Newborn Calf wanted.

[Fluffy-Butt-Farms]

We would like to get a calf that can my son can grow up with. No holstein. Prefer newborn to couple days old so we can bottle feed. Have bottle and formula...need baby cow. Looking to spend around 40 dollars.... and before you all freak out, my neighbor has bought 2 newborns for 38.50 each at the local cattle auction, so i know it's possible. just would prefer not to have to sit for 6 hours at the cattle auction. Cow will be spoiled rotten. (mom is trying to find a box big enough that it can live in the house for a while til it warms back up

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[Katy]

Quote:
Yikes, that's cheap. Around here the only thing you'd be able to get for that money would be a sickly Holstein.....beef breed baby calves generally go for 200+....especially if the're a heifer.

 

[Fluffy-Butt-Farms]

yea i know. around here though, they're only going for about 40 cents a pound right now... even larger cows. i can get a weaned cow for about 125-150, but i would prefer to bottle feed one

 

[OSUman]

Talk to a local dairy about getting a newborn from there and also make sure they have their first milk so they have the resistants against diseases.
DO NOT GET A JERSEY CALF/Bull

If you are looking for beef IDK much about them but im a dairy person so heres my take on them
Guernseys are really nice tempered
Brown Swiss are nice and they get big too
Jerseys are mean and they charge DO NOT GET
Ayrshire have a similar temper as Holsteins but they get a bit bigger.

 

[mandieg4]

At that age, you'd be better off with a holstein. For some reason holsteins take to the bottle better than beef calves. We have raised over a hundred calves over the years and beef calves are the hardest. I would bet we have lost at least 65% of the beef calves we have tried to raise that started on the bottle at only a day or so old. With holsteins we've only lost maybe 15%.

If you really want a calf, see if you can find one from a local rancher. Auction barns are filled with germs and diseases that weaken a baby's immune system, especially a baby that missed out on colostrum.

 

[Pumpkinpup]

If buying a heifer, be careful to be sure it is not what is known as a Freemartain. That is the twin of a bull calf. Alot of beef heifers that are sold young are sold for that reason. They are almost never able to reproduce.

 

[melody123]

Sometimes dairies will breed some of their cows with beef cows, so that their calves are worth something. (Instead of the $1-$10 that newborn holstein bull calves bring around here.) Maybe you can pick up one of those.

Try posting an ad on your local craigslist. There are times when someone will literally give away an animal if they can't care for it. I've seen the ads posted when a mother cow dies and the owner dosen't want to bottle feed the baby. You can also start calling all the dairies in your area. Let them know that you would like a non-twin heifer calf or a crossed bull calf.

Usually female calves who have twin brothers are sterile, but not always. But if you are only raising one calf for breeding then it's not worth the risk. Unfortunely I've heard of human girls with twin brothers, who are born into farming communities, sometimes have trouble finding husbands because the farmer's believe that the cow sterility carries over into people.

(Story from my Dad about the stupid people in my town, she married an out-of-towner and had 5 kids

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But if you are just looking for a cheap calf to raise that you are not going to keep to breed or sell, then a twin female calf would be just fine. (btw the is no problem if both twins are female or both twins are male - only male and female combos.)