Page 1 of 1
Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:17 am
by Sylvia
Will the people who have phoned to ask about the price of my unregistered stock please phone (or e-mail) again and tell me what THEY WANTED TO PAY.
For the rest of you, to save a wasted phone call, heifers £200 each (same price as steers which are mostly (thank heavens) sold). Heifers and cows who have run with the bull £250 with an extra £75 - £100 for calves at foot (the calves could be weaned if required).
Are these unreasonable prices to ask for? I am aware that there is little likelihood that market prices will reach these heady heights but should I be giving them away for half (or a quarter) these prices in anticipation of this?
At present the idea of having them all shot, although heart breaking, is becoming more and more attractive.
Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 1:08 pm
by Sylvia
120 viewers eh? Well if just one third of you had just one of my Dexters each that would make my Christmas a much happier one. Dream on, Sylvia.
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:33 am
by marion
Sylvia, Just a few late-night thoughts from Canada, don't know if they are valid! Have you advertised mainly to other Dexter owners? What about buy-sell papers or notice boards where bargain hunters for other items might see your ad and be tempted? Are there any online free classifieds that you could try? Surely there are people out there just waiting to discover these wonderful little cows 
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:52 am
by Sylvia
Thanks for your thoughts Marion. The cows are advertised on this site in the Other Ads section. And the auctioneer has been running weekly ads in the local paper. There is a serious time constraint on this situation. Cows have to be TB tested (at owner's expense) before moving, except to slaughter. There is then only 60 days to shift them or they have to be tested again. If the owner decides to do it the other way round as I did when I tried this before ie find a buyer and then test. If it all goes pearshaped and you get a single IR that puts the whole herd on standstill for over 60 days until that animal is tested again and goes clear, as usually happens. This is the root of the problem that I now have of being vastly overstocked. Incidently, although the actual TB test is not very expensive, the procedure requires 2 vet's visits. Anyone just wanting a single cow or a small group tested would find it very expensive, 2 visits in this area costs almost £50 with the cost of the tests on top of that. Wonderful little cows they certainly are but the rules for cattle keeping in this country are anything but wonderful.
Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:02 am
by marion
Sorry for my ignorance of the rules. I find it hard to believe there is no one interested in your surplus cows in the whole of Old Blighty, especially at such reasonable prices. Would it be practical to advertise even further from your area hoping to find that one person interested in a large breeding group????
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:38 am
by happy hollidays
Sylvia, sorry to hear that things aren't selling as you would like them to. Can you not tie up with anyone from DBO for example who wants meat, would it be possible for you to hire a chiller van and transport your meat directly form your local slaughterhouse/butcher anywhere that wants dexter beef ? I find it sad that they will sell for such little money when they can make much more as beef. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 9:56 am
by Martin
There is plenty of interest Marion as the number of posts show, I would be interested if Sylvia was in a different area. With TB testing the country is split into parishes Sylvia is in a parish that has to be tested every 12 months as it is thought to be a high risk area, I live in a 48 month parish, ie low risk. My vet has advised against me buying in any animals that are from any other than a 48 month parish. With all the heart break situations that Sylvia has gone through over the last couple of years can I take the risk?
I know that DEFRA is in discussions about TB and more rules, one that is under consideration is that animals will only be allowed to move from a lower risk area into a higher risk area, not from a higher to a lower in an attempt to reduce the spread.
Martin. Medway Valley Dexters.
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:22 pm
by Broomcroft
Martin,
There is the other view as well though. People around here say only buy from a 12 month area because they're tested regularly and in some instances everything is tested. Whereas in the less risky areas, the tests aren't carried so often nor so thoroughly (young calves etc). TB was brought in to our area from a 4 year area on a group of farms.
If you buy cattle from a 4 year area, are they all tested? Including the calves, or are you buying the calves not tested? I don't know.
My vet said you should worry about other diseases far more than TB as long as the cattle you buy in have been properly tested and cleared recently!
Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2007 2:27 pm
by Sylvia
TB is a lottery that no-one wants to win. My whole herd has now been tested 3 times in 2007.
February - Whole herd Clear
June -Whole herd - 1 IR - Slaughtered (Negative)
September - Whole herd -1 IR Kept
November - IR tested - Clear
November - 44 Dexters tested Clear to go.
You can appreciate how frustrating it is - what else can one do? I would be interested to know the co-relation between areas of high risk and cattle numbers in those areas. I expect Surrey is a low risk area for TB as it has rather more people than cows, unfortunately it also has high risk laboratories leaking F & M into the countryside. Most of the rest of the country is now Blue Tongue restricted but Wales is OK.
One tries to look after one's animals to the best of one's ability but no matter how much care is taken and how good they look it isn't enough. I have offered to have them slaughtered here and delivered but there were no takers for that idea. Frankly I am at the end of my tether. They go to market and get sold for peanuts - at least it will give me a more manageable barn while I consider how to sell the registered cows later in 2008.