would you buy this calf?

Callieslamb · #1 03/20/09, 06:37 PM

A man advertised on Craigslist jersey and holstein calves. I called him. He goes around to dairies and picks up their new calves and turns around and sell them. They pretty much sell the same day as he buys them. I missed the chance at a jersey heffer.

Would you buy calves like this? I wonder if they were fed any colostrum. The price is really good and I can take care of bottle calves....but is this an okay way to go. I realize that this will depend on how the calves are handled and what condition they are in, etc....but if all of that looks good, what are the warnings you would give me?

topside1 · #2 03/20/09, 07:28 PM

If the guy is on the up and up then it's no different then buying it yourself directly from the farm. If you bought direct what guarantee would you have that the calf was given colostrum? I'd buy from the guy, better then the sale barn....not that there's anything wrong with most sale barns. My biggest warning is the calf a "freemartin"? That's a touchy subject if the guy is a liar. So without a freemartin probe test you would never know if the heifer is breedable or not....Lots of money and time wasted if the calf is not breedable down the road...I personally would be on pi$$ed off buyer if that was the final bill of sale "a freemartin", plus waiting 14 months to find out. Every time I go to the dairy auction the freemartins are bought up by one or two guys, why? What are they doing with them? Hopefully something legitimate....Topside

lasergrl · #3 03/20/09, 07:35 PM

thats pretty much what I do. The dairies dont have the time or care to direct sell. I advertise on craigslist and other places. People want to raise a calf or two, but dont know where to look. They come to me. I dont sell the same day though, I wait at least 1 1/2-2 weeks after I know there wont be any scours from switching to milk replacer. If they do have scours I keep them untill they dont. Then i castrate and disbud, most would rather have that done before they buy.

Karin L · #4 03/20/09, 07:35 PM

Well if I were you I'd pass this guy on. I'd rather buy DIRECTLY from a dairy than through someone that I don't know who's just looking for a profit. And of course the calves being a "good buy"....that's one thing I'd worry about too, because often the case with purchasing animals that are a good buy end up giving you problems and having to take more money out of your pocketbook than you intended on doing.

I would wonder too if they were fed colostrum. It sounds like he doesn't say how old these calves are or anything like that. I wouldn't doubt that you can take care of bottle calves, but the fact of the matter is is that what if the guy you are looking to buy the calves from isn't what you expect him to be? I'd ask him how much he bought the calves for and would request to see a bill of sale. I'm sure that every dairy farm selling and buying calves have to keep records and give bills of sale to the customer who wishes to buy thier calves.

Anyway, those are just my opinions, useful or not.

sammyd · #5 03/20/09, 07:47 PM

I would consider this about the same as a sales barn.
Unless his facilities, trailers, etc are srubbed between each calf from each different farm......
I have a distrust of cattle jockies since I've seen a buddy get a good scr$%ing from one.
Any bio safety precautions and any health precautions (special shots, isolation etc) used for sales barn calves would apply to calves from a guy like this.

r93000 · #6 03/20/09, 08:09 PM

I agree with pps'. Same risk as buying at the sale barn. Quarantine and monitor. Have colostrum (you may have a farmer who will sell you some and it does freeze) or colostrum replacement (not as good, but does in a pinch) on hand and ready to go- feed it immediately. It won't hurt them if they already had some and could save you a loss. I've raised a LOT of sale newborns.

If you aren't planning to raise the heifers as breeders, then you don't even need to worry about getting a free martin- they taste the same

francismilker · #7 03/21/09, 06:48 AM

I'd compare the "asking" cost of this guy's heifers to the going average rate at the sale barn and see if anything smells fishy. You might also mention that you'd need to test the heifer with a freemartin probe before the purchase and see if he gets a little nervous about it. It hard for a liar to back themselves in a corner. I'd be willing to bet that if the guy is peddling bad calves you'll not get him to agree to the test. You might even ask him to meet you at the vet's place to get all the animals vaccinations done before you take possession. I realize not too many sellers would be willing to go through this, but the seller's reaction to your request could help you decide whether to buy or not. Even if they would not go through the extra time and trouble for a $100 bottle calf, you might get some indication of thier truthfulness by the beads of sweat dripping off of them when you mention colostrum and freemartin probes.

Callieslamb · #8 03/21/09, 09:24 AM

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me. I will have to check this guy out and see what he is all about. Dirty facilities will tell me alot. But until I check, I won't know. He seems a forward way to get a calf at a decent price without having to go to a sale barn or find a farmer. Though I do have the lead on a farmer with jersey calves too. There is always a touch of the unknown. If I did buy an untested freemartin calf, I guess she would make decent hamburger.

Calfkeeper · #9 03/21/09, 09:30 AM

I haven't been in the business too terribly long to speak with any authority on the subject, but even if there weren't a huge health risk for the calves, just the stress could do them in, being rough-housed and herded around and all after being separated from their moms. I think if they are really young, you'd be better off transporting them yourself with as little fuss as possible, because they don't weather trauma like that very well.

We sell to one specific person who comes and collects the calves himself (he drives well over 60 miles one way) and we are happy to tell him the history of the calf, how long it's been with the cow, if there might be any health concerns...etc. And when one of our calves died on him for unknown reasons, we gave him the next one free, just as a courtesy. It pays to buy direct from the dairy and have a relationship with the farmer. We know the guy and aren't going to foist a sick calf on him, as some would do when they sell to those calf "jockies."

Just my .02 cents.

haypoint · #10 03/22/09, 09:56 AM

This is a fairly common business. Big dairies don't have the time to raise calves and either have a regular buyer or a set auction that they use.

Keep in mind that this guy is buying calves that come from several (many) different farms and each farm operates differently. He may have some good ones and some that are simply waiting to die.

Most importantly, this guy has to sell all he has bought. Just like a used car salesman. He'll sell the good ones to those that know the difference and the rest must be sold to those that don't know any better. Which one are you?

Callieslamb · #11 03/22/09, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haypoint

This is a fairly common business. Big dairies don't have the time to raise calves and either have a regular buyer or a set auction that they use.

Keep in mind that this guy is buying calves that come from several (many) different farms and each farm operates differently. He may have some good ones and some that are simply waiting to die.

Most importantly, this guy has to sell all he has bought. Just like a used car salesman. He'll sell the good ones to those that know the difference and the rest must be sold to those that don't know any better. Which one are you?

I have been around calves all my life. I have moved to a new area and finding a farmer, etc is time-consuming with everything else that needs to get done around here. This guy just came up on Craigslist - my first visit there, trying to scrounge other items.

Thanks for the info.