Looking for a dairy calves & Cow in Nw Ks

[RW kansas hogs]

We are in search of Dairy calves and or a Dairy cow in North West Kansas, I'm not afraid to drive for animals because i normally do. Neb,Co would work or plan ole Kansas lol

[rancher1913]

every sat brush livestock has a sale, pigs-goats-calfs-cows-sheep. get the fence post magazine and all the eastern colorado sale barns are in it. the one in brush colorado is best for all around. the dairy guy beside me sells underproducing cows and sometimes calfs.

[ErinP]

Any particular breed?

the fence post magazine and all the eastern colorado sale barns are in it

Unless you pick up the Nebraska edition, that is.

Both are online here:
http://www.thefencepost.com/

The MileSaver is another good, regional one:
http://www.milesaver.com
Not really an ag. paper, but of course given our area, that's what it tends to be...

[RW kansas hogs]

The breed doesnt matter to us, basically we are looking for a older cow to fatten up to butcher or some calfes for a future butcher. Even both if i'm lucky, Better go get some lottery tickets lol

[RW kansas hogs]

I forgot to mention that we raise hogs and if someone is willing to work out a trade with us that would be great, Or as the wife says "SUPER''

[wally]

KSU has been selling all ages thru Manhattan Commission Company for years. You might could call and see what they have. Sale is every friday. Depending on the number of calves they have to sell they have to sale they start with the calves as early as 10:30, Regular cattle sales start at 12:00. The number is 785-776-4815..Wally

[myersfarm]

you can watch the sale live Manhattan Commission Company if you go to ..http://www.lmaauctions.com/default.aspx



it is free just sign up you can not buy but will give you a idea of what they sell

[RW kansas hogs]

Thanks for the information everybody, The bad part is Manhattan is a 4 1/2 hour drive from my house, I found a family that sells Dairy calves in Neb the other day.

[ErinP]

There's a feedlot just east of Wray, CO that always has a bunch of dairy calves, too.

If you're just fattening to eat, though, why dairy cattle??

[RW kansas hogs]

Well if you can find a black face or white face bull calf for $50 let me know and i will go get it, Money is tight for us and i can get Dairy bull calf for $50. Since the price for cattle has sky rocketed around here thats what we can afford at the moment.

[shelljo]

Might be late, but you could also contact Colby Livestock. Leland has lots of contacts out there. And there's a dairy at St Francis. Do they sell older cows?

[myersfarm]

RW it is not just the purchase price you need to look at....a beef calf will grow a whole lot faster then a dairy animal...you will also get more meat back from the same size beef calf then a dairy calf... a beef calf will grow better and taste better on just grass then a dairy calf


while on feed the beef will gain a lot more

another thing a beef calf will be easier to raise then a dairy when on milk

[Cat]

I have to agree with myersfarm. I live in SW KS so I know of the kind of environmental conditions you'll probably have to deal with. I have a Jersey and have raised several Jersey calves in recent years. My original plan was to buy Jerseys exclusively to raise on my nurse cow for butcher beef. I have found that in our neck of the woods / environment it just isn't economical. When your grazing season is late April to July at best you're feeding hay for the majority of the time and to get any weight on 'em you have to do more work "feeding" than is cost-effective. My last two steers that I took to butcher were nearly 22 months old and still weren't what I'd call ideal - better than store-bought without a doubt and super tender and flavorful, but as a Kansas born and bred beef eater a Jersey ribeye is what we commonly refer to as a snack. lol If I lived where we had rain and more grass available longer I'd not have so much of a problem, but we're just too dry.

I ended up buying a beef heifer last year that I'm raising who will be raising a calf for us each year. After she gets up there the Jersey will be sold most likely unless I'm in a position where I want the milk.

Have you called any of your feedyards? There's a couple around me that have begun selling calves and while not the most ideal situation I've gotten 4 so far (all blacks, which is in and of itself a plus so that I don't have trouble selling if I need to) and they haven't presented me with any problems that I haven't been able to treat effectively. The cows aren't given implants and minimal medications so the calves aren't all that bad. They're usually on the mom for a week or more. The two I have now, one was super-thrifty and still is to this day, the other one had a bad start but I've been able to get her back to health to where she looks really good now. I paid $100 ea. for these two, last year I bought one for $150 and the other for $80. So, while you do have the higher purchase price you also have a greater return, sooner, with less feed having to be bought.

[RW kansas hogs]

The main reason i want Dairy calves (Bull & Heifer) is for breeding reasons, Yes i know that it will take over a year but by that time i plan being my own boss (hopefully). Witch leads to having milk for the family and i plan on cross breeding them as well with (my mind draws a blank for the names but one is from italy and the other is mexican, The kind they use in rodeos.) Beef calfs are plentifull around here but not so much for dairy.

[MO_cows]

You talking about Chianina and Corriente?? The Corriente won't really add any more muscle onto the dairy cross for a meat animal. But if you rope you might get a practice steer. Chianina, don't know much about them, except they are huge and therefore you might have calving problems and would likely be slow maturing.

You can't throw a rock without hitting an Angus or Hereford, and either one of those should add muscle for meat yield and hybrid vigor to the calf out of a dairy heifer. And both of those are pretty easy fleshing to make the most of your grass. My advice would be to make it easier on yourself to get the heifer bred, and get a more desirable crossbred for beef, too.

[RW kansas hogs]

Corriente is one of them, I want that breed basicaly for there grazing traits and the other is ( had to wait for a text from my friend) the Piedmontese. Chianina are monsters and on my wish list of gritters to get.
My friends dad raise's Piedmontese and thats an easy 4 mile drive for me, The corriente show up at various times thru out the year but if i cant find any at the time i will use something else

[RW kansas hogs]

For all of you Beef Cow lovers out there. I spoke to a guy today that will sell me some calves and a older cow to

[Curtis B]

Is Hays too far? My uncle is there and raises holsteins. If you want I can give him a call and see what he has/is expecting.