Got a question....

[Farmhand]

A guy CAN improve his herd by buying at a sale barn IF he does his homework. You have to know who has what in your area. Some around here sell great cattle at the sale barn because they don't fit their operation. Learn about the guy and why he would be selling them at the sale barn. Have picked up some nice ones just because those calves were late calvers for him but they fit into my operation nicely. I can't afford to buy private treaty, sale barn prices are usually cheaper. It does take a lot of looking and waiting and research.

Raise a lot of bottle calves here. We buy them about 3 days to a week old. We break them to a bucket right away. Takes about 3 days of using your fingers as a nipple to get their head in a bucket. Feed them a full bottles worth 2 times a day. Keep them on milk replacer for 7 - 8 weeks. Found out the hard way that weaning them earlier than that causes them to go down hill and not grow so well. Makes them more prone to sickness too. Milk replacer is not as good as momma. We use All Stock feed right away on them. Give them their milk then put a few handfulls of feed in their mouth with your fingers then use your fingers to get them to drink some water you put in the milk bucket. They will eventually get the idea and you will no longer have to do this for them. We keep a little All Stock, hay, and water in front of them at all times. Good luck and have fun with your calves!

 

[tapeworm]

Good posting Farmhand. Thats all true and good helpfor other folks to know....lots of auction bashing goes on here

 

[Caustic Burno]

Good posting Farmhand. Thats all true and good helpfor other folks to know....lots of auction bashing goes on here

Tape do you even have cattle of your own its OK if you don't.

 

[tapeworm]

Good posting Farmhand. Thats all true and good helpfor other folks to know....lots of auction bashing goes on here

Tape do you even have cattle of your own its OK if you don't.

No tough guy...I'm a Vegas stripper on the laptop in between acts. Do I need some cows???

 

[Caustic Burno]

Good posting Farmhand. Thats all true and good helpfor other folks to know....lots of auction bashing goes on here

Tape do you even have cattle of your own its OK if you don't.

No tough guy...I'm a Vegas stripper on the laptop in between acts. Do I need some cows???

No you don't need any cows to read and enjoy the boards or to want to be around cattlemen and women. I always had you pegged for pink Chaps.

 

[Wewild]

...last year I tried raising bucket calves...(started buying them to put on the cows that lost calves, bought too many and got stuck with um)...they all got sick at one point and never really recovered....needless to say 2 out of 6 are getting raised for butcher cause they didnt fit the herd...

How many calves did you lose? Was it a proactive or reactive purchase?

 

[jerry27150]

we always weaned our holstein calves at 6 weeks when they were eating grain good. we always mixed our own corn & soy, so we were feeding a 18-20 percent protein mix, they always growed like weeds on it

 

[WORANCH]

A guy CAN improve his herd by buying at a sale barn

Have picked up some nice ones just because those calves were late calvers for him but they fit into my operation nicely. I can't afford to buy private treaty, sale barn prices are usually cheaper. !

So you can improve your herd with slow calvers ( CULLS) ?

 

[dun]

So you can improve your herd with slow calvers ( CULLS) ?

I think the point was that some people have later calving season then others. A cow can breed back late for more reasons then can be attributed to the cow.

dun

 

[Farmhand]

Right on dun! A few years ago our bull twisted his ankle while breeding the summer calvers. He healed just fine but took a break from breeding for a bit. That summer we calved part of the cows early summer and the rest late summer instead of all in early summer. Played h*ll trying to get everyone back to calving when they should. Some guys don't want to mess with that and cull the cows and buy replacements that fit in for them right away. Had nothing to do with the cows. That is why I say you can find good cows at a sale barn if you do your research.

 

[Ferdinand D Bull]

If you know what your doing you can find some good deals at the salebarn. Especially with some older cows who are sent because replacemtns are kept but still have a few good years and calves left.

 

[CattleAnnie]

Good point, Ferdinand.

Also can pick up good cows through herd dispersals at the sale barn. I've bought some awesome cattle that way, and generally cheaper than at the ranch.

But then again I'm one of those nuts who love to go auction markets...it's the lure of the deal.

Take care.

 

[panhandle_rancher]

I lost 4 calves, all were doing well till I brought home the last calf I was going to buy....heifer, I paid anywhere from 150 - 300 for my calves, anyway, this particular one brought home some sort of air born virus, we didnt catch it till late in the game, I took her to town to the local vet he gave me some shots to give and said right away! So I raced home to find that 2 of my more expensive bull calves were already dead. The next two died the next day...I had posts done on them....there was nothing left inside, the virus had eaten their lungs...it was awful. I fought for 2 weeks to keep the rest alive, it was a battle, I did lose money....the two that are being raised for butcher are still only about 300 lbs, sad when the average of my herd was 575.....in October of 2004. I've learned a hard lesson on buying calves at the sale barn...I look them little cows over good before they get in ring. They also get shots before they hit the stalls.

Thanks for the tip on food....I'd really like to raise my bucket calves up big this year....our herd is at 100% calving right now so chances are I wont get to keep them for very long...probably lose a few more, we are only half done.
I do love constructive critisism...

I enjoy this forum very much, its nice to talk to people that actually know what I'm talking about and dont smother my with questions about this or that because they've never been on a ranch before...lol...sometimes it's fun to brag but it gets old after a while...anyone know what I mean??

 

[Bama]

I buy most of my my calves from the salebarn. I do more turnover than most folks here. I generally run from 10 to 100 or more it just depends on the market. Currently I'm way down. I'll probally buy back in mid to late march. The first thing I do is isolate the new one's and vaccinate them with a dewormer and la200, and BS gold 5. In 3-4 weeks I'll hit em with a booster of BS Gold as a booster and turn them into the herd if no problems. This works for me but I'll warn you it is a lot more riskier than most operations.

 

[Farmhand]

Walk the pens at the sale barn before you even consider buying at the sale barn. You can find a lot of problems when they're quiet in the pens that you won't see once they're moving around in the ring. We buy a lot at barns but never without walking the pens first. Usually a good 3 different times during the sale. See how they are when quiet, then see how they are when excited. Always isolate when they come home. Research as many producers as you can. Try to find out who only sells their problems there and don't buy any of those. A little risky but can be profitable with a little work. Keep a notebook on you and write things down everytime you are there. Then you have a reference to who brings what kind of animal there.