footballjdtractor
Well-known member
is anyone raising dairy replacement heifers? what are some of the pro's and con's? What size do you get them? how long do keep them?
dairy replacements
- Thread starter footballjdtractor
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
novaman
Well-known member
Yes, but they are my own heifers to go back into my own herd. By the way your post reads I'm assuming you would be acquiring them, raising them, then selling them...is that correct? Not sure what you mean about pros and cons. They can be expensive to buy since very few dairies will sell females as calves. I would run them until a couple weeks before they are due to calve and sell them as springers. To make them more appealing I would AI them to some top notch bulls. Of coures the springing heifer prices will have huge swings in what they are worth depending upon the price of milk at that particular time. Back in '07 and '08 you could have sold them for $1800+. I talked to a fellow dairyman a couple weeks back and he picked up 15 close up heifers for $900. Hope that answers some of your questions.
bigbull338
Well-known member
they say it cost $1200 from birth to raise a heifer.an thats not counting the heifers purchase price.fresh heifers an springers have been in the crapper here for a good while.
novaman
Well-known member
That figure sounds pretty close to what I go by. My cost is closer to $1300 but I go with higher end starters and milk replacers so that tends to be a bit more expensive.bigbull338":243magal said:
regolith
Well-known member
I put together a herd that way. I can give you some 'cons' alright - for the last four years since then I've raised calves born to my own herd, on whole milk, and there's a world of difference.
Genetics - unless you're buying the whole line (every heifer born to the herd that year) or you can trust the seller to give you a genuine surplus picked out for date of birth or less desired breed, what you are getting is what the farmer doesn't want. He knows the dams. You don't. I can pick out good-looking heifers with flash indexes at any age from the group and almost guarantee that those heifers will perform below their herdmates - because I know the dam.
Health - your calves have been transported, maybe mixed with calves from other sources. You can't be certain they've had colostrum, are the age the seller claims they are, have been housed or looked after to your own standards. Five years ago I bought calves from two herds, the second group came with rotavirus. Every calf in the shed became infected and weaning was two weeks later than predicted. Since then, I've culled 2 young cows that blood-tested as BVD PIs from that group and seen rotavirus every year, on farms that claimed to be clean of infectious scours. Johnes is another risk - I bought it in with adult cows, but it could just as easily arrive with calves.
The farmers you hope to sell your heifers to also know of these risks, and some may be maintaining closed herds (thus no market for you).
You need good land and facilities - I made an arrangement with a neighbouring farmer, we had a hot water heater installed for mixing milk and washing up and I paid a share of the electricity. From start, it's nearly two years to get a return on your time and investment, a high input business serving a fickle market.
My calves were 4 days - 3 weeks old when they arrived. 4 days is the legal minimum age for sale in this country. Keeping them to sell as springers is usually the best option here - the highest cost is in the first three months but the selling price doesn't alter much until they're starting to fill out ready to calve. There might be a profitable market for weaned calves, I don't know.
Genetics - unless you're buying the whole line (every heifer born to the herd that year) or you can trust the seller to give you a genuine surplus picked out for date of birth or less desired breed, what you are getting is what the farmer doesn't want. He knows the dams. You don't. I can pick out good-looking heifers with flash indexes at any age from the group and almost guarantee that those heifers will perform below their herdmates - because I know the dam.
Health - your calves have been transported, maybe mixed with calves from other sources. You can't be certain they've had colostrum, are the age the seller claims they are, have been housed or looked after to your own standards. Five years ago I bought calves from two herds, the second group came with rotavirus. Every calf in the shed became infected and weaning was two weeks later than predicted. Since then, I've culled 2 young cows that blood-tested as BVD PIs from that group and seen rotavirus every year, on farms that claimed to be clean of infectious scours. Johnes is another risk - I bought it in with adult cows, but it could just as easily arrive with calves.
The farmers you hope to sell your heifers to also know of these risks, and some may be maintaining closed herds (thus no market for you).
You need good land and facilities - I made an arrangement with a neighbouring farmer, we had a hot water heater installed for mixing milk and washing up and I paid a share of the electricity. From start, it's nearly two years to get a return on your time and investment, a high input business serving a fickle market.
My calves were 4 days - 3 weeks old when they arrived. 4 days is the legal minimum age for sale in this country. Keeping them to sell as springers is usually the best option here - the highest cost is in the first three months but the selling price doesn't alter much until they're starting to fill out ready to calve. There might be a profitable market for weaned calves, I don't know.
footballjdtractor
Well-known member
I was referring to raising replacements for someone else on a custom basis. They would provide the heifers from their own herd to me and I would raise them to breeding age for a set fee.
regolith
Well-known member
Have a good contract, making it clear who bears what risk. In one I looked at the other day (for mature dairy cows) any deaths were at the owners risk up to 1%, thereafter the grazier would be required tp compensate for those animals.
Usually the grazier will have to make up any shportfall in feed owing to drought etc.
My calves leave the farm when they're fully weaned, about five months old and come back at 21 - 22 months - two months before calving. 'Average' stock management won't get repeat custom from me.
If you can't see the diference between these two images of the same calf I might be dubious about whether you'd be excellent enough for my animals: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=60716
The company I have had heifers with for three seasons (and the animal pictured went there earlier this month; I won't be sending any more to the farm where that photo was taken) bases their fees on weight gain, so the owner pays for the growth their cattle are making, not a set fee per animal.
Usually the grazier will have to make up any shportfall in feed owing to drought etc.
My calves leave the farm when they're fully weaned, about five months old and come back at 21 - 22 months - two months before calving. 'Average' stock management won't get repeat custom from me.
If you can't see the diference between these two images of the same calf I might be dubious about whether you'd be excellent enough for my animals: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=60716
The company I have had heifers with for three seasons (and the animal pictured went there earlier this month; I won't be sending any more to the farm where that photo was taken) bases their fees on weight gain, so the owner pays for the growth their cattle are making, not a set fee per animal.
novaman
Well-known member
I've only heard of heifer ranches that take the calves and raise them until just before they calve. They do all the breeding and care taking. With feed costs where they are, it doesn't sound like many are making money custom raising dairy heifers. Most dairies are also pretty particular with how the heifers are raised as it makes a huge difference when they come into production.footballjdtractor":39si25f3 said:
