Another Jersey cow question

Homeschoolmom · #1 08/07/08, 04:26 PM

Our friends have a full blooded Jersey springer that is 3 years old and due with her first calf in September.(the calf with be half jersey half Maine-anjou). They need to sell her but not sure how much to ask for her. They were thinking about asking $750 but after what you all shared with me about the calf we are buying I told her that may be a little low. Now I will say that she does have horns and she was not bottle fed so even though she is a sweet cow she may need a little training when she freshens and is ready to be milked. Not sure if that makes a difference but thought I would share just in case.

Do you think $750 is a little low? If so any thoughts on what they should be asking? From what I can tell there are not a lot of full blooded jersey's available here but I am also not sure how much of a demand there is here either. Oh they live on the VA/NC state line. Guess I should have mentioned that. Oh and she is not registered.

Thanks again for your help!

Rebecca
Homeschoolmom to 6 blessings with #7 due in January 09

LittleRedHen · #2 08/07/08, 05:41 PM

ask her if they'd take it. (750). i would

Homeschoolmom · #3 08/07/08, 05:57 PM

Sorry my post may have not been clear. I am not wanting to buy the cow just trying to help them decide what price they should list her for.

Thanks
Rebecca

JKB07 · #4 08/07/08, 06:39 PM

$1500 would be lowest I would take for her. Young jersey confirmed bred..... cant beat that!

JKB

topside1 · #5 08/07/08, 07:01 PM

I'd run with $1,300 no less. First freshener, calf will be a cross, not halter broke, plus she need a little manners training.

matt_man · #6 08/07/08, 10:47 PM

I'm with JKB and topside1 on this - $1250 to $1500 would be fair and reasonable. She won't have trouble selling her at that price either.

Rachel

Gregg Alexander · #7 08/08/08, 04:50 AM

Well have seen them Maine's they are big cattle and a jersey is small might have calveing problems . Have her vet checked to see if enough room for the calf to come out

Ronney · #8 08/08/08, 05:58 AM

Yes, I winced too when I read that she had gone to a Maine. That was not a smart move on the part of her owners, particularly as this is her first calf. I wouldn't be paying any more than $750.00 for her under those circumstances because I've been around cows long enough to know that I could stand to lose the calf, possibly the cow and accrue a substantial vet bill in the doing so.

Why do I take that stand? A few years back I bought a yearling Jersy heifer that didn't come to me at the point as her owner had heaps of grass and wanted to keep her to help chew it down. At 15 months a Simmental bull broke through the electric and got to her. When she arrived here I was most unhappy and got the vet out who said that she was still a good two months off calving but from the size of the calf he could feel, he doubted she would be able to manage to calve if left to go full term. We made the decision to induce, knowing full well the calf might not make it. A very large prem calf was born without any problems and she did survive but that was no thanks to her previous owner. The vet and drugs cost me over $300.00 which I should never have had to spend and I deducted it from the $1,000.00 asking price for the heifer.

Cheers,
Ronnie

matt_man · #9 08/08/08, 08:04 AM

Had never hear of that kind of cattle before but after reading about them, I would also be very concerned about the heifer being able to birth that calf.

This taken from a website:

"The Maine-Anjou is one of the larger breeds developed in France, with mature bulls weighing from 2200 to 3100 pounds on the average. Mature cows will range from 1500 to 1900 pounds."

She is a 3 yrs old heifer and wasn't bred at 15 mo by him but I would still be concerned. Is she a bigger jersey?

Rachel

Homeschoolmom · #10 08/08/08, 06:33 PM

I am not sure if she would be considered a "big Jersey" because I am fairly new to dairy cows. You can probably tell since I keep asking so many questions (lol)

Thanks again for all your help!

HazeltonFarm · #11 08/10/08, 01:53 PM

I'm new here, but will tell you...I paid $800 for my jersey, purebred at 15 months old, bred her to a reg. jersey via AI less than 2 weeks later. Then just last week, I purchased a half jersey, half dexter, heavy bred to a dexter for $1000. I'm on the NC/VA line as well. We viewed another half dexter/half jersey heavy bred a few weeks back that was trained to milk for $850. So with the history of what this girl is bred to, I would say your price range is probably close to what it should be for the area.

michiganfarmer · #12 08/11/08, 11:17 AM

My thought is just because they can get $1500 out of her that doesnt mean they should. If they can make a buck selling her for $750 that is what they should do.

A family looking for a cow might not be able to afford it. I think $750 is plenty for a family cow. Those higher prices are for proven dairy animals that are expected to perform in a dairy herd.

Give a family who is looking for a cow a break.

dosthouhavemilk · #13 08/11/08, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michiganfarmer

Give a family who is looking for a cow a break.

My father and grandfather both used to do this.....
If the cow was then not managed well and something went wrong, the buyer then blamed it on the cow being a "cheap" cow, which they assumed meant there was something wrong with the cow.

JKB07 · #14 08/11/08, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michiganfarmer

My thought is just because they can get $1500 out of her that doesnt mean they should. If they can make a buck selling her for $750 that is what they should do.

A family looking for a cow might not be able to afford it. I think $750 is plenty for a family cow. Those higher prices are for proven dairy animals that are expected to perform in a dairy herd.

Give a family who is looking for a cow a break.

I agree that giving a good family looking for a family cow a break, but a cow is worth what a cow is worth.

JKB

Ernie · #15 08/11/08, 01:08 PM

Heh. What we say it's worth ain't worth what plops on the ground behind her, folks. If ain't nobody in her area looking for a pregnant Jersey than she'll be a non-pregnant Jersey before anyone ever stops to buy her.

I wouldn't pay $1500 for her, even if she's pregnant. How do I know she hasn't aborted every single calf, or is prone to mastitis or has some other genetic flaw that comes out in her calves? I might pay about $900 for her if I could see her dame and was suitably impressed, or if I knew the family who was selling her and believed she'd been well-cared for. For $1500 I'd expect detailed milking records from a very reputable dealer, not some homesteader who has decided a cow is too much trouble after all.

If a man has two goats he isn't going to sell you the superior one. If it looks like he is from appearances alone then you'd better believe it's a fence-jumper or has some sort of hidden defect. Same goes with cows, chickens, or lawnmowers. Buyer beware and set your top price at what you're willing to risk.

topside1 · #16 08/11/08, 06:18 PM

Giving breaks is tough to do when you look at your ledgers bottom line. If you can't afford a quality cow or heifer then look into dairy goats. I have some of each and neither are cheap to acquire, raise or maintain....$1300 is fair providing the animal and unborn calf are from quality stock. Without photos this is just a guessing game.

JKB07 · #17 08/11/08, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ernie

Heh. What we say it's worth ain't worth what plops on the ground behind her, folks. If ain't nobody in her area looking for a pregnant Jersey than she'll be a non-pregnant Jersey before anyone ever stops to buy her.

I wouldn't pay $1500 for her, even if she's pregnant. How do I know she hasn't aborted every single calf, or is prone to mastitis or has some other genetic flaw that comes out in her calves? I might pay about $900 for her if I could see her dame and was suitably impressed, or if I knew the family who was selling her and believed she'd been well-cared for. For $1500 I'd expect detailed milking records from a very reputable dealer, not some homesteader who has decided a cow is too much trouble after all.

If a man has two goats he isn't going to sell you the superior one. If it looks like he is from appearances alone then you'd better believe it's a fence-jumper or has some sort of hidden defect. Same goes with cows, chickens, or lawnmowers. Buyer beware and set your top price at what you're willing to risk.

2 months ago, I sold 2 bred jerseys and 2 Jersey heifers to a couple in Virginia (next the the NC stateline). Cow were sold for $1850 each and $1000 for the 8 month old heifers. I know what Im talking about when it comes to the price of a jersey around here and the surrounding areas..... And the dealers are the ones you want to stay away from. They are just in it for $. A homesteader is who you want to buy from. they know the cow and its history and just want to place it in a good home...I dont know the seller. But when I go look at the cow myself, I would be able to tell if they were telling the truth about her... sounds like you dont know much about dairy or you have been screwed over too many times.

JKB

francismilker · #18 08/12/08, 04:17 PM

I once asked my dairyman boss what cow was worth and he said, "whatever I can get our of her". I guess this still holds true today. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it!

topside1 · #19 08/12/08, 07:51 PM

Went to the local dairy auction today...Only two adult Jersey cows walked through the ring. Both just freshened within two weeks. One sold for $1,600, the other for $1,400 and this is at auction. Milking Holsteins, loads of them, sold from $850 to $2,200, that's a lot of milk....

Homeschoolmom · #20 08/15/08, 09:37 PM

Well they ended up listing her for $800 and she sold within 48 hours. I think they could have asked more. They take very good care of their animals and she was a good looking cow. They are selling most of their animals in order to pay for a reversal surgery for his wife and they have to have the money within 6 weeks so they wanted to keep the price low to make sure she sold quick. All I know if someone got a great deal!

Anyway, thanks for your help! I know now that the 8 month old Jersey we bought from them for $350 is a great deal!!!