Need bottle female baby texas area
- Thread starter mlangfus
- Start date
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
Go to the sale barn and buy a split off of an older cow. A "split" is a calf that taken from its mother. Generally the seller is trying to sell a cow/calf pair but no one is bidding so the auctioneer splits the pair and sells the cow to the processors. Usually it is an older or an undesirable cow and it is sold by weight once it is split. The calf is then sold by the head (generally) and you can pick one up reasonable. I have paid anywhere between $80 and $175 for calves to put on my nurse cow.
When you buy a split, you often can get a calf that is one to two weeks old that has had colostrum and all the starting necessities. Careful not to get one too old or else it will not graft onto another cow. It is best if you can still see the dried navel chord, which is indicative of less than 10 days old, generally.
Good luck.
When you buy a split, you often can get a calf that is one to two weeks old that has had colostrum and all the starting necessities. Careful not to get one too old or else it will not graft onto another cow. It is best if you can still see the dried navel chord, which is indicative of less than 10 days old, generally.
Good luck.
There's an auction in Sulphur Springs...I believe it's on Thursdays. And, it's mainly dairy cattle. You should be able to find what you are looking for there. Be prepared to pay the price, however. Last week a jersey heifer bottle baby sold here for $275.
Alice
Alice
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
Alice":b7jbslxw said:
Alice those dairy sales are always high. Half the heifers there seem to be free martins too. Most of the dairy heifers are held for replacements. Free Martins are sent to the sale barn. I see a lot of beginners come home from the dairy sales with sterile Free Martins. Dairy sales are not a good place for the inexperienced.
backhoeboogie":3omucdsd said:
Well, he's not gonna find a jersey heifer bottle calf at a beef sale...and he said he wanted a bottle calf...which indicates he has no intention of putting one on a nurse cow.
Best he would be to find someone to sell him a jersey heifer baby, but right now, he's gonna be hard pressed to find anyone that'll do that.
mlangfus, did I misread something?
BHB, I didn't realize you were going to the dairy sales.
Alice
backhoeboogie":35bra0j9 said:
Well, he's not gonna find a jersey heifer bottle calf at a beef sale...and he said he wanted a bottle calf...which indicates he has no intention of putting one on a nurse cow.
Best he would be to find someone to sell him a jersey heifer baby, but right now, he's gonna be hard pressed to find anyone that'll do that.
mlangfus, did I misread something?
BHB, I didn't know you were going to the dairy sales.
Alice
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
Alice":qn6qd2py said:
Alice, I don't go regularly. I have the one nurse cow that I run four calves on and the calves I buy (splits) are beeves.
It seems there are many folks wanting nurse cows. (Mine happens to be 1/2 jersey and 1/2 holstein) Anyway, I go with friends to the dairy sale such as the one there on 281 in Stephenville occasionally (three trips last year). Those babies are expensive.
You see a lot of 3 to 4 weight dairy heifers at the regular auctions. They are cheaper than the bottle calves from the dairy sales. Free martins are easier to spot at the age based on udder conformation. Hence, I generally recommend folks picking up 3 to 4 weight nurse cows at the regular sales. However, some of those are not as gentle as a bottle baby would be.
I didn't know the experience level of the individual who started this thread. He could be an old hand. He was wanting "1/2 Jersey as a preference". You see them occasionally in Cleburne, Dublin, and Meridian. I haven't been to Mineral Wells in a while.
backhoeboogie":w2bfmzw9 said:
I've had 'em palpated at 375-400lbs. IMO, one would be better off buying an older, open heifer at a dairy sale that's been palpated as normal, than to buy a baby heifer. However, now is not the time to buy. In our area, (Holstein) 5wts are almost $850, 8wts $1300, and the springers are as high as $2510.
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
milkmaid":z5548mne said:
It is the same here M.M. at the dairy sales. Now is not the time to buy anything IMHO :lol: I have sold some of those I bought back in October. Sure wish I would have bought more then.
A
Anonymous
I know this is probaly a silly question, but why is now not a good time to buy????
A
Anonymous
I realize that I am just wondering why the prices to buy are so high right now???
B&LFarms":1vkl5mn7 said:
Near as I can tell, it's because milk prices jumped -- there's been another CWT buyout which takes thousands of cows out of production, and it's a supply-demand thing. Less cows equals less milk equals higher price for milk, so dairies want more cows so they'll have more milk to sell. The price of dairy heifers is directly related to the price of milk.
backhoeboogie
Well-known member
B&LFarms":p8n7tn0w said:
In addition to the milk, as MilkMaid cited, you have to bear in mind the '05 drought was awful on the beef end. Lots of folks in this area sold out completely. This was entire herd dispersals. Then came the '06 drought which was not nearly as bad, but it was widespread. It was better to sell than pay $100 plus for hay. There was a lot of dumping. So now, all culls are pretty much gone. Those who still have cattle are retaining heifers.
Right now I have grazing for another 150 head, if I had them. Two years ago I could barely support any. If not for irrigation, there wouldn't have been hay for me.
So. IMHO, it is just a cycle.
