# How much for beef bottle calves?



## Shades of Gray (May 1, 2010)

I found an add on craigslist for beef bottle calves, they guy is asking $200 a head. I sent him a message and he told me they are angus/hereford crosses, and are a few days old. He did not however say what sex they are, if they are healthy, or if they have had any vaccinations. With what everyone is saying about the price of cattle being so high right now I did not know if this was a good price or not. 
We have a jersey we are milking who's own calf could come off any time, so we would not have to buy any milk replacer if we just bought one calf.
Is this a grab em while their hot deal? Or can we do better?
Also I have no idea what cows/calves are going for in our area, it's been years since I've been to an auction.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I'm guessing that if they really all 100% beef calves that is a decent price.

If the gentleman is a broker, look them over really careful before you buy. He might have bought them at an auction. That doesn't necessarily mean they aren't good calves. It just means look them over really carefully.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

If they are bum calves out of his herd and he got some colostrum into them, even if store bought, that would be some good cheap beef with having your own nurse cow. If they have been thru the auction or traded around already, I wouldn't want to give that much because their health/survivability would be more in question.


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## bknthesdle (Mar 27, 2011)

We sold an angus bull calf for $425 when his mother refused to take him. Our ad was posted less than 5 minutes. Guy called about him and came to pick him up within the hour. 

If they were heifers, I would buy a couple at $200 each. Those should be the f1 baldies and they have a high price up here for replacement heifers.


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## SherrieC (Aug 24, 2002)

I just today paid $ 115 a piece for holstein calves at the auction, high price I heard was $ 140 and these were Dairy bull calves


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## RoyalValley (Apr 29, 2009)

$200 is a steal in my area. Beef bottle steers/bulls have been going for around $400. Heifers would be a great deal too.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

I wonder why a person would sell off a beef calf right away. It makes no sense. Just leaving them on the cow is about free, this time of year. 

A dairy calf would be taken off because the milk has value. Some dairies breed their holstein heifers to a Hereford to get a small calf for easy delivery on a small heifer. They could look like Hereford/Angus cross, sort of.

Around here week or month old beef calves do not show up for sale, not at auction and not on Craigs list.

"If I told you not to buy the calf, you'd always want one. If I told you to buy him, you'd blame me when it died. That's why I let you buy that calf, that's how you learn. I know, its a hard lesson, son, but that's how you learn the way. Well, what did you learn?"
" I learned not to do business with a Christian." Education of Little Tree.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

> Around here week or month old beef calves do not show up for sale, not at auction and not on Craigs list.


So what is it people DO with their bums??
Everyone keeps them?

In my observation, it goes either direction. 
You keep them because you could potentially graft it onto a cow who loses one. Or, you sell it because it's a hassle to calve a few hundred/thousand head and try to take care of bums, too...


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Got my latest Angus heifer for $150..guess I got a good deal. She was a twin,rejected by mom and half-dead so neighbor told me I didn't have to pay until she was alive and kicking in a month! Fortunately they had stored colostrum and had given her some antibiotics so she didn't get pneumonia. Neighbor lives in town and doesn't have time to fool with rejected calves. Funny, we bought her sis last year.Same scenario...twins and Mom liked boys best! Sis headed to freezer this fall and this new girl will be next. DEE


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## Shades of Gray (May 1, 2010)

So how long til you can tell if they did not receive enough colostrum? Are you guaranteed a dead calf?


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

ErinP said:


> So what is it people DO with their bums??
> Everyone keeps them?
> 
> In my observation, it goes either direction.
> You keep them because you could potentially graft it onto a cow who loses one. Or, you sell it because it's a hassle to calve a few hundred/thousand head and try to take care of bums, too...


I guess we just have more small beef farms that work it out rather than "give away" a year of the cow's life and a year of hay and grass. Most of the time if you can get the calf going, it is better to leave him on pasture all summer and sell for $500 in the fall than dump him in the spring as a $200 bum.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Shades of Gray said:


> So how long til you can tell if they did not receive enough colostrum? Are you guaranteed a dead calf?


No guaranteed anything. The calf could live. You could win the lottery, too. While it isn't quite that much of a long shot, lots of folks, full of good intentions, have buried young calves. If you are just learning about calves, I'd hate for you to start out with one that has an important strike against him.

Do you know what a scouring calf looks like? Do you know how to tell if a calf is coming down with pnemonia? Can you pick out a dehydrated calf? Did you read all the sale calf info in this section? I'll wish you luck, but I don't write those, " So sorry to hear of your loss." comments.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

haypoint said:


> I guess we just have more small beef farms that work it out rather than "give away" a year of the cow's life and a year of hay and grass. Most of the time if you can get the calf going, it is better to leave him on pasture all summer and sell for $500 in the fall than dump him in the spring as a $200 bum.


On pasture? You have to get him through the milk stage before he can be on grass... 
And if he's a bum, he's _already_ "given away" that year of the cow's life hasn't he? There's a reason he's an orphan afterall, right?



Shades of Gray said:


> So how long til you can tell if they did not receive enough colostrum? Are you guaranteed a dead calf?


No, you're not guaranteed a dead calf, but odds _are_ against you. However, keep in mind, "enough" is only a day or two at most. Even people, who have a considerably longer lactation period than cattle, only have a couple of days of colostrum. IIRC, commercial colostrum is only used for _two_ feedings. 

But personally, I prefer calves who've had at LEAST the colostrum off their mama. It gives them _so_ much better odds.


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## Cheribelle (Jul 23, 2007)

They are really pricey around here this time of year, up to $400+. 4H families buy them and show them as bucket calves.


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## Shades of Gray (May 1, 2010)

We have had older calves before, over a month old, and some of those had scours. I know about scours, can tell if they are dehydrated, and have read the sale barn info, but I have no idea what the onset of pneumonia looks like.
The guy replied back and said the calves are off a ranch. Now I would assume that being valuable little beefers they would have had colostrum. But being only a few days old, are there any tell tale signs that maybe one didn't receive enough? Other than the fact that they are not as lively as others.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I've seen a few calves out of Holsteins that had been bred to Herefords or to Angus and the calves looked like beef calves. Usually, the calves are spotted; not always.

I actually prefer a 1/2 Holstein calf that looks Angus, but I expect to pay less for him than I'd pay for a beef calf.

Just saying: know what you are buying.


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## MrsSurplus (Mar 10, 2011)

I'd be a little suspicious of the ad. People generally don't sell beef calves - especially where it sounds l like he has a few calves - that would indicate a rancher - and ranchers can frequently graft a calf on to someone else. 

I recently read this article on Oregon's livestock registration site. It's a lengthy article but basically it notes that cattle theft is not as uncommon as we'd like to believe and to be aware when buying off of the Internet.

Of course, it's a good deal if it's legit - but the seller ought to be able to tell you gender, pretty exact age, if it's been vaxed and why he's disposing of them.


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