How to price a bottle calf?

[jhambley]

I have a pure bred horned Hereford heifer bottle calf. She is 1.5 weeks old now and I was curious what would be a reasonable price to ask for her?

 

[hillsdown]

That depends on where she is going..If she is registered from a good line and go on to breed ,,or if she is a twin (to a bull) going for slaughter as a feeder down the line..With milk replacer being ridiculous in price right now you have to figure in the cost to the buyer and how much they would pay t raise the calf and make a profit themselves or the very least break even...But like anything it is worth as much as the buyer is willing to dish out..Why are you selling her and what are your expectations ?

 

[Workinonit Farm]

I have a pure bred horned Hereford heifer bottle calf. She is 1.5 weeks old now and I was curious what would be a reasonable price to ask for her?

That's a good question. I have a week-old (predominantly) black Angus heifer that 2 people have asked if I would be willing to sell.

Katherine

 

[bigbull338]

if the hereford calf is reg.id say $300 or $400.an a good price for the angus calf would be $150 or $200.an im on the very topside of both calves.

 

[cfpinz]

If I get $100 I'm tickled pink. Half of the time I wind up giving them to someone who appreciates them. If you're not done calving I'd want the option to buy/get it back within the near future for grafting, covering all of the other person's expenses.

 

[msscamp]

I have a pure bred horned Hereford heifer bottle calf. She is 1.5 weeks old now and I was curious what would be a reasonable price to ask for her?

What are other bottle calves bringing in your area? The fact that she is purebred whatever is probably not going to make a difference. All most people look at when it comes to bottle calves, is the fact that she could very well die on them and the more they spend, they less they are going to make in the long run. Personally, I wouldn't even consider paying more than a $100.00 for a bottle calf.

 

[S&S Farms]

In our area they are bringing 225 - 285. I sold some off of cull cows for 250.

Jeff

 

[mnmtranching]

If it's a good healthy looking calf, it would bring $75-$80 at auction. Registered or purebred doesn't mean anything.

 

[backhoeboogie]

If it's a good healthy looking calf, it would bring $75-$80 at auction. Registered or purebred doesn't mean anything.

I'd pay that for the hereford if I needed calves to graft onto my nurse cow. Ten days is about perfect in what I look for. Generally I get one from a split pair when the cows is aged. I have gone higher. I would not bid on an angus in this climate.

 

[Busterz]

At the sale last friday in western Kansas the bottle calves were selling anywhere from 125 to 275, a calf with a limp sold for $75.

I'd say a purebred calf should be worth at least $200.

Just go down to the closest sale barn and see what they are selling for, then add 50-100.

 

[Bez+]

If one follows some of my past posts - we tend to give a lot of them away.

And we raise HH

Not too many folks looking to bottle feed a calf nowadays - especially with the cost of milk replacer.

Better be a real stellar calf to interest me in thinking I would give anyone more than a hundred bucks for it - papers mean nothing - funny how folks think it means the price goes up - most are not worth breeeding anyways and should be eaten.

The risk of taking on a bottle sucker includes death - lots of potential issues with sickness and scours and so on. Anyone who has raised suckers has lost at least one somewhere along the line or has hardly ever raised them. The cost of feed and the biggest one - the TIME.

Hope you find someone to take it at one of those big prices I am seeing on this thread - must be a better market down south.

Make a kid happy and send it down the road to them for a "project". Worst case scenario it costs you a hundred bucks in lost revenue - but you save in feed and time and break even in the end - plus you make some kid happy and some parent PO'd at the cost of feeding it. ;-]

Best to you

Bez+

 

[CattleHand]

$200 dollars is what we get for a lot of our calves. Mostly because the people buying them want a pet calf to raise for whatever reasons. Our calves are also commercial, not registered or anything.

 

[backhoeboogie]

$200 dollars is what we get for a lot of our calves. Mostly because the people buying them want a pet calf to raise for whatever reasons. Our calves are also commercial, not registered or anything.

Even grafting it onto a nurse cow, it would be hard for me to make a profit at that price. The benefit would be not having to milk the cow. I would have to evaluate that calf hard as a potential replacement and that is a very young age to look for a plus other than I like a lot of ear.

 

[CattleHand]

$200 dollars is what we get for a lot of our calves. Mostly because the people buying them want a pet calf to raise for whatever reasons. Our calves are also commercial, not registered or anything.

Even grafting it onto a nurse cow, it would be hard for me to make a profit at that price. The benefit would be not having to milk the cow. I would have to evaluate that calf hard as a potential replacement and that is a very young age to look for a plus other than I like a lot of ear.

We dont sell many like that, and they usually aren't bottle calves, just calves that people want off the cow. Also when these people that don't own many cattle buy them as a hobby or to raise as a pet and butcher, I think they usually over pay. I agree with you, I personally would never buy one at that price, but we have never had a problem selling them at that price. I was surprised other people were getting the prices they were also. I didn't post this right away because i figured it was just luck finding the right people.

 

[backhoeboogie]

it was just luck finding the right people.

That is how it all works right? It seems that if I am looking for a certain thing at the auction barn, everyone else there is too.

Then there are the times I don't bid on something and it goes cheap. People say, you could have bought that for $80. I disagree with them. The guy who took it for $80 may have been willing to pay $150. If I would have bid, I may have had to pay $160.

It is always nice to have a half dozen people interested in what you are selling.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

If I get $100 I'm tickled pink.

That's pretty much what I was thinking and that price would include the recently purchased bag of replacer. She's a commercial calf. My calving is done for this year. If I do sell, I told these folks that I would not sell her right away, I'd wait a couple of weeks to be sure she was healthy and doing well. So far so good.

I'd love to give her to a neighbor-kid for a project, but none of the neighbor-kids have any interest in anything other than 4-wheelers and dirt-bikes :lol: .

This calf's mother will be going for a ride next weekend. She's fired.

Anyhow, thanks for all the replies to jhambley's and my question.

Katherine

 

[spinandslide]

BC's at my local sales are bringing anywhere from $250-$300 around this time.

I paid $150 for mine and she was about 10 days old, unregistered angus. All depends on what someone is willing to pay..I wont pay that for another bottle calf. Know someone who had an orphan calf, I enquired on it and was told it would be priced based off of what the BC's at the sale barn were bringing..that sealed it for me.

The risk of them dieing or getting really ill is very real..along with the work and milk replacer..while its gone down abit since I had to buy some, is still high.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

milk replacer..while its gone down abit since I had to buy some, is still high.

:nod: :nod: The bag I bought last week cost me $62.00. When I priced it around this time last year it was $82.00 :shock: . That's for a 50lb bag of Cow's Match (made by Land-O-Lakes).

I sure do miss my nurse cow.

Katherine

 

[spinandslide]

milk replacer..while its gone down abit since I had to buy some, is still high.

:nod: :nod: The bag I bought last week cost me $62.00. When I priced it around this time last year it was $82.00 :shock: . That's for a 50lb bag of Cow's Match (made by Land-O-Lakes).

I sure do miss my nurse cow.

Katherine

WOW! The milk replacer I used was $62 and I was just at Atwoods the other day and it was down to $58.

 

[K2011]

there is a man around here that buys orfan calves from ppl and he prices them as he sees them and he payed around I THINK $25 - $50 for a heifer that was 3 weeks old she was a twin born with a bull calf (the bull calf was born dead and the heifer died shortly after) and he paid around $125 for a simmentalXchar heifer calf that was about week and a half old....