free martin holstein heifer

[E in PA]

Quick question for the forum. I have the oppurtunity to pick up a week old free martin holstein heiffer for cheap. I would have to bottle feed with replacer. would it be worth picking up and how would you raise/finish it?

 

[dun]

If you can get her for a whole lot less then an equivelent Holstein steer it might be worth while. She won;t finish as quickly, cheaply or as heavy as the steer but she will still be good eating.

 

[tmlonghorns]

My experience is that it is not worth your time and you end up losing $. I used to buy bottle calves of the dairy breeds for as low as $5. In the beginning it was fun and i didn't have alot of money into them. It never worked out.
Spend the $ and buy quality.

 

[E in PA]

I was offered it from the family I buy hay from, only reason I am considering it. Even at $5 wasn't worth it?

 

[tmlonghorns]

yep. At $5 it was not worth it!
$5 sounds cheap. But you will have at least 2 bags of repalcer in her....$60 X 2 = $120. Now start to add in your feed costs on top of that plus your time. Kind of sick I know but I like bottle feeding but wont do it again on a dairy.
Ask yourself this question.........why won't the dairy farm raise the calf themselves? They have milk repalcer, they have the feed, and they have the time. Answer is because it is a loser.

 

[backhoeboogie]

If you can graft her onto an existing nurse cow, you can make a few nickels. If you go to the sale barn and buy a beef calf split off of an aged cow and graft it, you'll spend more for the calf but you'll make a few more nickels in the long haul.

Way to many holstein bottle calves look like doggies these days. They are under nourished with pot guts and peg legs. It sort of gives them all a bad name and not as many order buyers have orders for them it seems. That's my opinion and it could be dead wrong.

 

[ChrisB]

Sure you can possibly lose money. But if it doesn't pay to raise bottle calves where in the world are all these fat holstein steers coming from?

Truth is there are people that make there living buying holstein bottle calves and finishing them out. Research feeding dairy steers and you will find a number of university studies on how to do it. What I see is the biggest mistake is taking a dairy steer/heifer and trying to raise it like a beef breed and then figuring out why they aren't performing or making money.

 

[E in PA]

I know money can be made on holstein steers, and obviously on reproductive heifers. But what happens with free martins? usually go for veal calves, feeder operation, other? Or are they a complete waste of time/money?

 

[tmlonghorns]

Sure you can possibly lose money. But if it doesn't pay to raise bottle calves where in the world are all these fat holstein steers coming from?

Truth is there are people that make there living buying holstein bottle calves and finishing them out. Research feeding dairy steers and you will find a number of university studies on how to do it. What I see is the biggest mistake is taking a dairy steer/heifer and trying to raise it like a beef breed and then figuring out why they aren't performing or making money.

Just because people are doing it does not mean that they are making $. The guys that are making $ at it are not just rasing 1 holstein. By that I mean they are set up for this and their overhead costs are spread out over a large number of holsteins. Raising 1 holstein is completely different than raising 1000 holsteins.

 

[tmlonghorns]

I know money can be made on holstein steers, and obviously on reproductive heifers. But what happens with free martins? usually go for veal calves, feeder operation, other? Or are they a complete waste of time/money?

Or they find some sucker to sell to that thinks that they can make some $ at it. Again, ask yourself why the dairy farm does not want to keep her? Aside from the obvious, they have everything needed to finish her out but they won't do it becasue they know how hard it will be to make $.

 

[tsmaxx47]

Sure you can possibly lose money. But if it doesn't pay to raise bottle calves where in the world are all these fat holstein steers coming from?

Truth is there are people that make there living buying holstein bottle calves and finishing them out. Research feeding dairy steers and you will find a number of university studies on how to do it. What I see is the biggest mistake is taking a dairy steer/heifer and trying to raise it like a beef breed and then figuring out why they aren't performing or making money.

those that can do; those that can't teach...

 

[novaman]

Ask yourself this question.........why won't the dairy farm raise the calf themselves? They have milk repalcer, they have the feed, and they have the time. Answer is because it is a loser.

You mustn't be around a dairy very often because I certainly don't have any spare time lying around. I sell all my bull calves because I just can't give them enough attention to raise them or I would keep them around.

Just as a note, I had a couple freemartin Holstein heifers last year. Decided to keep them around for awhile with the hopes that at least one would fall in the 10% that are fertile. I could have tested them but have never done it so I just ran them. They grew out very well, much like the couple Holstein steers we raise for beef. It seems that they were more masculine since they didn't have all the normal female hormones going through them. If you have the time I wouldn't be scared to try it. If things don't work out you won't be out a whole lot with one animal.

 

[hillbillycwo]

At the price for beef in the supermarket your grocery bill sure would be less. They eat good. My father-in-law would raise every freemartin he had born and then had them butchered. They were good. Try it. Keep track of your costs and see how you did. Great project for kids. Gives them the skills they need as adults to get past the mountains of life.

 

[ChrisB]

Sure you can possibly lose money. But if it doesn't pay to raise bottle calves where in the world are all these fat holstein steers coming from?

Truth is there are people that make there living buying holstein bottle calves and finishing them out. Research feeding dairy steers and you will find a number of university studies on how to do it. What I see is the biggest mistake is taking a dairy steer/heifer and trying to raise it like a beef breed and then figuring out why they aren't performing or making money.

those that can do; those that can't teach...

I hear ya!

But the reason I specifically mentioned University studies was because most of the ones I've seen focus on profitability. Too many people will run them next to beef calves on cows and think since they aren't doing as well, they better feed milk replacer longer or give them more. And then since they background beef calves efficently on forages they through the holstein out there too and when they come back tall and lanky when they go on full feed and never get the 'finished' look they decide holsteins are junk.

1 bag of milk replacer
1-2 bags of calf starter
then onto full feed with a corn based ration with some added protein. Limit the amount of roughage, never free choice hay.
1400-1500 pounds in 16 months.

Basically that is how the guys that do it for a living around here do it. Most feed companies have a specific dairy steer program also where you feed their protein pellets with whole corn. Some say no roughage and some say 1-2 pounds of roughage per day.

 

[tmlonghorns]

Ask yourself this question.........why won't the dairy farm raise the calf themselves? They have milk repalcer, they have the feed, and they have the time. Answer is because it is a loser.

You mustn't be around a dairy very often because I certainly don't have any spare time lying around. I sell all my bull calves because I just can't give them enough attention to raise them or I would keep them around.

Just as a note, I had a couple freemartin Holstein heifers last year. Decided to keep them around for awhile with the hopes that at least one would fall in the 10% that are fertile. I could have tested them but have never done it so I just ran them. They grew out very well, much like the couple Holstein steers we raise for beef. It seems that they were more masculine since they didn't have all the normal female hormones going through them. If you have the time I wouldn't be scared to try it. If things don't work out you won't be out a whole lot with one animal.

I ve been around dairy farms enough. My simple point was that you are already in the barn, already bottle feeding calves, etc, etc, so if there was any money to be had on a free martin the dairy itself would feed her out.
To each his own but my opinion was, and remains, to pass on the free martin.

 

[E in PA]

Just a quick note, the calf is no longer available. Thanks for all the responses, and for not getting nasty with each other or to anti dairy steers. When my family still had a dairy farm we raised holstein steers for beef. They were raised pretty much like ChrisB said. Our grain was whole ear corn ground and mixed with supplement. 1200 lbs corn with 400 lbs supplement. No forage except the little they consumed when they were with our weaned calves. At 4-6 months of age they got put in a seperate pen and fed free choice the previously mentioned grain. At 13 months they would be slaughtered and dress out at around 600 lbs. The beef was just as good as genuine angus. :lol2: And I am not knocking angus. I raise those. Anyways, my thought process was to raise it and see if was reproductive. And if not eat it. I was just looking for some advice or suggestions from some of you that had experience with them. Thanks again.