What price should I expect?

DamnearaFarm · #1 02/23/14, 08:54 AM

In the near future, I will be offered a dexter bottle heifer. From a nice, clean herd....possibly registerable. The owners are having the mother butchered because she 'isn't what they want in the herd'. Evidently she is so much what they want that they aren't even keeping her until weaning time.
I am going to guess I will be offered the heifer not started on the bottle.

I'm in the East TN area.

Any ballpark figures on what I should consider a good price? I was offered a cow by these same folks a few years ago at either 800 or 900, I really can't remember the amount.

Thanks, y'all.

haypoint · #2 02/23/14, 09:55 AM

Week old Dexter (small) heifer would sell between $80 and $180. A month or two old heifer without horns would be about $160 to $250.
A good salesman should be able to squeeze out a lot more.

genebo · #3 02/23/14, 12:20 PM

Holy cow! Those are sale barn prices for throw-away dairy bull calves. Even beef calves sell for a lot more than that. Dairy heifers sell for a lot more, too.

Without horns? Dexters are a horned breed, but heifers of that age never have horns.

The thing that would influence me the most is the opinion the owners have of the mother. The calf will inherit half of her genes from the mother. I'm not sure I would want the calf of a mother that was so bad they wouldn't keep her until the calf is weaned.

Dexters are sold as individuals. A calf is only a little less valuable than a yearling. It's almost the same as buying a dog. You won't pay a lot less for a puppy.

Buying a Dexter is usually a commitment to raise the calf to maturity and then using her for the purpose you have in mind (milk, draft, pet, lawn ornament or whatever).

Where you are in Tennessee, an unregistered Dexter heifer will sell for $500 to $800. Deduct a little for her age.

"Possibly registerable" usually means that there is a lot of paperwork and testing to be done before registering, if the calf can be registered at all. If it were easy to register this calf, the present owners would do it and raise her price accordingly. Don't count on being able to register a "possibly registerable" Dexter.

Your time and money will be better spent on a registered heifer from a sire and dam that you admire. A calf that will grow up to be as nice as they are. You will sleep better and enjoy your purchase for years and years.

G. Seddon · #4 02/23/14, 02:45 PM

Are they ditching the cow because of temperament, conformation, udder problems, bloodlines, calf rejection, what????? Why are they doing this?

Short of some extreme problem, if the cow is capable of nursing its calf to weaning age (at least 5-6 months) then I think they should keep this calf with its mother who will give it a far better start than any bag of expensive milk replacer can. I have nothing good to say about people who would do this to a calf just because it's mother "isn't what they want in the herd."

I agree with genebo...don't count on being able to register this calf!

Sorry, I've no suggestions on pricing.

haypoint · #5 02/23/14, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by genebo

Holy cow! Those are sale barn prices for throw-away dairy bull calves. Even beef calves sell for a lot more than that. Dairy heifers sell for a lot more, too.

Without horns? Dexters are a horned breed, but heifers of that age never have horns.

The thing that would influence me the most is the opinion the owners have of the mother. The calf will inherit half of her genes from the mother. I'm not sure I would want the calf of a mother that was so bad they wouldn't keep her until the calf is weaned.

Dexters are sold as individuals. A calf is only a little less valuable than a yearling. It's almost the same as buying a dog. You won't pay a lot less for a puppy.

Buying a Dexter is usually a commitment to raise the calf to maturity and then using her for the purpose you have in mind (milk, draft, pet, lawn ornament or whatever).

Where you are in Tennessee, an unregistered Dexter heifer will sell for $500 to $800. Deduct a little for her age.

"Possibly registerable" usually means that there is a lot of paperwork and testing to be done before registering, if the calf can be registered at all. If it were easy to register this calf, the present owners would do it and raise her price accordingly. Don't count on being able to register a "possibly registerable" Dexter.

Your time and money will be better spent on a registered heifer from a sire and dam that you admire. A calf that will grow up to be as nice as they are. You will sleep better and enjoy your purchase for years and years.

In many areas, Dexters sell at sale barn prices. Dexters are small and stay small, hence below beef breeds. If a calf from a horned breed has had the horn buds removed, that would be a plus.
Currently Holstein heifers don't bring much more than steers. In the beef breeds, heifers bring less. Commercial dairies would not, generally be interested in a Dexter.
You used the dog/puppy analogy . Puppies are costly at pet stores. Dogs are found cheaply at Shelters. People tend to not want Dogs, except specific breeds. In my experiences, Dexters are not in demand, except for a fairly small group. Often the "special" breeds end up at a sale barn, deeply discounted. That is of no concern if you plan to keep your Dexter forever. But people buy puppies, thinking they will keep them forever, too.

As I said, well marketed, to the right buyer, you could sell for more.

MO_cows · #6 02/23/14, 04:16 PM

I wouldn't touch that calf regardless of price. If the mother is so defective they won't even keep her around to raise the calf, why would you want her daughter? Also if the calf has been started out nursing the cow, switching to bottle/bucket is going to be a tough sell.

lakeportfarms · #7 02/23/14, 04:24 PM

Genebo and G. Seddon are both correct and make good points. Haypoint, if you come across any Dexters at that price that you quoted earlier PM me and I'll happily pay the toll across the bridge and come pick them up.

I don't know your market, but you have the same inputs to a registered animal that you do with a non-registered. Over the lifetime of a registered Dexter the additional price you could get for a registered calf should more than make up for additional cost over non-registered Dexters.

Azriel · #8 02/23/14, 04:52 PM

I just saw a small herd at auction that went for $125 a head, this was adult cows and a bull, and they had a hard time getting that, but this is not a good area for the mini breeds.

haypoint · #9 02/23/14, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lakeportfarms

Genebo and G. Seddon are both correct and make good points. Haypoint, if you come across any Dexters at that price that you quoted earlier PM me and I'll happily pay the toll across the bridge and come pick them up.

I don't know your market, but you have the same inputs to a registered animal that you do with a non-registered. Over the lifetime of a registered Dexter the additional price you could get for a registered calf should more than make up for additional cost over non-registered Dexters.

I see more Highlands that get dumped at the Sale Barn. A few Belted Galloway. They lose 10 to 20 cents a pound for horns.
A while ago, I did see some Dexters for sale, but they were so wild, I doubt you could have got them loaded. Cheap.

The prices I used for my guesstimation comes from a working knowledge of cattle prices at farms and recently visiting the Sale Barns at Gaylord, Clare, St. Louis, Marlette, Croswell, Cass City, Lake Odesa and Napoleon.

If you are good at salesmanship, you can get more for a registered animal than a grade. You have to be able to convince that the offspring will be worth more. In this case, registration is in question and they are buying the offspring of a cull cow.

DamnearaFarm · #10 02/23/14, 10:41 PM

Sorry, let me clear up a few things.....
I don't care about registering a heifer. I can't milk the papers. I just threw that out there because some of their herd is registered, some isn't.
These people.....they're.....different. The husband works a LOT and is out of town a lot. Wife is.......hmm....wants to live an all natural lifestyle....has a herd of dexters, a herd of goats, a herd of sheep, flock of chickens, flock of guineas, nice gardens....and buys most of their food/milk from other people. She says it takes her three hours to milk a cow...she's....different. Tends to BUY and then maybe, possibly think about doing a little research....as long as it's all natural, all organic and in no way, shape of form chemical....regardless of preventative/emergency care. I'm all for all natural...if it's preventative but it sure as crap can't help in an emergency!
I can totally see them butchering a cow for some silly reason. Of course I'll find out what that is when they offer her.
These folks are different from anyone I've ever met....and that's saying a lot!

Sorry if I sound down on them....it's frustrating to see SO much potential go to waste, ya know? If it were only managed....

haypoint · #11 02/24/14, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamnearaFarm

Sorry, let me clear up a few things.....
I don't care about registering a heifer. I can't milk the papers. I just threw that out there because some of their herd is registered, some isn't.
These people.....they're.....different. The husband works a LOT and is out of town a lot. Wife is.......hmm....wants to live an all natural lifestyle....has a herd of dexters, a herd of goats, a herd of sheep, flock of chickens, flock of guineas, nice gardens....and buys most of their food/milk from other people. She says it takes her three hours to milk a cow...she's....different. Tends to BUY and then maybe, possibly think about doing a little research....as long as it's all natural, all organic and in no way, shape of form chemical....regardless of preventative/emergency care. I'm all for all natural...if it's preventative but it sure as crap can't help in an emergency!
I can totally see them butchering a cow for some silly reason. Of course I'll find out what that is when they offer her.
These folks are different from anyone I've ever met....and that's saying a lot!

Sorry if I sound down on them....it's frustrating to see SO much potential go to waste, ya know? If it were only managed....

Do you think the owner of the cow researched Dexters and brought along someone that knew anything about conformation and quality when she selected this cow? Was a lot of thought put into selecting a quality bull that would help create this ideal Dexter breed so sought after? I'm guessing no al all of it.
However, it seems altogether likely that the owner would be ripe territory for a good salesman promoting this always gentle, good producer of milk, easy keeping, dual purpose Dexter. But each breed has a wide variety of quality.
Not to be down on Dexters.... it's frustrating to see someone put SO much belief in potential when there is no easy way to see if any exists. Management is good, but don't waste much time, effort and money putting lipstick on a pig. If you can buy her for a good price, go for it, if she is selling her as high quality, high priced breeding stock, walk. Remember, this is just my opinion.

DamnearaFarm · #12 02/24/14, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haypoint

Do you think the owner of the cow researched Dexters and brought along someone that knew anything about conformation and quality when she selected this cow? Was a lot of thought put into selecting a quality bull that would help create this ideal Dexter breed so sought after? I'm guessing no al all of it.
However, it seems altogether likely that the owner would be ripe territory for a good salesman promoting this always gentle, good producer of milk, easy keeping, dual purpose Dexter. But each breed has a wide variety of quality.
Not to be down on Dexters.... it's frustrating to see someone put SO much belief in potential when there is no easy way to see if any exists. Management is good, but don't waste much time, effort and money putting lipstick on a pig. If you can buy her for a good price, go for it, if she is selling her as high quality, high priced breeding stock, walk. Remember, this is just my opinion.

I don't know....not sure if I 'know' this cow or not. I broke one of her dexters to milk and milked another one more consistently than she'd been on her first lactation, so I do have *some* experience with her herd (she seems pretty leery of the cows....she's never been injured, she's just really touchy...literally doesn't want to lay a hand on them and speaks baby talk to 'em). If I had to guess, I'd say she said let's go get cows and her husband chose the best from whatever was available at the time. I can say, from what I've seen of her cattle and other animals, her 'favorite' doesn't seem to be the best representative (either conformation, action, production) of whatever animal it is you're talking about.

I don't intend to pay a 'salesman' price, that's for sure. I just want to know what a good price is for a heifer calf in this situation. On one hand, yeah, she has value simply because of what she is (future milk/meat producer) otoh, she is the result of a cull cow's breeding.

DamnearaFarm · #13 02/24/14, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MO_cows

I wouldn't touch that calf regardless of price. If the mother is so defective they won't even keep her around to raise the calf, why would you want her daughter? Also if the calf has been started out nursing the cow, switching to bottle/bucket is going to be a tough sell.

Also a concern.

DamnearaFarm · #14 02/24/14, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G. Seddon

Are they ditching the cow because of temperament, conformation, udder problems, bloodlines, calf rejection, what????? Why are they doing this?

Short of some extreme problem, if the cow is capable of nursing its calf to weaning age (at least 5-6 months) then I think they should keep this calf with its mother who will give it a far better start than any bag of expensive milk replacer can. I have nothing good to say about people who would do this to a calf just because it's mother "isn't what they want in the herd."

I agree with genebo...don't count on being able to register this calf!

Sorry, I've no suggestions on pricing.

I totally agree!

G. Seddon · #15 02/24/14, 01:05 PM

What a situation!

Perhaps you could work a deal with them on getting the cow AND calf, keep them together until weaning, then they can do what they want with the cow. If you end up taking just the calf, I hope you can ensure that it gets colostrum from its dam, at the very least. I'd offer a rock-bottom price no matter what because you'll have all of the expense and all of the risk and, if all goes well, the calf will either be a good beef animal or a nice little milk cow.

It sounds as if you have a handle on what would need to be done and how to do it, and I wish you all the luck in the world with this, seriously!

Allen W · #16 02/24/14, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azriel

I just saw a small herd at auction that went for $125 a head, this was adult cows and a bull, and they had a hard time getting that, but this is not a good area for the mini breeds.

I would have gambled on them here at that price.

Spamela · #17 02/25/14, 03:56 AM

Maybe their freezer is empty and they don't want to wait 5-6 months to fill it up again?

Just giving the benefit of the doubt...