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<blockquote data-quote="regolith" data-source="post: 759489" data-attributes="member: 9267"><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p>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).</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="regolith, post: 759489, member: 9267"] 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. [/QUOTE]
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