride, now white cows will bring better prices.
So condition of culls still adds to the bottom line.

 

[mnmtranching]

No, it won't matter if their bred. It will be early in the pregnancy and the fetus will be very small. There isn't much of a market for bred cull cows. Sell them for kill, it will save you the cost of a preg check.

 

[msscamp]

I have several cows I need to cull after raising a calf this summer. Should I take measures to make sure they are not rebred, or does it really matter?

As long as you are not culling for temperament

Bad Temperment usually shows up at the sale barn very quickly

Not if they have been drugged. Seen that happen once or twice.

 

[Douglas]

Thanks a lot guys i appreciate it.