Is this a good price for steer?

[missysid]

We have been offered a "pet" jersey/guernsey steer that is 7 months old. He is friendly and broke to lead. We are looking at Mr. Moo (yea I know) for our son to show in 4-H as a project. The family is asking $400 and are only selling since hay is tight and they have horses and other cows. We are in central Il area.

Thanks

[MullersLaneFarm]

It's a good price. Will you raise him for the freezer after 4-H?

The folks selling him - do they happen to have any jersey/guernsey young cows or heifers for sale?

[missysid]

Thanks. I am not sure if they have any heifers but I will check when I talk to her tonight.

As far as freezer we may have an issue there. It was their pet and they prefer that it now go to processing. However she stated that after a while the kids would forget about it and that she understood the need to process. The mother is very understanding.

[topside1]

Missy it has to go to the freezer eventually. Either your freezer or a strangers, buying him and he becomes a permanent landmark on your farm can become extremely expensive. Personally I'd look around for a younger calf. Sounds like a wonderful animal though and will be a good 4H project for a year or two.

[mpillow]

Well I'll sell my 7m Holst./Jersey to you for $400....his name is Mini-Mooooo(se). If you don't eat him we will!
Long drive to Maine though!

[francismilker]

When you're dealing with a steer, it doesn't matter if he's a beef breed or a dairy breed. He will sale by the pound at the sale barn. I'd try to figure out what he weighs and then contemplate the purchase. Around SE Oklahoma right now, (and most all of the time) dairy steers don't bring much more than 85 cents per pound if they're fat and healthy. Sometimes it's dramatically less depending on the market and how much jersey they show in their appearance.
Also, if you're considering him for a 4-H project, you might check out your local county shows to see if there's a division for dairy steers. Otherwise you'll be showing him in a commercial steer division which will probably yield a "last place" ribbon because he'll be competing against beef steers which will be much more "filled out" and "meaty".

[missysid]

Our local 4H does have a cross bred dairy division. Turnout is rather low at County level but better in state (which he would not qualify for anyways this year based on age). I agree 100% he would need to go to the freezer. So does the women that has him for sale her kids are just really attached at this point. I will call the local sale barns in our area and ask about pricing for his type per pound. DH has a large scale at his office (about 15 minute drive from her farm) that we could scale him on to get an accurate reading as well.

Thanks for all of the advice. We could sure use it. This would be our first steer. One question though someone above suggested finding a younger steer. But I have read others who said to find one older as bottle calves can be hard to raise for someone new to it. I would love to find on a few months old that is fully weaned and healthy but they seem to be hard to find in this area.

[topside1]

Missy I'm that someone...if your not used to raising bottle calfs or dont' have the time. Then avoid it by all means. I was thinking like you 2-3 months old, just to create a 4H bond with the animal. Wish you lived closer I have just the heifer for you...Jersey types @ 700-1000 pounds may fetch 40-50 cents a pound. That's horrible so avoid the sale barn and put that healthy steer on the dinner table...

[Teacupliz]

My cost are about $1000 a year for a steer- give or take a few hundred.
It is a very good price. Raising a baby cow is easy but milk or replacer is not cheap.
Liz

[sugarbush]

Stop by your nearest dairy farm and talk to them about buying a few day old bull calf. You can get a Jersey for 10-20 dollars. Raising the calf is half the fun. I think 400.00 would be okay for a bull if you had cows to breed, but its too much for a steer that young.

[TulleyJohnMyers]

7 months old or 70 that really does tell what you are getting....but if you say 500 or 700 lbs that to me would still be high 50 to 60 cents pound on a jersey....tjm

[sammyd]

Local sales barn report is 60-85 cent a pound for Holstein steers in that size range. Yours would be worth less since it won't yield like a Holstein.

[sugarbush]

If you are not going to butcher him there is really no point in carring what they are selling for by the lb in your area. The animal has absolutely no return for you except as a pet and learning experience so you should try and get him for as little as possable. He will cost you plenty in feed in the long run. A 7 month old Jersey calf is not going to weigh 400 lbs.

[missysid]

Ok I think I need to go back. The "pet steer" comment was how he was advertised. The current owners children think of him as a pet and that is why she is selling along with the hay shortage. She stated her kids would hate her if she put him in the freezer. We would intend on processing him with the only opt out factor being the 4-H auction where our local county kids can sell their stock and projects. Last year it was his "Baking" project of oatmeal cookies in a pretty basket with extra goodies that fetched him $200.00. If the animal is sold at auction it would be the buyers at that time. Hope that cleared it up.

I have photos that I am going to try and post down below. I do appreciate all the advice and comments. They are great and very helpful. I think at this point we would not want to bottle feed a calf since we are simply not home enough. We babysit a calf last summer for a friend -- 1 week while he was in FL. We few 2 times per day bottle milk replacer. It was not a bad experience at all but we show horses in the summer and are often gone for weekend shows and a few week long shows. It is easier in our area to have a neighbor grain or hay an animal then to ask them to take care of special need animals such as a bottle.

I think at this point we are going to keep looking around and keep our ears open. If anyone is in our area (we are in central IL) and willing to travel about 4 hours one way please let me know.

[robin f]

If fed right a 7 month old jersy cross gurnsey calf should weigh over 400lbs, my holsteins weigh 600 in 5 months, i am raiseing some jerseys right now, yes they are a little slower than the holstiens, but not that much, as long as they have high nutrition they will grow, mine get adlib whole corn and soya meal, of a ratio of 5 to 1, it will be intresting to see which do best for converting. I know the jerseys are sure putting on the beef, i keep records of all my feed and kill weights, thats why i tried jerseys this time, so when its time for them to go, i will post the costs, and compare them to the cost of holstien or ayrshire red veal.

[TulleyJohnMyers]

robin f i would love to see that test....thanks in adavince tjm

[robin f]

yeah it will be interesting, all costs appart for my labour, calf cost, feed, kill cut and wrap, total carcass weight, as a say they are growning like crazy at the moment, i hope it keeps up

[sugarbush]

I grew up milking 250 head a day, 40% jersey/ 60% holstein. I think if fed right all you will have is a really fat Jersey in 7 months. You also mentioned veal so I am assuming that your calves get no exercise. Dairy breeds were not bred for weight gain. I just bought a yearling Charolias after being fattened all summer and he was only 700 lbs. Thats for a beef breed.

[robin f]

red veal, not milk veal, my calves are loose in a pen and do jump about a fair bit, lol kick their heels up when you go in to bed them down, and fat calves is what i like, when i get them butchered i always tell the guy to leave all the fat on everything except the ground beef,
I regular get my holstiens and ayrshires up to 600 lbs in 5 to 5 1/2 months, no problem at all, and fat too, for a char to be only 700 at a year, i'll stay with my dairy breeds thanks.
and these calves are not big ones when bought, most are 85lb, the only one i have been dissapointed in was a holstien heifer, she took 6 month and 1 week to reach 600 lbs she was a wild little thing, very skittish, and i didn't like her meat, not enough marbleing in it, it was sweet enough, and tender, but missed that extra flavour. but dollar for lb was just about the same as the 5 month old holstien bulls, she just took longer,