Update on "Anyone doing this" thread

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tncattle

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Though I would post this because alot of people have already read the thread and won't go back to it.

Here is a bend in the story, I went and met the guy this morning so my 3 yr. old could bottle feed one and this guy is brand new to it! He has NO EXPERIENCE doing this! He has a decent business plan and some good mentors that live very near him but his first 4 calves are Holstein bull calves. Two of them are 1 week old and the other two are 2 weeks old. He hasn't cut them or banded them yet, he told me the vaccinations he was going to give them (should he already have done that)? He has them secure with good bedding in a barn but not secure from predators! His goal is to get around 10-12 every 3-4 weeks and sell around 10-12 each month when they reach around 700 lbs. He said he thinks he can start selling in about 8 months and keep a rotation like that. He also said he will not take anything else but all black calves and no more Holsteins. I asked him what he thought he would have in a 700 lb. calf when he sold it and he said about $180-$200 and thinks he can sell them for about $450-$500 each at 700 lbs. Yes, he has asked me to go in this with him but I'm very leary about this cause I've never done it and neither has he. I think sickness and death are going to be a bigger factor than maybe he thinks. Will a all black Angus/Holstein 700 lb. steer bring .70 a lb.? I know they will be leggy.
 
tncattle":3l5ao6hi said:
Though I would post this because alot of people have already read the thread and won't go back to it.

Here is a bend in the story, I went and met the guy this morning so my 3 yr. old could bottle feed one and this guy is brand new to it! He has NO EXPERIENCE doing this! He has a decent business plan and some good mentors that live very near him but his first 4 calves are Holstein bull calves. Two of them are 1 week old and the other two are 2 weeks old. He hasn't cut them or banded them yet, he told me the vaccinations he was going to give them (should he already have done that)? He has them secure with good bedding in a barn but not secure from predators! His goal is to get around 10-12 every 3-4 weeks and sell around 10-12 each month when they reach around 700 lbs. He said he thinks he can start selling in about 8 months and keep a rotation like that. He also said he will not take anything else but all black calves and no more Holsteins. I asked him what he thought he would have in a 700 lb. calf when he sold it and he said about $180-$200 and thinks he can sell them for about $450-$500 each at 700 lbs. Yes, he has asked me to go in this with him but I'm very leary about this cause I've never done it and neither has he. I think sickness and death are going to be a bigger factor than maybe he thinks. Will a all black Angus/Holstein 700 lb. steer bring .70 a lb.? I know they will be leggy.

Where is he going to get "10-12" 1-2 week old angus calves every 3-4 weeks???

Dairy breed bull calves may be available but if he says blacks but "no more holsteins" that may be a problem in most areas. Calves that age should really be on the cow, not bottle fed, unless absolutely necessary. Selling a good beef calf off of a beef cow at 1-2 weeks old is a money losing proposition. Few beef producers are going to pull a beef calf off of a cow at 1-2 weeks old unless there is some sort of problem as far as I have seen. Letting the cow raise them is far less trouble then bottle feeding them etc. Maybe I'm missing something here...?
 
Gee I hate to get into this thread.

I have bought 29 beef calf splits in one day at Dublin, TX. All of the calves looked 1 to 3 weeks old based on size, structure and naval cords. It took sitting through 17 hours of auction to do that. None were dairy crosses and way to many were angus. I took the angus calves only because they were really cheap. There were a couple of dairy crosses there but most dairy crosses go to the dairy sale. There were some younger calves.

When I buy calves to graft onto my nurse cow, I go to the beef sale and not the dairy sale. When aged pairs come through and no one bids, the split the cow and sell her for hamburger and sell the calf individually. Sometimes there are angus buyers at the sale but most folks don't want pure angus cows nursing a calf through the summer here.

When I go to the sale I am looking for eared heifer calves and brangus is optimum for me. I like to stay in the $1 per lb range. July 10 I spent way to much but got exactly what I wanted in two calves to graft onto my nurse cow who was about to calve. They have grafted nicely and will go into my herd.

The only reason to take a dairy heifer is when you want to cultivate a new nurse cow.

There is not much money in dairy bull calves in my opinion.

Quality milk replacer is expensive. I don't know how a person can come out doing that. If you wean early you have to put creep in them or they will doggy on you (have big bellies and bring less when sold).

The ONLY person I know that comes out ahead on this is a widowed lady who runs nurse cows. I am seriously considering doing the same thing she does when I retire. She has been doing this for many years and most all local cattlefolks know her. She gets rejected twin calves, orphans and such from locals. She has also occasionally nursed a pure bred for a fee. I have mentioned her in other threads. Vets know her and she gets referrals. She is also a wealth of knowledge for someone wanting to know anything about this.

Going into a business such as this is a commitment and facilities and pens are expensive so you had best make up your mind to go in to it long term.

If you go down to the thread I have on nurse cow cost per calf, you can see what it costs me to raise a calf on a nurse cow. You can also see the crate I use. At this point, my cow no longer has to go into the crate. She is allowing all three to nurse her in the pasture. If I had 12 nurse cows, they would have to be put into 12 different lots with the calves or else calves would be jumping from cow to cow.

If there is any profit to bottle feeding calves, it is marginal at best. You can go to the Cleburne Sale on Saturday and spot doggied calves that have been raised on the bottle. They don't bring much when they go through the ring.
 
Red Bull Breeder":20in5v5o said:
Yep you missed something srbeef, he is talking about dairy cross calves.

So "no more Holsteins" means no more straight Holsteins but angus/holsteins are ok..... Yes changes things. ok.
 
Must be a regional thing. 2 week old BA calves at auction are as rare as "hens teeth" up here. When one does sell it will be $200 or better.
 
tncattle":26vh66ch said:
Though I would post this because alot of people have already read the thread and won't go back to it.

Here is a bend in the story, I went and met the guy this morning so my 3 yr. old could bottle feed one and this guy is brand new to it! He has NO EXPERIENCE doing this! He has a decent business plan and some good mentors that live very near him but his first 4 calves are Holstein bull calves. Two of them are 1 week old and the other two are 2 weeks old. He hasn't cut them or banded them yet, he told me the vaccinations he was going to give them (should he already have done that)? He has them secure with good bedding in a barn but not secure from predators! His goal is to get around 10-12 every 3-4 weeks and sell around 10-12 each month when they reach around 700 lbs. He said he thinks he can start selling in about 8 months and keep a rotation like that. He also said he will not take anything else but all black calves and no more Holsteins. I asked him what he thought he would have in a 700 lb. calf when he sold it and he said about $180-$200 and thinks he can sell them for about $450-$500 each at 700 lbs. Yes, he has asked me to go in this with him but I'm very leary about this cause I've never done it and neither has he. I think sickness and death are going to be a bigger factor than maybe he thinks. Will a all black Angus/Holstein 700 lb. steer bring .70 a lb.? I know they will be leggy.
I see one big problem with his goals. There is no way you are going to have a 700 pound calf @ 8 months by only spending $200. That's less than $1 per day. You can maybe raise a calf on that budget but it's going to be a scrawny little thing, not 700 pounds. The other problem is getting all those black cross calves. You must find a dairy that crosses an Angus with their Holsteins and then hope the calves don't have white markings from the Holstein influence.
 

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