Replacement Heifers

[HDRider]

Who here buys replacement heifers at the sale barn?

 

[skyhightree1]

Who here buys replacement heifers at the sale barn?

I buy some every time the state has their farm cattle at the sale barn.

 

[Rafter S]

I've bought a few. Maybe 1/2 dozen total. Why do you ask?

 

[HDRider]

I've bought a few. Maybe 1/2 dozen total. Why do you ask?

I have been watching prices on different classes of cattle, and I am wondering if there is money to be made buying year old heifers, holding them six to 8 months, breeding to a good bull and selling them as breds.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

Yes it can work. Buy them about 750 or 800lbs keep them 8 or 9 months and sell them as 3rd period bred. Just need to sure enough be good and weigh atleast 850lbs or so when you sell. If they look like little feeders that got bred by there brother or dad it won't work.

 

[Dsteim]

What are you expecting to pay at the barn for the heifers? It might be worth hunting around for some heifers on craigslist or cattle range that maybe are a little more money but better quality and more uniform.

 

[Ojp6]

I know a guy that bought 70 head of good solid black heifers weighing 850-900 in the sale barn and he payed right around fifteen hundred a head. He pelvic measured them and turned 4 really nice calving ease Hereford Bulls with them about a month ago and some guy liked them so much already he offered him 2500 for them when they were 3-5 months bred. I think he should make some money. He luted them in groups of 10-15 as he turned them out so they would hopefully breed quickly. I don't know if that kind of a situation would happen to you but it sounds like a good deal of you could find someone

 

[Bigfoot]

I've done what your talking about many times. Used to specialize in it. Always kept a few of the dumplins for myself.

 

[Rafter S]

I guess like anything it depends on what the prices are going to do. I bought a few weaning age heifers in the summer of 2013. All but one of them calved in December like I wanted so I kept them. One of them was late, and I had a guy ask me for a few cows so I sold her to him when the calf was about a week old. He's been a good customer for hay and cows in the past so I took $2600 for the pair. If he'd been a stranger I probably wouldn't have taken less than $2750. I paid about $850 for her, so I came out okay. If the market had turned down instead of up I might have been lucky to get my money back.

If prices hold, or go up more, I imagine you'll do okay, but if I was smart enough to accurately predict that I'd be rich instead of just pretty.

 

[J&D Cattle]

I bought a few bred heifers a couple of years ago. Uncle buys some every year it seems with luck.

We've bought several open heifers this year with the same hopes. All of these came from a couple of salebarns in the area. They're averaging right at 800lbs and have been vaccinated, pelvic measured, and culled through. We'll turn the bulls out around May 1. We're going to try and sell them off the farm but have a buddy who's family owns a barn and will use it late in the year if need be.

 

[Dave]

I have done it the last two years and again this year. I bought heifers that weighing between 700-800 in February and March. I sync'ed then and AI to a calving ease bull in May. Then turn them out with a clean up bull for 60 days. I sold on the video for an October delivery. Two years ago they cost me $850 to buy. Last year it was $1100. This year I am averaging about $1450 a head. The last two years it worked great because the market was going up. This year I am a little nervous. And I am thinking that next year it might be a good year for a different plan.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

My problem doing this is that I would want to keep all of them.

 

[js1234]

never ever ever ever buy replacements at the sale barn, in fact to be safe don't even buy them from people who have bought at a sale barn in the past or might happened to have had lunch at the sale barn recently. sale barns (infact, i feel dirty even uttering the phrase "sale barn" and will henceforth refer to it as "the place of great shame and thievery") and the people in and around them are for the most part shiftless and unsavory and merely coming into contact with such as them will undoubtedly sully the pristine reputation of your replacements. who wants that?
*the comedy being some here read my post and thought, "this guy gets it" lol.

 

[bigbull338]

any1 who buys at the sale barn better know what they are doing because they can get stung.ive bought no telling how meny dairy cows and bred heifers out of the sale barn.ive also bought cows off of the cattle traders.if you have a good eye you can spot good replacement heifers there.but youll pay high and wide for them.

 

[skyhightree1]

Hd we had that heifer sale I posted at this year was the only year I did not buy a heifer from them they were ranging 1800-2700 I bid up to 2300 for a group of 3 but they went 2575 they were some really nice heifers however they were more than I wanted to spend on some. They had every shot imaginable and guarantee of health from a state vet and were AI bred to some darn good bulls. They were guarantee bred for 45 days. They also had FOOLS buying heifers that were ai bred and didn't catch bull bred and didn't take and then they had them pastured with a bull and sold as exposed heifers some of them sold for 1900.