Need a value on a Brahman-Charlais cross cow

[cajunseismo]

We have a small petting farm and our adorable 18 yo cow who was very gentle and friendly, was killed by 2 stray nieghbors dogs. They attacked her while she was sitting down and chewed off her ears and bit her all over her face. The neighbor has said he would replace her. of course, the problem is, she was also our pet and had been raised around people all her life. She was also a valuable asset to our business because she was so friendly and gentle. She was in great health other than being old and slow. We need some help to figure her worth in dollars as we will never be paid her worth to us emotionally. Any educated opinons????Thanks for all posts.

 

[redfornow]

In a situation like this I wouldnt go with the real value.
The reason is an 18 year old cow is worth cutter prices.
Not much maybe 25 to 40 a lb. depending on condition.

So I would start looking around at local farms for a replacement. As you are not going to be able to buy a petting zoo animal at the sale barn.
Every farmer has cows that are "people cows" and thats what you need. But you will pay, as most people are not looking to unload a gentle easy working producing cow. Why would they?
Cows like that are money makers.

Explain what you need, call the local extention office or the local sale barn an they will push you in the right direction.
Good luck and sorry about your loss.

MD

 

[*Cowgirl*]

$500 tops

 

[Bullbuyer]

$500 tops

I agree.

 

[MikeC]

We have a small petting farm and our adorable 18 yo cow who was very gentle and friendly, was killed by 2 stray nieghbors dogs. They attacked her while she was sitting down and chewed off her ears and bit her all over her face. The neighbor has said he would replace her. of course, the problem is, she was also our pet and had been raised around people all her life. She was also a valuable asset to our business because she was so friendly and gentle. She was in great health other than being old and slow. We need some help to figure her worth in dollars as we will never be paid her worth to us emotionally. Any educated opinons????Thanks for all posts.

What if that had been a $50,000 dollar cow? Or maybe a small child in the neighborhood?

If what you are saying really happed like you say it did, the owner of the dogs is getting off too light. He must have known that his dogs were capable of this type behavior.

I would take nothing unless I was FULLY satisfied with it.

There are way too many loose dogs roaming rural areas and getting into mischief and these irresponsible dog owners must be held to the fire at some point.

I keep my cows within the confines of a fence and I expect dog owners to do the same.

 

[Alice]

We have a small petting farm and our adorable 18 yo cow who was very gentle and friendly, was killed by 2 stray nieghbors dogs. They attacked her while she was sitting down and chewed off her ears and bit her all over her face. The neighbor has said he would replace her. of course, the problem is, she was also our pet and had been raised around people all her life. She was also a valuable asset to our business because she was so friendly and gentle. She was in great health other than being old and slow. We need some help to figure her worth in dollars as we will never be paid her worth to us emotionally. Any educated opinons????Thanks for all posts.

What if that had been a $50,000 dollar cow? Or maybe a small child in the neighborhood?

If what you are saying really happed like you say it did, the owner of the dogs is getting off too light. He must have known that his dogs were capable of this type behavior.

I would take nothing unless I was FULLY satisfied with it.

There are way too many loose dogs roaming rural areas and getting into mischief and these irresponsible dog owners must be held to the fire at some point.

I keep my cows within the confines of a fence and I expect dog owners to do the same.

Well, as hard as it is for me to do this... :shock: I have to agree with MikeC 150%. :shock: :shock:

Those dogs destroyed your property...property that figured into your financial bottom line. I'd see what it cost to replace the animal and tack more $$$ on top of that.

What did the dog owners say they would do about the dogs? Those dogs need relocating...if ya' get my drift...

Alice

 

[peg4x4]

The cow was "sitting down" and didn't get up when the dogs attacked... 18 years old.. Could she have been sick? Down for a while? Seems like she'd jump up when the dogs got after her.. The dogs need to find another home,far--far away..

 

[Rustler9]

I would have the man pay somewhere between $1500.00 and $2000.00 for the cow. It doesn't matter if the cow was 18 years old or that she was just an old pet and probably past production. The point is this, she was on your property minding her business and bothering no one. Those dogs will attack someone else's livestock or maybe even someone, they need to go on to the happy hunting ground and the owner needs to have to pay for their damage.

 

[redfornow]

It really doesnt matter how much she was worth.
You were not trying to sell her.
How much will it cost to get a calm gentle easy to handle replacement?
Get a quote from a local farm and go from there.
Easy as that.
MD

 

[cajunseismo]

Thanks Redfornow and Rustler for the info, we were thinking along those lines too, and Cowboyup- our hearts want to do something like that but we know that the best thing to do is wait for the dog owners to step and take responsibility and give us back or try to help put us back to where we were before. Then if they balk and want to get off cheap, we will have to go another way, but hopefully not- we will give them a chance to be fair. Our cow was in a fenced in pasture and she was sitting down probably soaking in some sun. We were even looking into possible insemination because she was such a good and good-looking cow. Kids could even sit on her to take pics. She would go up to anyone for a scratch on the head. I did talk to a county extension agent after i viewed these posts and he told me it would be hard to find a replacement to what we had because whoever had such a cow would not be looking to sale- maybe we would be lucky(one day) to find someone looking for a good home for such a cow. He told me we basically would have to start from scratch with a calf we would have to bottlefeed. So we are looking at time and money lost until we have a calf on feed and friendly, gentle, stable, and breeding age.BTW, in our part of Texas-there is a leash law.

 

[john250]

We have a small petting farm and our adorable 18 yo cow who was very gentle and friendly, was killed by 2 stray nieghbors dogs. They attacked her while she was sitting down and chewed off her ears and bit her all over her face. The neighbor has said he would replace her. of course, the problem is, she was also our pet and had been raised around people all her life. She was also a valuable asset to our business because she was so friendly and gentle. She was in great health other than being old and slow. We need some help to figure her worth in dollars as we will never be paid her worth to us emotionally. Any educated opinons????Thanks for all posts.

When did you last see her alive? 18 yr old cows will sometimes just lay down and die. It is possible the dogs were just being scavengers on a carcass?
In my area, some farmers check their cattle once a week and blame coyotes when they find a dead calf. Generally, coyotes just scavenge already dead calves.
I don't own a cow that age, but I have in the past. They die suddenly. Unexpectedly.
Lots of gentle cows out there at decent prices.

 

[cajunseismo]

John 250, I appreciate the new perspective, but the neighbors caught the dogs in action. He actually killed one dog and the other got away but we tracked the dog to the owner of the dogs. The heartbreaker was that they called me as soon as he knew what was going on, wife called while he tried to save my cow, and she was dying when I got to her. She even began to breather hard and fluttered open her eyes at the sound of my voice. It was not a pretty sight. This cow would get mad at me and actually ignore me if I forgot to open her pen when everyone else was out and having fun. She would also walk up to two people talking and actually place herself (rudely, i might add) between them and put her head down to get a head rub. She had a mind of her own and was not shy about getting the attention she wanted and deserved. Maybe I am just prejudiced but i thought she was extra special!!!She did not deserve that kind of death.

 

[Alice]

John 250, I appreciate the new perspective, but the neighbors caught the dogs in action. He actually killed one dog and the other got away but we tracked the dog to the owner of the dogs. The heartbreaker was that they called me as soon as he knew what was going on, wife called while he tried to save my cow, and she was dying when I got to her. She even began to breather hard and fluttered open her eyes at the sound of my voice. It was not a pretty sight. This cow would get mad at me and actually ignore me if I forgot to open her pen when everyone else was out and having fun. She would also walk up to two people talking and actually place herself (rudely, i might add) between them and put her head down to get a head rub. She had a mind of her own and was not shy about getting the attention she wanted and deserved. Maybe I am just prejudiced but i thought she was extra special!!!She did not deserve that kind of death.

No she did not. It's hard for me to even imagine. I'm so sorry.

Alice

 

[cajunseismo]

Thank You so much Alice.

 

[Horticattleman]

Regardless of the value, i would also make sure the one dog left was put down.