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Bought as bred, they were not.

1K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  Jena 
#1 ·
I bought my Milking Devons as bred but they were not. Do I have any recourse?
 
#2 ·
Probably not. Pregnancy is not a sure thing. They could have been pregnant when they left the sellers farm and something happened after that (their argument).

Have you tried talking to the seller? If I sold a cow and it turned up open, I'd try to do something for the buyer...not sure what, but something.

I bought a bred cow that wasn't. We had her checked, but knew the time made it marginal if they could tell or not. The seller offered to let me breed her back to his bull, but she was already bred to mine by then. No big deal. I knew it was iffy when I got her.

Always have bred cows preg checked before buying them.

Jena
 
#4 ·
I have several email messages from the seller giving due dates for cattle, but no contract.

This is from one email message:
"The price per animal is: bred cows or cow/calf pairs $1000, bred heifers $600, open heifers $400, bulls $500 - $800. All the animals are very approachable, I think they would make great family cows."

This is from another:
"Now on the possible calving dates for the girls...

Heather is Aster's mother, so she will probably have another calf in August, Clover is Mayflower's mother, so I imagine she will be having a calf in mid-late April, Daisy is only 17 months old, I don't think she will have a calf for at least 5 months, Kira had a bull calf last week and Autumn had a calf in August, so the earliest she would be having another would probably be July. Clover is the only one we need to be concerned about. "

In this last, we were worried about moving Clover close to her due date.

This has all become very disappointing to me. When the cattle arrived here at Wolf Cairn Moor, my first thought was that they were fed too poorly last winter that they had aborted their calves.

I'm not interested in causing harm to anyone, but I paid nearly twice market value for these girls due to their breed and the belief that they were bred and soon to calve. Oh well, I've been stung before, and I will again.
 
#5 ·
Before this goes too far let me reiterate; I do not believe there was any intent to defraud on the part of the seller. I would buy cattle from this person again, but I would have them vet checked net time. In fact, the warning to all would be cattle buyers, on this forum has always been; have the cattle vet checked before the purchase. Too bad I didn’t heed the good advise I was given.

Oh well, it’s only time and money. It’s good thing we all have those items in an unlimited supply.
 
#6 ·
If a bred heifer was $600 & an open heifer was $400, it seems that you should get $200 back if you paid for a bred one & got an open one. It wouldn't hurt to point this out to the person who sold them to you. You never know, they might have a conscience & return some of your money.
 
#7 ·
Abortion is certainly possible, especially with the stress of moving and a poor diet.

Have you seen any signs of heat (mounting, standing to be mounted instead of moving away, bellowing, fence walking, discharge)?

If he had them all pasture bred to the same bull the bull could be infertile.

I would have them all vet checked for ovarian cysts. See if any of them are pregnant at all. Get them cycling and bred. Are they trained at all? Will they go in a stanchion, shoot, let themselves be haltered and tied?

Claire
 
#8 ·
It would seem that the value of buying them bred would be $200, based on purchase price. Three of head of these cattle have come into heat if the bull is to be believed.

One 3 year old cow was due in July and she did swell, but no calf and the bull was her steady companion for a couple of days. I searched our acreage with my wife and son for a few days, but nothing. I'm guessing she finally put on enough weight and improved physically so as to come into heat. This cow was not expected to live as her condition was dire.

The 11 year old cow was/is due in August. I was sure she was calving the first of July as she had the same syptoms as the three year old; once again nothing but a bull in tow.

Then there is the two year old heifer who was to calve this month. She was swollen a few days ago and the whole herd tried to jump her bones, then the swelling went down and it was over.

The four year old that was due in April has not come into heat, nor shown any signs of anything. The vet said she was not carrying a calf, but I know that very early in a pregnancy it's hard for even the most experienced foks to get it 100% right. I she had just become bred then she was likely bred on my nickel rather than the seller.

If the local Black bear, timber wolf, or coyote population were to have beat me to the calf the cows would still have bagged up, and there would have been sign left in the paddocks of the birth or the killing of the calf.

It's all exstremely agravating.
 
#9 ·
I agree that the seller might have had a bull shooting blanks...can happen to the best of them!

I would also agree that you ought to talk to the seller. Tell them the situation and just plain ask them for the difference in price back. Worst they could do is say no.

I also agree that you need to have them checked ASAP. If there are reproductive problems with the cattle, you can cut your losses and feed bills and ship them now. No sense feeding a non-fertile cow all winter...

If you bought a bull from these folks, get him tested.

It's possible for a cow to calve and all evidence to be gone quickly due to predators, especially if you are inexperienced with calving cows, but what you report sounds more like they are coming into heat rather than preparing to calve.

Jena
 
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