Custom calving

[dfarms11]

Does anyone know of anyone doing custom calving? I would really like to know of someone who would do an excellent job!

[rkaiser]

do you mean someone that would take your cattle to their farm or someone that would come to your farm and calve them for you ?

[dfarms11]

take them to their place and feed and look after them

[dfarms11]

I have done that in the past in two separate agreements.

The first place charged $2.50 per head per day and $35.00 to calve them, mind you, this was the winter of 2002 and feed was pretty costly.

The following winter I transported the cows to the fellows place, bought the feed and he fed them for 50 cents a day per head, plus $30.00 each to calve them.

It cost me less the second year and the cows came home in excellent shape as they did the first year.

The most important thing is how well the cattle will be looked after because if you pay someone to look after them and have significant calf losses because they don't have enough experience with cattle it could be an expensive venture.

Randy could give you some good advice on this topic because I understand he is having his cows custom fed this winter.

[PureCountry]

I sent my cows to a neighbours place for one winter, just to feed as they don't calve until June. Didn't go as well as we planned, but not bad either. What got me was the mineral program. They just had loose mineral thrown out without really knowing what the cattle needed. Hair coats and eyeballs went from bright and shiny to dull and flat in no time, and when green grass came in May, those cows went at it like vaccuums.

Long story short, I'll probably never do it again if I can help it.

[cattleman2]

A few different ways to do it. I have the majority of my cows being wintered and calved out on a custom basis with a
Per head/per day feed bill and then a calving bonus for a live calf...ALSO a calving penalty for a dead calf. Incentive to keep calves alive, also a bigger disincentive to let them die.
Vet bills are mine.

HAs worked out well a couple of places, got burned at a couple of places as well. Biggest thing is know who you are putting the cattle with and build a trust. If no trust - no deal as this is your income and livelyhood that they are taking care of.