Interested in opinions

[cow pollinater]

I'm interested in opinions from those of us who sell bulls.
What would your course of action be if someone bought bulls from your genetics at the local bull sale and the bulls died from shipping fever four days later?
It didn't happen to me but I saw the bulls the day after the sale and they were not right...

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

Thats a tough call CP.

 

[Bigfoot]

I would assume all sales are final. Where they shipped far?

 

[djinwa]

As I understand, the underlying cause of shipping fever is stress, which reduces immunity. As seller concerned about my reputation, I would want to assess how these animals were handled and fed (or not fed). How much were they hauled around and sorted, etc. Were they fed and watered well? And make it right if problems began before the sale.

 

[dun]

If they died 4 days later then there was obviously a problem when they actaully sold. I would replace them and make dam sure whoever was running the sale got it "in one sock" concerning health leading upto the sale time. I would sure make certain that I got as much financial satisfaction from whoever ran the sale as was possible

 

[cow pollinater]

As of today everyone is as happy as they can be with how things have turned out. The seller refunded quite a bit and replaced the bulls as best as they could with yearlings and the salesyard made it right enough behind closed doors that the buyer is happy with them as well(and the buyer is the kind of guy that will let everyone know if he isn't happy so I know it's RIGHT). I've done alot of business at that yard and I know it wasn't anything they did and I saw the bulls on sale day(and bought one from the same bunch) and they were fine then.
I bought a half brother to the two that died at the same sale and I offered to loan him to the buyer for one season to help get a few cows covered as I can AI a few more and cover enough cows to get by with less bull power. My offer was turned down out of pride but I drive through my neighbor's cows all the time so if I see a problem with his bull power I can slip a pair of nuts out the front gate for awhile and help him without insulting him. :lol:

I was just kind of wondering what you all felt the seller's responsibility was. He could have easily walked away with cash in pocket and we'd likely still buy his bulls next year but instead he treated it like it was his problem even though those bulls had been at the salesyard for a few days before the sale.

 

[dun]

Sounds to me like everyone handled it the right way.

 

[gizmom]

I am glad it turned out well, we always try to take care of the customer. It doesn't sound like it was the sellers fault but it wasn't the buyers either so I agree with Dun take care of the buyer then try to get the sale barn to make things right for me, but protect my customer.

Gizmom

 

[RD-Sam]

The seller will get his money back ten fold when people find out he stands behind his cattle, he is a great cattleman, and business man.

 

[Dave]

The seller is obviously a stand up guy and it will come back to him in more business over the years.

On the other side of the issue is I don't buy cattle of any nature who have been in the yard for several days. Every bug known to man comes through those places. The longer cattle are there the better the chance they catch something. Even if they do a real good job of keeping things clean there is still the potential of catching a bug. The auctioneer at my local sale will state that feeders "came in yesterday" to point out a good weighing condition. But I don't buy those cattle. In fact I prefer cattle that came in late and I am getting them out of there as soon as possible.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

i dont know about this case,, if a stock yard here hold a special sale all pens are cleaned and disinfected new sawdust put down..

 

[bigbull338]

as a breeder you have to replace the bulls.if you dont then word would get out an no 1 would buy bulls from you.we bought a bull like that years ago an he died 2wks later.so we called the guy that was gurenteeing the bull.an he made the bull good.because he knew if he didnt he would be ruined here.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

as a breeder you have to replace the bulls.if you dont then word would get out an no 1 would buy bulls from you.we bought a bull like that years ago an he died 2wks later.so we called the guy that was gurenteeing the bull.an he made the bull good.because he knew if he didnt he would be ruined here.

what happened to him?? alot can happen in 2 weeks.....why i wouldnt like that end of the business,, one guy i bought from came to my place to check me out ,when i bought some heifers from him.. looked the place over , to be sure they were gonna be in good care..guarantees work both ways

 

[Stocker Steve]

I always thought cattle started to break 5 days after stressing them too much.
If they are dead, not just sick, on day 4, then it sounds like something went wrong several days before the sale and these cattle had immunity issues.
I would try to not buy cattle like that...

 

[greybeard]

I'll get hit for this, but from the other side of things, if I buy an animal of any kind, if it's in good health when I load it on my trailer, it's mine--period. If I get it home and it dies the next day--my loss.
Why? Because, in spite of the best care, live things die even well cared for bulls. We're not talking about a Walmart goldfish in a bag.

But, if I pay for it one day and don't pick it up for several days or don't have it delivered for several days, it's still the responsibility of the seller till possession is transferred to me or to someone of my designation.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I'll get hit for this, but from the other side of things, if I buy an animal of any kind, if it's in good health when I load it on my trailer, it's mine--period. If I get it home and it dies the next day--my loss. Why? Because, in spite of the best care, live things die even well cared for bulls. We're not talking about a Walmart goldfish in a bag.

But, if I pay for it one day and don't pick it up for several days or don't have it delivered for several days, it's still the responsibility of the seller till possession is transferred to me or to someone of my designation.

wont find many, with that frame of mind....

 

[cow pollinater]

I'll get hit for this, but from the other side of things, if I buy an animal of any kind, if it's in good health when I load it on my trailer, it's mine--period. If I get it home and it dies the next day--my loss.
Why? Because, in spite of the best care, live things die even well cared for bulls. We're not talking about a Walmart goldfish in a bag. .

You won't get hit from me because that's kind of how I saw it to and I did alot of thinking about it as I was intently watching my bull to make sure he didn't follow in his brother's footsteps.