What do you think?

thequeensblessing · #1 10/01/10, 11:03 AM

I'm going to see these gals this afternoon. They are asking $125.00 each for them. you think that's a good deal? I asked if any of them were twins and I have been assured they were not. They are simply unwanted replacement heifers. The dairy is downsizing due to the price of milk or some such thing. Anyway....what do you think? I'd like some input before I go look at them.
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/grd/1982629567.html

jbowyer01 · #2 10/01/10, 11:19 AM

Oh my I wish we were living on our property already I'd drive to Ohio for one at that price.

lasergrl · #3 10/01/10, 11:25 AM

Hmmm, bring a tube with you if you can. Thats how much bulls sell for around here.

francismilker · #4 10/01/10, 11:30 AM

The price doesn't seem out of the ordinary for my area but I don't know the "norm" for yours. I'd say go for it! If they come direct from the dairy I'd say there's a very, very slim chance they're twins. Most dairyman that I know are very honest, hardworking people and have a face in the community.

Are you sure you want all the future milk a holstein can produce?

thequeensblessing · #5 10/01/10, 12:06 PM

Thanks all. My biggest concern is, of course, a freemartin. This is not directly from the dairy. It is the dairy farmers son who sells excess calves from his own farm. I don't know him personally. I can do my best to check for a freemartin, knowing that there is no way to tell 100% without an advanced vet check later. I do know that he often advertises holstein heifers on CL, and I doubt he's going to have that many freemartins.
As for the quantity of milk from a holstein, it is too much for us, but the local jersey dairy won't sell their calves and the older culls they sell have at least one bad quarter and they want $800 for them. No thanks. I guess I'll make a lot of cheese, and feed any extra to our dogs/cats/hogs.
I really don't know what dairy heifers go for around here since they rarely if ever come up at the sale barn, and this is one of the few people on CL that I've seen selling them.

francismilker · #6 10/01/10, 02:34 PM

Have you entertained the idea of going to a dairy sale. If Ohio still has a few dairys, more than likelythere are dairy sales there. With the milk price in the tank heifer prices have came down a bit. You might be able to get a bred or breeding age heifer for more than $125 but cheaper than feeding and breeding them over a two year period to get fresh milk. Just my two cents.

Raising a bottle heifer for a future milker is a long row to hew in order to get milk.

thequeensblessing · #7 10/01/10, 08:09 PM

Francismilker, yes, I have entertained that idea and it's exactly what I think we will do! I know we can get bred cows fairly easily, and you're right, the investment won't be much more over time, but the pay off will be worth it in a much shorter time. thank you.

We went and looked at these heifers and I did a thorough inspection. Freemartins, all 3 of them. After some pressing, the guy admitted that he makes the round of dairies in the Northern KY, southern Oh areas and buys up unwanted bull and heifer calves. We left, and the calves remained where they were. So, if anyone else in the area sees these and is curious, be forewarned, they are indeed freemartins.

lamoncha lover · #8 10/02/10, 01:29 PM

Glad it was an experienced cow person looking at these as I would have gotten taken...

pastelsummer · #9 10/02/10, 02:37 PM

i would get them checked before yopu buy but that what bottle babies go for here at the sale if not cheaper.

freedomfrom4 · #10 10/02/10, 03:34 PM

I live in the area. I wouldn't get any calves from this guy at all even if they weren't free martins. There is a dairy in west union that has jerseys. I will look for the number. He has nice animals and are healthy. I have to find my missing phone to get the number from it or else I will just have to drive down there. They would be more expensive, but you get what you pay for. I'll PM my number.

tinknal · #11 10/02/10, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thequeensblessing

but the local jersey dairy won't sell their calves and the older culls they sell have at least one bad quarter and they want $800 for them. No thanks. I guess I'll make a lot of cheese, and feed any extra to our dogs/cats/hogs.
I really don't know what dairy heifers go for around here since they rarely if ever come up at the sale barn, and this is one of the few people on CL that I've seen selling them.

A 3/4 quarter cull will give you thousands of gallons of milk and two calves before you see a thing out of that calf. Just sayin'..........

Creamers · #12 10/02/10, 03:56 PM

I thought that seemed very cheap for the area for actual heifers. I am SO glad you were able to check them and realize they were free martins!!

thequeensblessing · #13 10/05/10, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinknal

A 3/4 quarter cull will give you thousands of gallons of milk and two calves before you see a thing out of that calf. Just sayin'..........

While that's very true Tinknal, my fear would be getting a cull with a bad quarter, or half, due to chronic mastitis. Wouldn't that be more problems than it's worth? I learned how to tell a freemartin, but I'm not great at determining what dry/bred cow has had problems with chronic mastitis. Is there a trick to it? Can you, or someone else out there educate me on the chronic mastitis issue?
Thanks, you guys are great!

tinknal · #14 10/05/10, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thequeensblessing

While that's very true Tinknal, my fear would be getting a cull with a bad quarter, or half, due to chronic mastitis. Wouldn't that be more problems than it's worth? I learned how to tell a freemartin, but I'm not great at determining what dry/bred cow has had problems with chronic mastitis. Is there a trick to it? Can you, or someone else out there educate me on the chronic mastitis issue?
Thanks, you guys are great!

I'm more of a beef cow guy, LOL. If you could find one that was bred, late lactation (still milking) you could see for your self. Buy the cow and dry her off, or let the farmer milk her until dry off time, then start with a fresh cow in 2 months.

willow_girl · #15 10/05/10, 09:49 PM

Quote:

While that's very true Tinknal, my fear would be getting a cull with a bad quarter, or half, due to chronic mastitis. Wouldn't that be more problems than it's worth?

Not necessarily. Many commercial dairies deem it profitable to milk some 3-teat cows; I even tested one that had an old cow who was down to 2 quarters, although she still made better than 100 lbs. of milk per day upon freshening!

My little Jersey cow had an intermittent case of mastitis in one of her back teats -- I'd simply leave that one for her calf to clean out (which she did without any apparent hesitation). And even with a Jersey's modest production, we always were up to our eyeballs in milk!

If you're milking by hand, the biggest advantage to buying an older cow is the opportunity to test-drive her, so to speak. All udders are NOT created equal! I have seen a few cows I wouldn't want to milk by hand even if you gave me the cow for free -- they either have short teats, or very 'tight' ones. Some require all the strength in my hands just to strip out a few squirts of milk to check for mastitis before putting the milker on -- I can't imagine trying to milk a cow like that entirely by hand! And if you go with a heifer, you really have no idea what her udder's going to be like until she freshens.

I'd estimate there are about 10 cows in the herd I milk (~100) that would be a real pleasure to milk by hand. There are probably 10 that you couldn't pay me enough to milk by hand, and the rest fall somewhere in between.

thequeensblessing · #16 10/06/10, 08:00 AM

Thanks Willow girl, you've given me much to think about. Perhaps I've not given the older cows enough thought. You do bring up some very valid points that should be considered. Thank you!

willow_girl · #17 10/06/10, 01:15 PM

You are welcome.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it's not at all uncommon to have a heifer freshen with only 3 working teats, or to get mastitis in her first lactation... it happens. Going with a heifer instead of a cow is not a guarantee you won't have to deal with mastitis.