Buying calves - never done before what's involved

[Coximus]

As it says
Thinking about buying 2-3 calves at mart and running for the summer, selling around October. What do I need to do for this?
Have plenty of grass and access to conc.
A
Is the a dooer?
I'm as interested in the benefits of cross grazing for my sheep as I am for the profit... Ie the whole picture

 

[AvonValleyFarmer]

No idea about rearing calves, but would 2 or 3 be enough to be useful for cross grazing your sheep pasture?

 

[DRC]

Calves won’t eat much grass. Buy something older, such as 9-12 months of age

 

[Coximus]

I figured calves as a learning curve but also to add value over summer

 

[Zippy768]

If you want 3 calves to graze though the summer, buy 5 from the market!!

 

[gone up the hill]

I figured calves as a learning curve but also to add value over summer

You will only add value to them if you buy the right calves for the right money and do a very good job rearing them!

If you buy baby calves today it will be 10 weeks @ the middle of July before they are fully weaned and can be turned out, if you are going to sell them in the Autumn then they will need to be back indoors by the end of August or if out on hard feed and silage.

Stirks would be the thing to buy to eat the grass but you would be buying them at the most dearest time and selling them at the most cheapest time so if you break even it would be a good job let alone making anything.

 

[Chasingmytail]

Just be careful what your buying and what your introducing into the farm and land. Perhaps better to try Blade Farming? Having read and seen issues you dont know the history of that calf before you know it you could be forking out for meds. Alternatively get them direct from 1 farm where you know their system like a dairy farm? Last time we had a few had terrible trouble with ring worm.

 

[Plain steer]

As it says
Thinking about buying 2-3 calves at mart and running for the summer, selling around October. What do I need to do for this?
Have plenty of grass and access to conc.
A
Is the a dooer?
I'm as interested in the benefits of cross grazing for my sheep as I am for the profit... Ie the whole picture

The knacker car

 

[hendrebc]

If you want am easy entry into cattle to learn and for them to graze enough to make a difference with the worms then why not buy a few lean cull cows and fatten them over summer to sell in the autumn. They will fatten easily enough if given good grazing if they are not in calf and dry (which they should be) and hopefully be worth more finished in the autumn than you paid for them when they were lean. There shouldn't be much to go wrong with older cattle and your more likely to not lose money in them like with stirks as guth explained. If you get cull cows they are going finished tb won't be an issue either when you come to sell them which could be a problem if you bought calves or stirks. Only drawback is they might end up being in calf...

 

[Hfd Cattle]

Being incalf might be a bonus.! That would be his other option ..buy a couple of old cows with calves at foot. Split them to sell in the Autumn, cows on the cull and calves in the store !
IMO if you are going to rear calves then do a batch of 20 or 30 and make it worthwhile and try and source from 1 place. We do a batch every May/June on a HeatWave system and it works well.

 

[Woolless]

If you want stirks for next summer, buy some bucket calves in the autumn. We bought three and have three decent stirks to turn out. Not sure if I'm actually in profit so far but the kids have enjoyed them!

 

[DRC]

Being incalf might be a bonus.! That would be his other option ..buy a couple of old cows with calves at foot. Split them to sell in the Autumn, cows on the cull and calves in the store !
IMO if you are going to rear calves then do a batch of 20 or 30 and make it worthwhile and try and source from 1 place. We do a batch every May/June on a HeatWave system and it works well.

What’s the heatwave system

 

[Hfd Cattle]

It's a syrstem where you mix up the milk in the morning cold . You then have a small box filled with hot water and an outlet with a teat on. As the calves suck the milk it is drawn through the hot water box and warmed up so the calves have warm milk adlib whenever they want . We have reared mamy calves on it . Very simple inexpensive system .
Google Pyon products heatwave system .