Buying a Calf in IL

[ericnovak]

We've been farming small animals like chickens, ducks, geese, and goats (we do have about a 200 lb buck) for a while and we're finally ready to take the plunge and start raising some bigger stuff. We were thinking a beef might be a good place to start.

I've heard that buying dairy bulls are cheaper then buying real meat breeds like angus, I've scouted my near area (I'm in IL, Lake County) and I've seen a few places that sell meat breeds. They're asking 200-300 bucks for a calf though!

Anyway, I guess I'm wondering where I could get a cheap bull to raise and butcher?

-Eric

[francismilker]

look on craigslist. There are usually a lot of adds on CL for bottle calves. Good luck on your search.

[ozark_jewels]

How old are the calves they are wanting $200-$300 for??

[ericnovak]

I think they were pretty young, couldn't have been over a few months. Now that I'm looking around that doesn't seem like too bad a price...

[Madsaw]

I am a few hrs from lake county. Right now the way dairy prices are you can with about another 50 buy heifer calves for that. Most dairy bulls are in teh 50 to 100 range here in southern WI. We sold some older bulls for 50 -75 just last week.
Bob

[ericnovak]

It looks like I found some Holstein bulls for 45-60 bucks in southern WI, like you said. Looks like I'll be picking up my first bucket calf this week!

I'm officially jealous!

I'm about an hour from St. Louis and I can't find any calves for under $250. All of the cattle guys around here don't have calves this time of year, but say that they have waiting lists already going for next spring. They said to check out the sale barn.

[ericnovak]

Tonya,
Not sure how far away you are from Lostant, but it was a good two hours south of me. Check out this listing: http://bn.craigslist.org/grd/1288290108.html

[francismilker]

Originally Posted by ericnovak

Tonya,
Not sure how far away you are from Lostant, but it was a good two hours south of me. Check out this listing: http://bn.craigslist.org/grd/1288290108.html

That seems like a pretty good deal to me. A shot of something like nuflor for preventative measures, 3ccs of Ivomec injectable, and some grain and you're good to go if you're looking to raise some homebeef!

Originally Posted by ericnovak

Tonya,
Not sure how far away you are from Lostant, but it was a good two hours south of me. Check out this listing: http://bn.craigslist.org/grd/1288290108.html

I know exactly where Lostant is....and it's still 3 hours from my house. A bit far. Oh well. Half the fun's looking, right?!

[ericnovak]

Drove out and picked up the calf today. I'll post more on my blog and give a link to it. Man is it ever cute! When butcher time comes I'm sure we'll all be crying :P

Thanks for the help everyone!

[eversgerd38]

Looking to but bottle calfs in my area I am located in pocahontas IL and can not seem to find any of them unless they are 8hours away just starting out and can't travel to far from home. looking to buy 6 to 10 of them I do not want to buy from the sale barn because they look so sickley can any one help me thank you curt you can reply at stacey_torti2000@yahoo.com or call me at 618-669-2244 thank you