Lost calf need advice

[agcntry]

Been workin in big city and due to change in job moved back to rural america. Bought some older cows to get started 9-10 yrs old. 9 yr old cow lost calf today that was born last night. I travel some as a sales rep so buying another calf isn't an option, as I don't want to put the burden on my friend who is my partner.

Question #1 Is do I put wheels under her right away or let her rebreed and then put wheels on her. I know now she will only bring slaughter price, but she is probably a 1300 lb cow and big and fleshy.

Question #2
What is best to buy to try and recoop some loss. Do I buy a pair, another bred cow, or wait til spring and buy a calf to put on grass with my others.

Thanks in advance for all the replies. PS this site is great for advice and it really helped me remember what to do to try and save the calf.

 

[watso059]

If it were me, not that I'm an expert, I'd send her on through b/c she won't need to be checked if she is going by the pound for slaughter and you're not going run her with a number on her side. Before I sold, I would probably check the salebarn's prices at the moment, assuming that is where you'll sale. I'm not sure how they are in Oklahoma right now, so you will have to be the judge of that I guess. Also, where are you going to buy from? If at the sale, I would probably figure out what I want in breed, color, age, prices, etc. and shoot for it. But you may see a better deal come through, even if not exactly what you want, whether it be a pair or bred, etc. You may be able to get something and make a quick profit off it. For instance, if you are looking for a limo cow (or whatever)that is bred and you see a hereford or char (whatever) pair come through with a low price, you might jump on it and make a quick buck off the already-born calf and resell it bred later. Remember, if you buy a heifer to put in with your bull, make sure it doesn't get bred too early (in case it were to mature quickly), which may cause complications at birth. Finally, there are two rules of thumb that I have come to realize both through bad experience and with the wisdom found on this site: 1) you usually get what you pay for, and 2) at the sale, if not a special sale or a sell-out, you are probably buying other peoples problems, so be careful. Sorry about your loss and hope you have better luck with your next transaction. Yet again, this is probably what I would do, and others may do things differently.
Brad

 

[CattleAnnie]

Sort of depends on what you want to do.

If you think she lost the calf due to poor mothering ability, and not just bad luck, but if she's got lots of milk and good working teats, and if you have the time, I'd get a calf and graft it onto her so that she can raise a calf for you.

Then if you don't like her, sell her in the fall a couple weeks after weaning the calf (she'll have dried up by then and start to put weight back on). That way you have a calf and a cow to sell, or if she's rebred and you want to give her another chance, you can keep her for another year.

Otherwise, if you take a tight-bagged cow to the sale barn right now, you're likely to get docked on her. So if you're short on time and patience for grafting and determined to sell her now, give her a week or so to dry up and bounce back from calving.

Personally, if she's older and you run her dry all summer, you're not making any money off her this year. Plus some older cows will get overfat and not rebreed very well if left dry.

Good luck with your decision. Just rambling on with some thoughts here.

Take care.