What would YOU pay?!?

[Cat]

OK. So. Let's say you were really, really wanting a Braunvieh heifer calf to foster onto your soon-to-freshen Jersey to be raised as a family cow for beef (calves) and possibly a little bit of milk on occasion. You want Braunvieh because you really like their appearance (men probably won't relate as much to this aspect) but also because they're known for good maternal traits and raise a heck of a nice thick calf with a good carcass quality(you men can appreciate this, I'm sure of it! (( Braunvieh influenced calves stole the show at the 2009 Beef Empire Days, it seems!!)). You're wanting a traditional, typical looking brown cow Braunvieh and know that your best bet is to find a breeder & see if you can't coerce them to sell you a young calf; knowing that that in and of itself is going to be a feat and knowing that in order to be successful, you're going to have to be willing to pay a price to make it appealing to the breeder. You want a calf because you're going to raise it with a lot of hands on to get that docile puppy dog-cow type attitude that every good family cow has and because you want your little kiddo nephews to get to take part in it.

Then, after contacting a breeder you get a reply that they have a 3 week old orphaned heifer that's dam died after an accident which caused pregnancy toxemia which resulted in the calf having to be taken slightly prematurely and resulted in the dam's death. The calf is apparently a great brown-cow-Braunvieh, will be registered, and has already been bottle broke AND will nurse a cow. Other than being a preemie, it's perfectly healthy by all appearances. :banana02:

So, I'm left with the unenviable task of making an offer on this heifer and I'm too chicken to make one without some input first!!

I wrote this post in the manner in which I did because I wanted to highlight the fact that part of this is emotion-based, wanting a cow strictly because of appearance, and that has nothing to do with market value. That said, I'm not able to pay such an outrageous price that it'd be too good to pass up so I have to find a balance where the breeder is getting a well-deserved price and I'm paying a somewhat logical price. So, what would YOU pay if it were you in this situation?!? I have an idea of what I might offer but I want to see if anyone is in a similar price range.

BTW...I can get young unknown breeding beef calves for $150 locally and she states that they're going for about $225 or so at auction, for reference.

[gone-a-milkin]

$200.

How do you know it will nurse a cow, if it is a bottle baby?

Good luck!

[Cat]

They have used her to nurse down some cows with large udders, I assume for calves that couldn't keep up with what momma was puttin' out.

[Chixarecute]

Preemies & orphans take a bit of labor($) to grow, if one is a large scale breeder, it would be wise to let it go, unless it is of exceptional parentage...

I agree, no more than $200. If it is nursing different cows, and bottle milk, take a good look at the rear end, make SURE it is not scouring. How soon does your jersey freshen? What will you do for milk after braunvieh & before freshening? If you will be feeding milk replacer, get one that is 28% protein, 20% fat.

ETA - ask for comparison to other calves of same age and of same due date...preemies will take a while to "catch up", but if your calf is way behind you might want more time to consider. Accident & pregnancy toxemia - hope it wasn't feed based? May have some impact on calf growth?

[tinknal]

Since beef farmers market beef and not milk, the calf is the product. It doesn't make sense for a beef farmer to sell a calf before weaning, unless they get a weaner price for it. They still have to maintain the production unit (the cow) for the entire year. Finding a bum like this is a good opportunity, and if you are bound and determined to have a calf of this age and breeding this is probably the best chance you have. I would offer $200 as a previous poster suggests, and go from there.

[bigmudder77]

3 weeks old id offer $150 and see what she says

a couple auctions i go to bull calves are going around $10-180 and heifers are around the same but as high as $250

now if they sell them by the pound its from .40-80 cents per pound heifers were a little higher than steers and bulls but nothing that i have been to went for over $1 a pound yet but come spring they will it was be like $1.40-1.80 a pound happens every year and the spring sales are the worst to go to if you dont have the money to pay the going rate cause people bid them up like crazy

so id go $150 and see what she says if she says $200 and its in good shape id buy it but if its not in good shape i wouldnt go over $100 or wouldnt buy it

post some pics up if you can

[Cat]

I was really surprised at your responses. The difference I think in our thoughts is that this is a purebred registered calf and would either be retained as a brood cow or sold to someone else as a brood cow and would not, typically, end up in a freezer somewhere unless there were other issues with her. I don't think they had any intention of selling her except that I had spoken to them last year about a couple of, I believe yearling heifers, and that fell through when people kept backing out on the sale of my Jersey. Initially of course I wasn't planning on a premature heifer so my 'top-dollar' price didn't reflect that aspect.

It was a traumatic accident that caused the preg. tox. so it wasn't feed/management related, just a freak accident.

As for milk, I've considered a few things. I do have two does that could freshen at any moment, too. One I think is going to go soon, so I might be able to put her on goats milk for the time being although, ugh, I just can't do TAD milking right with my work schedule and other commitments. However, I'll just have to do what I have to do, I guess! My other thought is making a trip to the dairy where I bought my last two Jerseys from and see if they wouldn't sell me some milk from their bulk tank. If all else fails I can feed MR but would mix that with goats milk as soon as it's available if the goat goes before the cow and there isn't enough goats milk to fully feed her.

Here are photos. From what I can tell she has nice clear, vibrant eyes & doesn't appear that she's scoured although the angle isn't the best.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...LuckyMar3a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...LuckyMar3a.jpg

[deineria]

Well, since you're going to have to bottefeed her, I would consider offering $500. I paid $1,000 for a nice PA AJCA Jersey heifer at 12 weeks old, and I'd have paid $500 if I had to bottlefeed her.

[tinknal]

Originally Posted by deineria

Well, since you're going to have to bottefeed her, I would consider offering $500. I paid $1,000 for a nice PA AJCA Jersey heifer at 12 weeks old, and I'd have paid $500 if I had to bottlefeed her.

You could get a 500 pound heifer for that price!

[Allen W]

Baby beef calves here are going for $300 a head at the sale barn.

"They have used her to nurse down some cows with large udders" Sounds like they have cows with big teats that the babies can't get started on. That is a problem that gets worse with time, it is also genetic.

[Chixarecute]

I understand your point that this is a purebred registered calf, however your purpose is not to make money on the sale of her offspring, like you would sell club calves to a 4H'er to raise for the fair. You need/want a family cow, goal being some calves for personal beef and some milk. You WANT a braunvieh. This calf is only 3 weeks old - if they are commercial producers, larger scale, you are doing them a favor by taking an orphan calf off their hands.

If money is no object, offer more. You can probably find a decent calf that will become a decent family cow for less money, however.

Sale barn prices are all over the place - depending on the supply & demand. You would gain from buying a calf privately, less exposure to disease. The nursing of multiple cows does concern me though.

Regardless of what you want to pay, check that back end out. If you have any slight concern, take its temp, do a skin fold pinch, but be sure it is a healthy calf. It's your investment and you have to invest wisely.

[deineria]

Well, my comment is based on reg. Jersey heifers. You can't touch a well bred, healthy and nice looking reg. Jersey heifer ANYWHERE around here for under $700-$1,000 - I understand beef cattle is another matter, but I would think a reg. heifer is a reg. heifer. . .maybe not?

[FEF]

I'd think it should be up to the seller to set the price on the animal. Then you can yes or no. Or possibly haggle. He should have a better idea of the calf's worth than you. Good luck.....

[Cat]

Yeah, I'm not really fond of having to come up with an offer and I understand why some people do it, but it's not something I usually like to deal with. Will come back later and give an update. Ironically, that's the second time in a month that I've been asked to make an offer on something as opposed to being given an asking price.

[bruce2288]

I do sometimes find the need to own pure breed or registered stock amusing. If one is producing seed stock it makes sense otherwise, why?

[Chixarecute]

Bruce - I agree. I feel the same way when I see an ad for a "Registered Gelding". Absolutely no advantage to me, as it can't reproduce. For me, price on that gelding had better be based on its soundness, confirmation, and ridability. And yes, I know that many folks show geldings at breed shows...

[Cat]

Well, I want a purebred because I want a Braunvieh and not just any ol' sloppily bred cow - that I can have locally. I was considering going that route but decided that there's not a reason on earth that I shouldn't get a Braunvieh if that's what I want and I can afford it. I'm not neglecting anyone or choosing a cow over groceries for kids, so I can be a bit more free with my $$. I had considered even seeing if I could find someone with a Brown Swiss & having AI to a Braunvieh bull done.

The papers...well, I have never needed papers but with this particular situation I told them in my original Email that I didn't care if she were registered but would like to know what they'd ask if she were and they told me that she's going to be registered and there was no price difference so there's no reason for me not to take them. Overall, I have come to decide that while I might not ever do anything that requires registration papers, if it costs me a sale that my animal doesn't have them then I'm shooting myself in the foot by not having them.

At any rate, I ended up submitting an original offer of $300 and they came back that they needed $400 to sell. I'd decided originally that $500 would be my limit so I was okay with $400. She's had colostrum, a 7 way, and they will take care of her horns and tattoo her for me and she hasn't scoured. I will be heading to pick her up about mid-month!!

[Chixarecute]

Sounds like a good fit for everyone! Have fun with your little charmer!

[FEF]

Originally Posted by bruce2288

I do sometimes find the need to own pure breed or registered stock amusing. If one is producing seed stock it makes sense otherwise, why?

Depending on the breed, registration papers can be very helpful. If they have EPDs, they can be helpful in telling you something about the cow's ability to produce compared to the rest of the breed. For example, if the breed average EPD for calving ease (CE) is 7, you'd expect that a cow with a CE EPD of 10 would be less likely to have calving problems than one with a CE EPD of 2. If the breed average for WW EPD is 40 and you buy a heifer with a WW EPD of 50, you'd expect her to wean a heavy calf. The milk EPD, especially, could be very helpful. Depending on the forage available to the animal, a lower than breed average milk EPD might be a good thing.

And if the animal has EPDs, it can help you select the bull to produce the calf that most fits your marketing program. Retaining owership? Look at feed efficiency and carcass quality. Selling at weaning through the sale barn? Look at weaning weight.

[Cheribelle]

Sounds like you have it all worked out now, congratulations! Around here, after Jan.1, bottle babies go for a crazy amount of money. They want them for 4H kids, and will pay $400 for a calf they know nothing about. I think you did good.