Old Cheap Cow

[KANSAS]

Can anyone help me learn what to look like on older cheaper cows that I can get a couple 2 3 or more calves out of. Have a great bull to put on em, but just want to get started cheap. Let me know any tricks you may have if you dont mind...

Thanks,

Joseph Kerr

 

[CUZ]

WOW! I don't have any tricks for you. I guess I'd want her to have a calf about 2 months old by her side so I could see what her bag looked like and maybe get a hint of the type calf she can raise, after all you want her bred back to your bull. But since cows that are getting up there may drop off in fertility I think trying to time it down to her last 2 or 3 calves is a real crap-shoot.

Maybe the next reply will have all the answers and will educate both of us.

Good luck,
Cuz

 

[Kent]

Kansas,

The name of the game is teeth. You can't judge a cow's longevity by years alone. If she has good teeth, plus good feet, legs, eyes, and udder, she will probably milk pretty well relative to her milking ability when she was in her prime. If she never was at least an average milker, she probably wouldn't have made it this long. Get someone who knows what they are doing to mouth the cows for you. The vet at the local sale barn should be able to do this (and should be doing it anyway on head cows) and share the info with you on cows you like.

I have had cows stop producing at 10 years old and I have had one registered cow produce to 21 years, plus many 12-15 year olds. A solid-mouthed cow will probably last long enough for you to get a heifer calf out of her. I would still buy 3-in-1's, though. A cow that age needs to prove to me that she still breeds back quickly. If you buy a bred cow or a pair with the cow open, who knows how long it took to get her bred the last time? Then, next year, you can breed her to your bull.

One last thing: Don't let the cows get thin and don't buy thin cows. The older they are, the more important this is. Hope this helps.

 

[skidboots]

You sure gave lots of good advice there in a short space.
I hope it helped KANSAS, but it sure answered a lot of my questions too. Thanks, again.

 

[Joy in Texas]

I agree with Kent. 3 in 1 is the best way to go.Thats how I ended up with these cows. I have 1- 14 yr old she's due next month. I also have 3 - 12 yrs olds. and all of them are due in a couple of months. Their teeth are very important. I feed them beef developer twice a day. I'll keep them as long as they keep having babies.

 

[Brandonm2]

Can anyone help me learn what to look like on older cheaper cows that I can get a couple 2 3 or more calves out of. Have a great bull to put on em, but just want to get started cheap. Let me know any tricks you may have if you dont mind...

Thanks,

Joseph Kerr

We probably need more clarification on what you are trying to do. Are you going to the stockyard and bidding on smooth mouth cows? or are you going to seedstock sales and buying 12+++ year old cows?

The big thing with older cows is too be wary of their teeth. You can save some money on thin cows; but if they are old AND thin then "maybe" they have reached the point that they simply can't eat enough to stay in condition (and I know the drought conditions in much of the country means MOST of the cows at the sale are thinner than normal). Old AND thin is CHEAP but is too much risk for me. If you are going to buy old cows try to get ones IN decent condition, that way you don't have to spend money pouring feed into an over the hill cow; that MIGHT not ever get in breeding condition. Ideally (if buying opens) you want to breed them 3 days right off the truck. Don't buy anything with obviously broke down udders. If she is dry and one teat is six inches longer than the other three stay away or if the udder is dry and hanging down below her hocks. Don't buy anything that is not moving well or who has a bad eye. One vet bill will kill whatever you saved on the cow per pound. I know all of this is elementary) but when the cows are coming at you every 15-20 seconds it is easy to miss something, unless you are looking methodically for flaws. I would still recommend starting a new cattle operation with young quality cattle. You can depreciate the extra cost off your income taxes and you still have the cow by the time the five years depreciation period is over and you won't start off with a herd you are always trying to breed up to average.

 

[mnmtranching]

This happened to me yesterday. I took 4 cows to the sale barn, to sell for kill. A guy asked me questions as they were being unloaded. The cows were 8 or 9 years old, I sold the calves the week before, he asked are they breed? they have been with a bull since June. What breed? Charolias.

Anyway the guy bought all four cows, took them back to the country. He paid .50 cents for 1250 pound cows. At 625. per cow will he make money? I think so, he apparently has feed, I don't. By the way Their calves brought over 600$ last week.

mnmt

 

[Brandonm2]

Heck, 8 or 9 year olds are still in their PRIME. I wouldn't have thought of them as being old OR cheap and they ought to have more than 2 or 3 calves left in them.

 

[Chris H]

This happened to me yesterday. I took 4 cows to the sale barn, to sell for kill. A guy asked me questions as they were being unloaded. The cows were 8 or 9 years old, I sold the calves the week before, he asked are they breed? they have been with a bull since June. What breed? Charolias.

Anyway the guy bought all four cows, took them back to the country. He paid .50 cents for 1250 pound cows. At 625. per cow will he make money? I think so, he apparently has feed, I don't. By the way Their calves brought over 600$ last week.

mnmt

Could have done the same thing at our salebarn and gotten some good old cows from us, too. We've sent 8 so far, all went for kill but 7 could have been good for a couple more years.

 

[J]

Ok now let me ask this question, lets say you do pick up a few good older bred cows, in good condition that throws a good looking heifer calf, do you keep it if the cow is a good one or does the heifer automatically go to the sale?


Then maybe keep a heifer out of her from your good bull?

 

[Kent]

Ok now let me ask this question, lets say you do pick up a few good older bred cows, in good condition that throws a good looking heifer calf, do you keep it if the cow is a good one or does the heifer automatically go to the sale?


Then maybe keep a heifer out of her from your good bull?

In my opinion, you know as much about the quality of that heifer calf as you did about the cow when you bought her, so if she looks good, might as well keep her if you're trying to build numbers.

 

[Brandonm2]

Ok now let me ask this question, lets say you do pick up a few good older bred cows, in good condition that throws a good looking heifer calf, do you keep it if the cow is a good one or does the heifer automatically go to the sale?


Then maybe keep a heifer out of her from your good bull?

Theoretically yes, BUT if the feeder calf market is REALLY REALLY hot (like it was a year ago) why keep a heifer out of a stockyard cow when you can use that money to buy another stockyard cow a few months later when the market cools. That cow will produce a calf sooner than that heifer and you won't have to bother with buying feed to grow out heifers or seperating your herd into two groups (so the heifers can get special feed or better grass). Of course if the market is really down (and IF you don't need the money) you might as well keep your heifers and have a bigger herd ready for when the market rebounds.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Nothing wrong with Short and Solids if you have good grass, I don't bat an eye buying an old cow that has several calfs left in her.
http://cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic. ... ight=beefy

 

[bigbull338]

yes you can make money off of short an solid cows.even if you nuy them bred an get 1 calf out of them.an sale them both at weaning time.doesnt matter if a cow is 10 or older as long as she breeds back.most old cows you can get 3 or 4 calves outta them fore you send them to the sale.

 

[randiliana]

If the calf fit in with what I was raising for a herd, I would probably keep her. Old cows don't usually get old unless they can raise a pretty darn good calf every year.

Then I would hope that cow bred back to my bull and had another good calf. I think it is a good way of getting some really good replacements.

 

[J]

Well the reason I asked was because I picked up an older bred cow last year at the sale barn and judging by her condition she probably has 2 or 3 or 4 calves left in her. She has been a really good cow, calved by herself as expected, is a good mama (protective), milks good (raising a good looking heifer), has kept up good body condition through the drought without any real supplementing.

I put her in with the bull 45 days after calving, she was in heat within a week, she stayed with the bull for 60 days and within that time frame I never saw her come back in. Generally speaking she is pretty much what I look for in a cow. Not knowing the bull she was bred to I have a missing link to what this heifer will be like. I have been debating on whether or not to keep her, my uncle wants her too. I am trying to build up my numbers as well. I have also considered selling and buying another bred cow as someone else said earlier.


What would you do?

 

[dun]

Well the reason I asked was because I picked up an older bred cow last year at the sale barn and judging by her condition she probably has 2 or 3 or 4 calves left in her. She has been a really good cow, calved by herself as expected, is a good mama (protective), milks good (raising a good looking heifer), has kept up good body condition through the drought without any real supplementing.

I put her in with the bull 45 days after calving, she was in heat within a week, she stayed with the bull for 60 days and within that time frame I never saw her come back in. Generally speaking she is pretty much what I look for in a cow. Not knowing the bull she was bred to I have a missing link to what this heifer will be like. I have been debating on whether or not to keep her, my uncle wants her too. I am trying to build up my numbers as well. I have also considered selling and buying another bred cow as someone else said earlier.


What would you do?

Based on this, if I had the feed I'ld keep them both

dun

 

[J]

Well the reason I asked was because I picked up an older bred cow last year at the sale barn and judging by her condition she probably has 2 or 3 or 4 calves left in her. She has been a really good cow, calved by herself as expected, is a good mama (protective), milks good (raising a good looking heifer), has kept up good body condition through the drought without any real supplementing.

I put her in with the bull 45 days after calving, she was in heat within a week, she stayed with the bull for 60 days and within that time frame I never saw her come back in. Generally speaking she is pretty much what I look for in a cow. Not knowing the bull she was bred to I have a missing link to what this heifer will be like. I have been debating on whether or not to keep her, my uncle wants her too. I am trying to build up my numbers as well. I have also considered selling and buying another bred cow as someone else said earlier.


What would you do?

Based on this, if I had the feed I'ld keep them both

dun

Well I'm definitely going to hang on to the cow. She's bred to my uncles angus bull, if that amounts to anything, but she's like I said a good cow to have around. The heifer is at this point going to hang around too I just wondered if people would keep one like that not knowing half the background on it.

 

[dun]

Well I'm definitely going to hang on to the cow. She's bred to my uncles angus bull, if that amounts to anything, but she's like I said a good cow to have around. The heifer is at this point going to hang around too I just wondered if people would keep one like that not knowing half the background on it.

I've alwasy been a sucker for a pretty face (heifer). You know half the genetic ability, if the heifer grows to weaning to the kind of animals you want to perpetuate, keep her. But don;t be barn blind, pick her apart and see if there are things you really don;t want in your herd.

dun

 

[J]

Well I'm definitely going to hang on to the cow. She's bred to my uncles angus bull, if that amounts to anything, but she's like I said a good cow to have around. The heifer is at this point going to hang around too I just wondered if people would keep one like that not knowing half the background on it.

I've alwasy been a sucker for a pretty face (heifer). You know half the genetic ability, if the heifer grows to weaning to the kind of animals you want to perpetuate, keep her. But don;t be barn blind, pick her apart and see if there are things you really don;t want in your herd.

dun

As usual a voice of reason. I'll try to get some pics of her up in the next few days and take my beating. :help: