We have the BQA (beef quality assurance) program here in Va and they will hold several sales a year. Monthly or so at one of the stockyards. Now first off, I do believe that if you can do all this, that it is fair that you can go to a sale that will get you a premium price for your calves. But the down side is that we also wind up paying more for the commission, more for the yardage, more to be a member of the feeder assoc., which would all be good if we got a real good increase over the average sale price. However, having done it several times over the years, I cannot say that we have come out any better than when we wean on the trailer and ship. We do castrate, and they all have had blackleg. Other than that we often don't do much else. We do not do any implants.
Most all our calves do know what a bunk is, will come for some feed as I do it to keep them a little more friendly and can catch them easier. I don't creep feed per say, but do have a pen with a creep gate that the calves quickly learn that if they come in, they get a treat and know they won't get pushed around by the big cows. I mean they are learning this by 2-3 months of age. Not all the pastures we rent have this convenience. But when I go to check cows, I will call them to the feeders for a bucket or two of feed, maybe once or twice a week, and the calves are in the pen waiting for me. They get a little, and usually a couple of leafs of real good orchard grass hay and it sure doesn't take them long to realize that this is their place and they get fed. When we do wean and hold them for any reason, then they are the ones teaching the others what feed is for. We don't wean and have the cows anywhere close to the weaned calves. Like miles away. We will leave the cows at the familiar pastures so they don't feel the need to jump fences going looking for their calves, but just walk the fences for a day thinking their babies will come back to them. We also pull calves off at all different ages, according to our work schedules, the market, time of year, and CONDITION of the cows. But usually in the 6-9 month age, usually 7-8 months.
We have tried pulling them younger, running more cows but have pretty much settled on a few less cows and a few more pounds on the calves. Our local market is 30 minutes away, has the lowest commissions of any around and attracts buyers that pay as good, as any, closeby. Same buyers that we see at other sale barns an hour away. There are a couple of markets that are about 2+ hours away that often average .10 a pound more, but it is not worth the haul, time, shrinkage, and such, for a load of 10-15 calves; and they don't always do any better than local.
We also will haul 1 load a week for a couple of weeks so that we don't need to have too many cattle at the barn at a time, and we can do the preg checks, and get the cows back to pasture, the calves gone, and it isn't such a long day when we are also working other jobs. I can load and haul the calves, my son doesn't miss work; or can come and help on an early lunch hour and he goes back to work and I do the sitting in line to unload. Then we will load and return the cows to pasture the next morning, or they will stay at the barn lots for a few days til they are over the weaning and get put where they need to be for their dry period and next calving season.
