Live Stock Auctions

[gmendoza]

Quote:
Just looking for clarification,

Both things you posted were negative. How is buying 4 chicks..3 of whom died from disease the flip side to buying a 3eyed 1 hoofed..whatever

Seems they are the same poor outcome.

Im not negative about auctions.Just stating buyer beware.I can only state from my own experiences, at this particular auction, I have had more negative reviews than positive,but the ones that we got that were sick or injured in some way,we treated their disease and resold them,or kept them.

Jeckyle was the only one out of 4 who lived,but she is a blessing to have.If I didnt go there,I wouldnt have found this out.So I lost a whopping 1.50 from the rest.She has made it up and more. She is a positive.

Also to let you know,if I would have bid on somthing that had 3 eyes and a hoof,I would have gotten it because it had that look.

 

[taraann81]

Quote:
Just looking for clarification,

Both things you posted were negative. How is buying 4 chicks..3 of whom died from disease the flip side to buying a 3eyed 1 hoofed..whatever

Seems they are the same poor outcome.

Im not negative about auctions.Just stating buyer beware.I can only state from my own experiences, at this particular auction, I have had more negative reviews than positive,but the ones that we got that were sick or injured in some way,we treated their disease and resold them,or kept them.

Jeckyle was the only one out of 4 who lived,but she is a blessing to have.If I didnt go there,I wouldnt have found this out.So I lost a whopping 1.50 from the rest.She has made it up and more. She is a positive.

Also to let you know,if I would have bid on somthing that had 3 eyes and a hoof,I would have gotten it because it had that look.

You could have named it pogo and it would have cut your time spent on hoof care by 3/4!

 

[gmendoza]

Quote:
Im not negative about auctions.Just stating buyer beware.I can only state from my own experiences, at this particular auction, I have had more negative reviews than positive,but the ones that we got that were sick or injured in some way,we treated their disease and resold them,or kept them.

Jeckyle was the only one out of 4 who lived,but she is a blessing to have.If I didnt go there,I wouldnt have found this out.So I lost a whopping 1.50 from the rest.She has made it up and more. She is a positive.

Also to let you know,if I would have bid on somthing that had 3 eyes and a hoof,I would have gotten it because it had that look.

You could have named it pogo and it would have cut your time spent on hoof care by 3/4!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I've mever been to a livestock auction that wasn't a bit sketchy/dirty/sad. I've come to understand this is just how livestock auctions are run! I have gotten some awesome animals from my auction, but I've been doing this a long time and I know what I am looking for. I have a friend who bought a "healthy" looking goat and ending up with hundreds of dollars in vet bills because the goat was sick and got all of his other goats sick. I don't think the goat was sick when he bought it, but it must have caught something while at the auction. Bottom line is you just never know.

If you are set at buying at an auction, make sure you spend a bit of time observing the animals before you bid on them. Check their feces (I've seen a huge number of chickens going through the auction with bloody poop), check their eyes (no goopy or gummy stuff running out), make sure they walk ok, and they should be lively. This time of year, the prices might be up a bit because it's getting near to spring. My best advice is not to go crazy and buy a lot at one time. If this is a weekly auction, buy your pigs then come back next time for goats. Too much at one time can be a real handful, especially if this is your first time with livestock.

Check your local treasure hunt or newspaper ads to see if anyone in your area has what you are looking for. It is usually more advisable to buy from a private owner than an auction. It gives you more time to decide and look at the animals. With spring right around the corner, there should be no shortage of pigs, sheep, and goats! Be careful with buying baby goats and sheep. They are a LOT of work. Sheep moreso I feel. If you are not used to bottle feeding, read up on it first. Our first goats were bottle babies and it wasn't so bad, but they were the only animals we had at the time (other than a dog!). It made it a lot easier to focus on them, but I remember many cold mornings when I had to go out and feed them before school!

 

[speckledhen]

Ok, folks, can we stop sniping at each other? This could be an educational thread.

 

[RhodeIslandReds]

This isnt my first ever auction but I just seeing if theres any special things I should be looking for. I have had swine before and sheep just trying to get extra advise on looking at them. The boy and 2girls is for breeding and then killing off the boy and then the same to the females. I have heard of good things about this auction place being clean and like one of you guys said there is vets there checking the animals to be let in to the ring.

Thanks for all the info,
RIRs

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Boy am I going to catch it, but...


I'm an auctioneer. If I'm running an animal sale of any type we require a vet on site to oversee all animals sold. If the proper shots, vacinations, and health papers aren't in hand, then the animal doesn't come in the barn or on the property. Period. Myself and the vet have the final say in anything. I might add, I currently don't have an animal auction, but I do have about 20 years experiance selling livestock and exotics in the past. Everything is regulated by both the state and the USDA.

Bottle babies die. It's a fact of life. They are very hard to raise even for experts, not impossible, but difficult. Dairy farmers have 0% use for most male calves, so in our area, they let them get the first couple feddings from the mom, then sell them for little of nothing at the auction as bottle babies. Everyone there that go to auctions regular know what they are getting when they bid. They know what they are getting and they know the risks. Some I might add really know what they are doing and seldom lose one, but most who aren't experianced in raising bottle babies are going to lose them. JMHO

Any of my help that I catch abusing or mistreating an animal is fired on the spot. With that being said, there are ways of handling large cattle, hogs, etc.. that might not look gentle or "Correct" to non farmers that are totally not in any way being mean or cruel.

No place with animals is going to be spotless. Are sale barns dusty, dirty places? Yep. But not filthy if they are going to stay in business long. Any auctions where we well cage animals we require all cages to have feed, water and bedding in each cage. The cage sells with the animal. Hoof stock gets water, hay and grain twice a day if held in the barn and all stalls, halls and the ring is mucked every day.

The best advice I could give anyone not used to auctions is to take someone with you who knows all about the animals you are interested in and is knowledgeable in an auction setting. Use their knowledge. Then take your animals home and Quarantine! No reputable auction will sell an animal they know is sick, but when you have that many animals from so many different farms in close contact with each other sometimes things can slip through. Maybe it's something that wasn't tested for, maybe a problem that wasn't visualy obvious, but only a total newbie would not quarantine any animal that comes from any outside source.

Also, and I'm sure most larger farm operations will agree with me here - your animals are your reputation. There are usually very few livestock auctions in a given area. If you get a name for selling sick, underweight, poor quality and sub-standard stock - and you will very soon be out of a place to sell and out of business.

In my opinion it boils down to knowledge and common sense.


now, please don't bite my head off.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Hard to argue with that!

Totally agree, the "knowledge" part being key,

Pat

 

[gmendoza]

Quote:
Hard to argue with that!

Totally agree, the "knowledge" part being key,

Pat

And wisdom,lest not forget wisdom.

 

[arabianequine]

I would like to add to quarantine any animals you get in separate pens per kind, for a min. of 30 days.