Sale Barn Lingo?

[Luca Brasi]

Also can anyone tell me why the folks at my local sales barn have lost all self respect for appearance and hygiene? No deodorant and shirts that can't cover their fat bellies?? Looks like the people of Walmart meets deliverance!!!

You should see some of the winners at the sale barn I go to. Everything you have described along with food & drink remnants/stains, greasy hair and muddy tobacco juice drooling from the side of the mouth. :yuck:

Here and there you'll see more respectable appearances.

I thought that my local barn was the only one. Not a full set of teeth among the whole crew together. They're not breaking any steriotypes that some of the animal rights folks have of those who deal with livestock as an ignorant bunch of slovenly yahoos.

The stands are pretty small, and the only place that I can think of which still allows smoking indoors. I don't go often, but one of these days I'm going to make a stink to whatever state agency governs that kind of thing. I won't even bring my young son because the smoke is so bad, and it's one of the few places locally where he can experience a lot of other livestock on a regular basis.

The only unusual lingo that they use is calling every goat or sheep wether a steer. I guess multiple syllables are too difficult. I take that back. They've never heard of a buck or a doe. Goats there are still billies and nannies.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Dam this sounds complicated to remember at the speed that they are going at! I sure won't be buying anything unless someone is with me that knows what's going on. :lol: :lol:

The only thing I have personally bought at a sale was at the World Championship Snaffle Bit Futurity in Reno, Nevada. I had a bit too much to drink and started bidding on a bred mare. When the bidding stopped, I wasn't even sure that I was the buyer. :lol:
Beginners luck was on my side. She turned out to be the best horse I have ever owned and I got her for a steal!!

 

[cowboy43]

For the one addressing the way people dress, the ones I see in Central Tx. are not dressed as you describe, their are some with working clothes on, but what do you expect when people are working cattle. They sure ain't going to put their Sunday clothes on to go to a sale barn. Just the aroma sifting through the barn will be absorbed in your clothes. Real Texans are a proud people. :cboy: :hat:

 

[Ojp6]

Most people I know don't dress up for a cow sale. If your going to be spending the day in sale barn and working with cows and hauling them after it's over I see know reason to dress any differently than you would when you are working with your cows at home. In the winter most people just wear coveralls and in the summer whatever they feel like.

 

[TexasBred]

Also can anyone tell me why the folks at my local sales barn have lost all self respect for appearance and hygiene? No deodorant and shirts that can't cover their fat bellies?? Looks like the people of Walmart meets deliverance!!!

Most of them's a$$ has moved around to their belly, their belt buckle is hidden underneath their belly and they probably haven't seen it or their pecker in ages....only thing left in the seat of their pants is a bad odor....still wear same size pants...just push them down a little more under the belly and cinch up that old belt.

 

[Deepsouth]

Dam this sounds complicated to remember at the speed that they are going at! I sure won't be buying anything unless someone is with me that knows what's going on. :lol: :lol:

The only thing I have personally bought at a sale was at the World Championship Snaffle Bit Futurity in Reno, Nevada. I had a bit too much to drink and started bidding on a bred mare. When the bidding stopped, I wasn't even sure that I was the buyer. :lol:
Beginners luck was on my side. She turned out to be the best horse I have ever owned and I got her for a steal!!

The best thing to do is spend some time at the sale. You'll start to pick up on whats going on. Here the same auctioneer works both barns that I go to so I've learned what he's doing pretty well. He's pretty good to. I got tickled a while back when a pair come in the ring. He started at $2300 and got no bib. He dropped all the way to like $1500 before he got a bid and went back up to about $1850. He wasn't satisfied so he split them. Sold then he sold the cow for $1450 and the calf brought $850. Total $2300! That's the kind of guy you want handling your sale.

 

[retro]

Also can anyone tell me why the folks at my local sales barn have lost all self respect for appearance and hygiene? No deodorant and shirts that can't cover their fat bellies?? Looks like the people of Walmart meets deliverance!!!

I never really saw that when I was in Ia. but I sure see alot of it up here in Wi. AllForage is right . some of them couldn't even get in a wally world store. " Boy They sure do got som preddy lips" LOL

 

[branguscowgirl]

Also can anyone tell me why the folks at my local sales barn have lost all self respect for appearance and hygiene? No deodorant and shirts that can't cover their fat bellies?? Looks like the people of Walmart meets deliverance!!!

Most of them's a$$ has moved around to their belly, their belt buckle is hidden underneath their belly and they probably haven't seen it or their pecker in ages....only thing left in the seat of their pants is a bad odor....still wear same size pants...just push them down a little more under the belly and cinch up that old belt.

Our sale barn food IS pretty dam GOOD!! :lol:

 

[branguscowgirl]

I guess that I will have to go back just to people watch.
I did notice one of the regulars had his own high stool right next to the ring. He was dressed pretty nice in a western shirt, wranglers, boots and hat. An ole cow came into the ring and when she swung her butt toward his direction she was spraying a green fountain right at him. He jumped off that stool so fast you would have thought that he was snake bit! :lol:

Deepsouth you are correct. You do want a guy like that to be selling for you. Those guys are really playing a numbers game to get their price!

 

[M-5]

They (auctioneers)make commission off of what they sale.

 

[branguscowgirl]

CP I did not see any with chalk on them at this barn. But now I will look for it.
Was I correct about the term "Doll"? Is it just a heifer calf?

Heck you guys have me wanting to go back now for no other reason but to watch and listen for all of these things. Hey, it's cheap entertainment!

 

[Ojp6]

It was most likely a heifer calf. Also heard young bred cows called dolls. Just depends on the auctioneer.

 

[M-5]

Bcg he probably was just flirting with ya.

 

[Rafter S]

The chalk thing may be regional. Around here if you take a cow in and you think someone might buy her to go back in the pasture then you tell them to palpate her when you unload. They will then palate her and check her teeth, and put numbers on her with a branding iron dipped in paint. The number of months bred will be on her hip, and her age on her shoulder. After a certain age (I think around eight) she'll either be marked SS, for short and solid teeth, or O for old. The bidding on these will usually be by the head, but may be switched to per pound if she doesn't bring enough. And sometimes old cows start by the pound right away.

Cows that don't have the numbers on them are automatically sold by the pound. I'm sure some of these still go back to someone's pasture instead of to slaughter, but it's riskier for the bidder since all he'll know about the cow is what he can tell by looking at her in the few seconds she's in the ring.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Bcg he probably was just flirting with ya.

Well, that's what I was thinkin. But I just wanted to make sure. retty:
:lol:

 

[wacocowboy]

I guess that I will have to go back just to people watch.
I did notice one of the regulars had his own high stool right next to the ring. He was dressed pretty nice in a western shirt, wranglers, boots and hat. An ole cow came into the ring and when she swung her butt toward his direction she was spraying a green fountain right at him. He jumped off that stool so fast you would have thought that he was snake bit! :lol:

Deepsouth you are correct. You do want a guy like that to be selling for you. Those guys are really playing a numbers game to get their price!

That reminds me of this guy who brought his two kids to the sale. You could tell they didn't fit in while most don't dress like pigs as others have described everyone is usually wearing work clothes. I wear T-shirt jean work boots and a ball cap. This guy was wearing khaki shorts flip flops and a dress shirt and the kids were dressed just about the same they got some food from the café and sat in the front row. About the third bull comes in and paints that front row green and that was the end of their sale barn adventure. I was laughing I leaned over and told my wife and that is why no one sits in the front row.

The chalk thing may be regional. Around here if you take a cow in and you think someone might buy her to go back in the pasture then you tell them to palpate her when you unload. They will then palate her and check her teeth, and put numbers on her with a branding iron dipped in paint. The number of months bred will be on her hip, and her age on her shoulder. After a certain age (I think around eight) she'll either be marked SS, for short and solid teeth, or O for old. The bidding on these will usually be by the head, but may be switched to per pound if she doesn't bring enough. And sometimes old cows start by the pound right away.

Cows that don't have the numbers on them are automatically sold by the pound. I'm sure some of these still go back to someone's pasture instead of to slaughter, but it's riskier for the bidder since all he'll know about the cow is what he can tell by looking at her in the few seconds she's in the ring.

Yeah that's all I have ever seen. In Waco they don't age them just put how far along they are bred you are on your own at guessing the age. I stay away from Waco unless I am looking for calves to many backyard cowboys and amateurs. It gets on my nerves these people start POing animals and they don't even know what it sold for. I bought a 400lb calf the guy POed it Auctioneer asked him what he wanted for the calf he told him 600 and something this was a long time ago, they did the math for him and I was within $20 of what he wanted so he let me keep the calf. The guy did that with 3 cows and two other calves. The 3 cows were old junk, and all they would give him is slaughter price but he wanted more so he took the old hags home.

 

[branguscowgirl]

Great info everyone! Keep it coming. Thank you for contributing.

Especially Mdash5 for confirming my suspicion about the auctioneer. ;-)

 

[branguscowgirl]

That reminds me of this guy who brought his two kids to the sale. You could tell they didn't fit in while most don't dress like pigs as others have described everyone is usually wearing work clothes. I wear T-shirt jean work boots and a ball cap. This guy was wearing khaki shorts flip flops and a dress shirt and the kids were dressed just about the same they got some food from the café and sat in the front row. About the third bull comes in and paints that front row green and that was the end of their sale barn adventure. I was laughing I leaned over and told my wife and that is why no one sits in the front row.

I bet those kids had a great story to tell their friends! "And this green slime ruined our lunch!" :lol:

 

[kenny thomas]

"First time to town", usually one that is acting crazy in the ring. It could also mean that she was bought somewhere else and has been handled a couple times and the seller was afraid to turn it out that he might be months catching it again.
"Milk Wagon", should mean that she milks good but it could be that she is starving her calf to death.
"Putting it all into the calf", means she is skinny and usally the calf dont look very good either.
When the auctioneer, ring man, or someone says "look at this one how fancy it is", usually is a signal to the buyers that it belongs to them and it had better sell good.
"Where are you gonna find another one like it", usually is an odd color, extremely short, midget, etc.
"Hurry home", means she is really close to calving and sometimes all the market excitement causing them to start calving there.
"Little skinned place" on the leg or somewhere means it has a bad cut usually.
"Dont walk just right", can mean anything from a little sore foot to having a bad case of foot rot, to having a bad injury, or has had a broken leg in the past that has kinda healed.

 

[Rafter S]

I have a couple of friends that were raised in Houston, but moved out to my area about 30 years ago. They've had cows for quite a while, but one of them finally asked me recently what it means when you get to the auction and the guy tagging the cattle asks "One way?" before he starts. I explained that he's asking if the cattle all go on one ticket, or if they're from two or more owners. He said "Okay, that makes sense. When they've asked that I've always just shrugged my shoulders and said yes. Now I know why the guy would seem to get mad when I'd tell him they were from two owners after he'd started tagging the calves. "