How about this cow

Callieslamb · #1 05/18/10, 12:30 PM

I am looking at this cow as a family milk cow. I hope I can get the pictures to work. She is expecting her 2nd calf at the end of June. She was bred a little young the first time but had no trouble calving. The calf she is expecting is an AI calf. They want $1000 for her.

How about this cow - Cattle

they aren't the best pictures. What do you think?

willow_girl · #2 05/18/10, 10:09 PM

I think she looks good. Her udder looks nicely balanced and her teats (esp. the back ones) aren't too short, which sometimes is a problem with Jerseys. (I'm assuming you're planning to milk by hand.)

How long has she been dried off? Most dairies won't dry off a cow more than 60 days from her expected freshening date unless there's a problem (for instance, low production). So if she is due the end of June, and was dried off before the first of May, it would behoove you to inquire why. If she's coming from a commercial dairy, are they on test and does she have DHIA records? That would give you an idea how much milk to expect.

Why are they selling her?

deineria · #3 05/18/10, 10:55 PM

Well, she looks nice, to me. . .I don't know much more than if they are "pretty" or not. lol.

francismilker · #4 05/18/10, 10:55 PM

Price is always subjectable to what one's willing to pay. If you like her, can live with what you've spent, and are prepared for whatever comes your way, buy her. I personally don't like taking more of a risk on any cow than I can recover respectively at the sale barn if I choose to haul her for some unseen reason.

Sentimental money is hard to recover.

springvalley · #5 05/18/10, 11:15 PM

She looks ok, alot of first calf heifers don`t milk great towards the end of their lactation sometimes. What ever you do, do not give her any alfalfa till after she has her calf. She will be more prone to have milk fever if you do. And as far as DHIA records they are not fool proof, so don`t go by them. Just make sure you look her over very well, check her quarters out to see if they have any lumps and bumps. How does she behave around you, can you mess with her? Good luck, ask if you have more questions. > Thanks Marc

springvalley · #6 05/18/10, 11:18 PM

Francismilker, you wouldn`t get much of a cow up this way with that perspective.>Thanks Marc

francismilker · #7 05/19/10, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by springvalley

Francismilker, you wouldn`t get much of a cow up this way with that perspective.>Thanks Marc

My point is this: Even though most of us on the board are interested in being more self-reliant it still comes down to dollars and cents. If we intend to get a family milk cow for the purpose of supplying our families with all the dairy products we need the money factor has to come in at some point.
Whether it be buying chickens for eggs, sheep for wool, or a cow for beef and milk, we have to consider the "are we hobbying at the cost of the family's finances or trying to help ourselves?".

I'm not saying I wouldn't pay more than sale barn price for a milk cow that I liked. I'm saying paying way over salebarn prices would subject my family to a potential large loss. With bulk milk prices down the tube it's not nearly as hard to get a good cow these days for an economical price as it was 5 years ago. It wasn't uncommon to see a holstein or jersey cow sale for $2-3000 then. I hardly doubt we could ever recover the cost of spending that kind of money on a home milker.

Even though I have some mini-jersey cattle by absolute luck or accident, I wouldn't dare pay what folks are asking for them in today's niche market. I've seen them on craigslist and barter boards for really high prices. I only have them because I had a buyer pick me up a jersey heifer about 6 years ago at a sale for my daughter to have a 4-H project. As it turns out, she ended up staying small and all of her 4 calves have stayed small. No matter what she's bred to, the calves are all mini critters. They milk well for their size and are well tempermented. But, they aren't worth "mini" prices IMHO.

The only practical thing for me to think about someone paying way more than sale barn prices for a milking cow is that sometimes we get in such a rush to aquire our dreams of owning a cow we get hasty and buy in to the dream before we've looked long enough. The sad fact is, there's a chance the cow we buy for more than it's worth is going to have problems that we're not prepared to work through. If and when this happens we have to make the tough choice to sell her or eat her. Either way, if we spent way more than salebarn prices we have to accept the financial loss and start over.

As I stated earlier, if you're prepared to accept and live with your decisions of paying a high price for a cow, go for it.

Callieslamb · #8 05/19/10, 06:55 AM

I appreciate all comments. Yes, there is a point when you pay too much. It doesn't matter if you can afford to lose it or not - money gone is money gone and you should never buy higher than you are willing to risk. Which is why I came to you guys/gals.....to get some more eyes and minds working as eliminate as much risk as I can.

This cow is from a small family dairy - 12 cows. They do sell some to a commercial dairy, but are getting away from that to only sell to their cow share people. The owner said there was no profit with the commercial dairy. They also sell some to a cheese maker. They are culling 3 cows and 2 bred heifers. The other 2 cows are currently milking - a 3-teated Jersey and a Ayrshire.

The biggest problem I see is that she is dry and there is so much you can't tell while they are dry. I will be milking by machine - so teat size doesn't bother me as much as a balanced udder - I hate hanging FOREVER to a machine while it milks out those 2 heavy quarters!!!

I have asked for:
SSC It will most likely be from the entire herd but at least I will have an idea.
Bull used for breeding
date freshened last
Date dried off
milking history - how much? any mastitis problems? etc
Dry treatment?

Anything else?

She is currently NOT on pasture. Haylage, silage, some grain and some brewery wastes.

I do not think their price is off on a good cow for this area. She is very young and has years and years of milking ahead of her. What I am not sure is if she is a good cow. It is a lot of money if she turns out to be a mastitis problem. But mastitis can be a management issue. (that herd SSC will be telling about that). This is a friendly cow without being in my face. I didn't handle her since I don't have the cash to buy her yet (and I forgot my newly bleached barn boots....alas). I won't buy until I do handle her all over. I really liked the looks of her.

I am shopping further next week at a couple of larger dairies, but I will have to go a long ways to get a cow as young as this one. Blackwillowfarms is my cow-shopping mentor. she won't let me go wrong! Oh the pressure is on now!!!

willow_girl · #9 05/19/10, 07:46 AM

Quote:

The only practical thing for me to think about someone paying way more than sale barn prices for a milking cow is that sometimes we get in such a rush to aquire our dreams of owning a cow we get hasty and buy in to the dream before we've looked long enough. The sad fact is, there's a chance the cow we buy for more than it's worth is going to have problems that we're not prepared to work through. If and when this happens we have to make the tough choice to sell her or eat her. Either way, if we spent way more than salebarn prices we have to accept the financial loss and start over.

I think it depends on what you mean by "sale barn prices."

If you're talking about a dairy sale, then I agree, to a point. (I'd still pay a premium for a cow accustomed to being hand-milked, especially if she was halter-broke or trained to go into a stanchion without a fuss at milking time.)

If you're hoping to acquire a good family milk cow for slaughter price, that's a different story!

springvalley · #10 05/19/10, 07:53 AM

Callieslamb, I think the price is fair if she is healthy,the herd ssc will tell you what the herd is doing but not your cow. We have had cows that show no sign of mastitis that have a high cell count. Blows my mind that a cow can have a high cell count and no mastitis. We had friends of ours with a family cow that had the same problem, we sent in a sample for them to our milk company to test the milk, it came back over the rooof. Sorry to say we could not get the count down and they ended up selling her. Now I have talked to some ole timers that have said that they put several calves on her and let them nurse her and they seem to clear it up, why ? I have no idea. As far as looking at larger dairies for a cow please don`t do it, why would they be selling cows would my question be, most dairies are not going to be selling you quality animals " be carefull out there" > Thanks Marc

springvalley · #11 05/19/10, 08:05 AM

Sir Francis, I am glad you explained your self, I knew where you were going with it, but alot of the readers on here didn`t I bet. If you can`t afford to buy a cow don`t, a goat would be more ecanomical. Thanks for telling us why, and don`t get me wrong, sometimes you can find a buy once in awhile. There are some good cheap cows out there but you don`t find them very often. Hope you all are very carefull when buying cows. Look them over good ask questions, lots of them, and if they won`t answer them, don`t buy the cow. Keep looking >Thanks Marc

Callieslamb · #12 05/19/10, 09:44 AM

I know a couple of people that have bought cows from the larger dairies and have been perfectly happy with them. They cull often due to the cow not giving enough milk. I do think you need to know what you are doing, or take someone with you that does. cheap cows will often have to do with how many are on the market - like MO, there are a TON of jersey cows in MO...up here - it's holsteins, holsteins and more holsteins. It makes a jersey a lot harder to come by so they will cost a bit more.

I just got an email back from the owner of the cow. He says I can take my pick of any cow in his herd. They just picked a couple expensive ones and a couple of not so expensive ones to put up for sale. Yippee!!!! I bet I can find one.

prairiegirl · #13 05/19/10, 10:54 AM

Callie, she sure looks like a pretty gal. Yes, I know there's so much more to getting a cow.LOL But, I do believe that the first looks are what leads one to look at her more closely.
Sounds like you are getting close to finding the perfect cow for your barnyard.

And, yes $1000 isn't too bad for this area. We are in N. Indiana and have been searching for one ourselves. That seems to be the going price for a bred milk cow and that might be one that has just 3 quarters.

Looking4ewes · #14 05/28/10, 07:03 AM

Hi CL,

Congrats on your new cow. FWIW, I just spent $1000 on a 2 yo reg. Jersey due in July with her second calf. She was from a larger family dairy, ~ 30 cows, and well cared for. I'm sure your purchased will work out well.

Wendy

Callieslamb · #15 05/28/10, 06:14 PM

Thanks. She arrives tomorrow!!! It's pretty exciting!