Rant

[*Cowgirl*]

Took 4 calves to the sale this summer ( the late June-mid Julys left over from our bull's fence tearing days :roll: )

Any way, they were running them through yelled three heifers, one little bull. WHAT. We had one heifer and three steers. I was there when they lost their balls. They definetly aren't heifers. As for the one little bull. guess they were seeing a stump.

Didn't stay for the sale. Hoping one of those "heifers" pees while "she" is in the ring.

 

[Alice]

Reckon you'll get more for the "Heifers?"

Alice

 

[Scotty]

Buyers will notice what they are. At most barns I have been to they are tagged bulls on the hip and heifers on the rib. Most of the time the auctionere will note the mistaging. I think you will be OK.

 

[dewey]

alot of times things are at a rush and fast pace the person doing the writeing or the one tagging is guessing at the sex of the calves. maine thing is that they get the total head count right. the buyers will be able to tell the sex of the calves when they hit the ring. if you want to know which certain calf is which number make them hold them up until you make your on notes of who is who on the paper.

 

[stocky]

Most of the barns around here will only tag one calf in the bunch that you unload. They all go into the same pen and then they are sexed and then grouped to sell by the lane cutters. The guys in the ring check the sex of the animals in the ring, also. They will sell them for the right sex---good luck that they sell them for the right money, the way the calf market has fallen.

 

[dewey]

would that be the co-mingling (think that is how its is spelled) stocky? a sale barn around here is thinkin about trying to get the cattle co-mingling started.

 

[stocky]

Dewey, No, that isnt the co-mingling. These barns keep all of one owners calves together in one pen, then they cut them into sexes and qualities and pen them in smaller pens together and when they start to sell one owner, they sell him out before going to the next owner. Any owner that has 3 or less calves, they go to the singles pen with all the other singles and they are tagged with individual backtags.
There is one barn in the area that has done co-mingling for several years. You have to bring them in 1-3 days in advance, they ear tag them, weigh them and grade them each as they go through the chute. They then go to the pen with animals that grade like them and sell in large lots with several owners calves mixed in that lot. Most people that I know that have tried it, said they will never do it again. I know some people who make great money by buying groups of those calves because they are various owners, they sell quite a bit cheaper. They then split them up and sell them a few days later at another barn and get 5-15 cents or more per pound more for them and because they were already in the barn for a few days, they weigh more when they are resold. Co-mingling has not gone over well around here, because people get mad when they see a calf that they sold a few days earlier go through another barn and bring alot more somewhere else.

 

[dewey]

i got ya on the sorting of one owners cattle stocky.

i didnt like the sound of the co-mingling deal when it was being discussed. just listening how it suppose to work has me thinking. most folks want to see their calf go thru the ring and sale by itself. just from listening and being told about the whole deal means alot of work. weighing the cattle sorting on the cattle not to mention added stress on the cattle. it will be a volunteer deal if they try it from what i understand. it will be up to the owner of the cattle if they want them co-mingled. i dont think it will fly around here but we will see i reckon. i hope its just one of them ideas and they never try to get it rolling. But i dont know a whole lots i just follow their orders and go along with their flow. ;-)

 

[stocky]

Dewey, at the barn that does it, it is strictly voluntary and there is an extra cost to the seller to have his calves co-mingled because of the extra labor and expense and feed and yardage. There are people who make money selling in the co-mingled and those people are the jockeys that buy sorry cattle at another sale barn and then bring them to be co-mingled with fresh farm cattle. The farm fresh calves will bring up the price of the jockey calves when they are co-mingled. The farm fresh calves will lose money by being mixed with jockey calves. There is someone making money in each selling instance with cattle. It is just that most of the time, it isnt the regular home fresh producer. Someone is always trying to figure out a way to make money off someone elses hard work. But that is true in all walks of life

 

[dewey]

yeah i know about the cattle traders. :lol: every sale barn has them and trader cattle they dont like to admit to it but all of them have them.