We Just Bought our 1ST calves - they are a little skinny. . .

[countrymama84]

Hi,
My husband and I are new to farm life and just bought 2 holstein heifers last week to raise for beef. They are about 5-6 months old and around 300-400 lbs,(what we were told) and bottle raised. We paid 300.00 each. They guy we bought from raised nothing but bottle calves. I hope we didn't make a mistake. . .They are already filling out, but they were pretty skinny - could kind of see ribs on one and it has a slight limp in one leg. He said all they need is grass from our pasture. They seem to be fine, and are supposed to have had all shots so far, but is there anything else we're supposed to be doing?
Thanks!
Sandre

[topside1]

Welcome to the forum Sandre. Congrats on your first calves. If you want to fill you freezer quicker I'd be feeding grains am and pm. My recommendation really depends on your budget. It's just what I do and can usually get most Holsteins weighing 900 plus pounds by one year old. I slaughter @ 1 year to 16 months depending on breed. Just wondering why did you buy two. That's a lot of meat, or will one one heifer be enjoying life for a long long time....Good luck and welcome.

[countrymama84]

Thanks for the advice! We bought 1 and my in-laws bought 1 - I guess so they would have company and for more meat (we know more people who'd want to buy some)!
Sandre

[sammyd]

Why are you beefing out heifers? Raise em to 900 or so pounds and sell em as replacements. Might be a market by then.
Bull calves would be 10x cheaper to buy and will put weight on faster.
If they're holsteins you'll want to add some grain to their diet. We usually feed a 16% mix till around 600 pounds then drop to a 14%. 4-6 pounds each a day.

[haypoint]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. I was afraid that your post was going to be like so many calf tragedy stories, " My husband and I are new to farm life and just bought 2 holstein heifers last week. They are skinny...." The tragic stories continue with, " I think they are a week old." You, thankfully, are buying calves well past the critical stages.
Seems like a fair price.

Just to be careful, I'd want a bit more information than, "supposed to have had all shots so far". Can you get a list of what shots he's given and when? A lame animal might not be a problem, or it should be the beginnings of something serious. Keep an eye on that.

If these holstein heifers are intact, not free martens, you might want to consider their greater value as milk cows. You could either trade them, now or in the future, for steers. You'd end up with either bigger steers or cash in hand. If you have enough pasture, you could add a pair of steers and at butcher time, sell the heifers, eat the steers.

[copperhead46]

It wouldn't hurt to worm them too, they probably need the feed more than the worms do. It'll get them off to a good start on the green grass.
P.J.

[countrymama84]

Thanks, everyone for all this great advice!!

[countrymama84]

Oh, yes - what's a "free marten"? sterile? How can you tell?
Thanks!

[TK04]

A free martin is a heifer that was twin with a bull calf. It causes the heifer to have some bull characteristics, etc. They are supposed to be sterile between 85 - 95% of the time. A vet or knowledgable cattle person can usually check to see if all of the equipment is correct. I have also heard you can send in a blood sample to be tested for it. Good luck with your calves.

[copperhead46]

I'd almost bet that they are free martins, it's very seldom that you see holstien heifers for sale like that. You could ask the man you bought them from, unless he figured that you being new to cattle that you wouldn't know untill it was too late.
P.J.

[topside1]

You can always tell by the price tag of the calf, providing the seller is on the up and up. Week old holstein heifer calf=$350 and up. Week old free martin=$30...topside

[countrymama84]

I don't know - This tends to be Angus country here and you'll pay alot more for them, but holsteins and jerseys have been quite a bit less. I don't know what a free marten looks like, but these definitely look like girls. .. We wanted to get steers, but ended up going with heifers because the timing and price was right. If we had the money, I'd love to get a gentle pregnant holstein milk cow on Craigslist that comes with 2 6 week old bulls for 900.00. That seems like a pretty good deal! Someday. . . .

[Farm 36]

If you have an eye for cattle you can tell by looking at them.A simple dna test will work or at a later date have her palpated by a vet or skilled person. Its not hard but a lot a people think they know what is going on but really don't so I would have a vet that does cattle check .

[KayJay]

The price actually doesn't sound too off for what I've been seeing right now, and milk cow prices are usually higher here than other areas I've seen.... weaned non-twin holstein heifers have been going for $400-500. I'd definately see about having a vet or some other knowledgable person out to check if they're freemartins. If they're not, I'm sure you could trade them for some bigger steers later on or even sell them and then buy steers. Congrats on the calves by the way!