Another cow to look at??

allenslabs · #1 01/11/12, 12:51 PM

Here is another. Called the guy and he said she has 4 calves on her right now. He said she is giving a lot of milk right now but has no idea how much as he is just letting the calves nurse. Guess she came from a dairy. She sells with her heifer calf on her side. He said he's never milked her by hand because of letting the calves nurse. Asked if she was healthy and he said yes. Asked if she had any issue with milk fever and he said no.
http://louisville.craigslist.org/grd/2793981644.html

loislanefl · #2 01/11/12, 01:04 PM

Go take a look! We just bought a similar cow, the guy was using her as a nurse cow and he had gotten her from a dairy. She originally had been a 4H cow, registered, but who knows what happened to the paperwork along the way. Anyway, she has turned out to be a very nice cow. She also came with a heifer calf and the only problem we have had is she holds back so much milk for the calf.

From the ad this sounds like it would be a nice cow for you, assuming she is friendly and can be hand milked as the ad says.

willow_girl · #3 01/11/12, 01:37 PM

Umm, why is he selling her? Assuming he is keeping the other 3 calves?

(Why would he want to start bottle-feeding 3 calves if he has a perfectly good nurse cow willing to do the job?)

Just something to keep in mind ...

allenslabs · #4 01/11/12, 01:46 PM

Good point Willow girl. I think he is a trader honestly. He has a lot of ads on craigslist with bottle babies and such. I think he gets the cows reasonably, resells them for more and if I understood him right, the dairy gives him the bull calves and so he probably is in hopes of selling as a group maybe? Not sure. Sooooo.....not sure. I am not rushing into a purchase but am looking around. Her udder looked high though which was nice as I have seen some dairy culls that could sweep the floor with their udders if they walked just right. I am not interested in that at all. LOL!

Cindy in KY · #5 01/11/12, 03:21 PM

I have talked with him. I am interested in one of the heifer calves. He has had several Jersey cows in the last few months, I have seen the ads, and some were sold. I read on one ad that the cow came from the Amish. I have not gone down there yet, but he seems nice enough on the phone.

I thought on the first ad they were Jersey - Angus heifers, but it said Holstein - Angus last night, so a heifer might grow very large. I told him I was interested in a smallish heifer calf.

How far is that from you?

allenslabs · #6 01/11/12, 07:01 PM

About an hour and 45 minutes from me. The cow looks sweet enough in the picture and I like that she'll let other calves nurse. I would love another jersey/angus heifer but this time I wish the mom would be beef and the dad the jersey. I think the calf would be beefier as by doing the cross with the angus as the dad and the jersey as the mom, my Bonnie took after the frame of the jersey. I know that the way you do the crossing makes a difference on the outcome. Like, if you take a male donkey and breed to a female horse you get a mule. If you breed a female donkey and a male horse, you get a hinney. I figured it would be the same with cattle.

Cindy in KY · #7 01/12/12, 08:33 AM

I was thinking a Holstein Angus cow would not have the cream in the milk as would a Jersey Angus Cow. I would rather have a Jersey cross for that reason and also the size. The bigger the cow, the more feed it needs, and Holsteins can get really tall.

allenslabs · #8 01/12/12, 09:20 AM

I think the same. I am not one that wants a holstein because I don't need the extra milk for one and for two, they just take so much more feed.

suzyhomemaker09 · #9 01/12/12, 12:26 PM

I see when checking the link I saw that the post has been deleted by author.
I know when searching for a dairy cow I came across all sorts of misrepresented ads....oh nurse cow with all these calves...I milked her by hand before but I'm getting old and it's too much work. Do your legwork...look a couple of times before buying etc...

allenslabs · #10 01/12/12, 02:03 PM

I guess she sold. Dang.

allenslabs · #11 01/12/12, 02:13 PM

Looked closer. She is still on there but he has swapped out her jersey heifer calf for a jersey/angus cross heifer. I wouldn't mind that cross but considering he only wants $160 for the little heifer that leaves the momma at $940.....hmmm....

loislanefl · #12 01/12/12, 02:20 PM

I'm sure it must be a cow trader but that isn't always bad. Best thing is to just go take a look at what he has. Just remember that since he is probably a trader he most likely doesn't know too much history about the cows. It's just like with horse traders, let the buyer beware, but some good deals can be found.

Callieslamb · #13 01/12/12, 03:41 PM

When I bottle a calf, it takes about 3 months to raise it to a size to wean it off milk. So if the nursing calves are are over that age, they can be weaned too. It doesn't mean he's doing something wrong to sell the cow.

lasergrl · #14 01/12/12, 06:09 PM

The 4 calves in the picture looked a couple weeks old at best. Pic is gone now though.

allenslabs · #15 01/12/12, 06:47 PM

Yeah....those babies look pretty small to me like they should be on milk for a while.