Dexter Cattle For Sale Discussion Board

What goes through your minds when you find out one of your breeding cows you have sold goes straight to slaughter, and the calf sold off.

Do you think well business is business, fair price paid and good luck to you.

do you feel any regret?

Do you think i was obviously not charging enough, (see previous discussions)

or Do you not get yourself in that situation.

Does it matter, at some point the beast was going die.

I think i am not cut out to be farmer sometimes.

hmmmm

dom

I'd think I was running my cows too fat, if they'd been rearing a calf as well. I'd also be keeping the cow if she was worth that much to me. I sold a heifer once on the proviso that I have it back if it was ever going to slaughter, and I would be pretty upset if I found out it went to cull.

domsmith wrote:I think i am not cut out to be farmer sometimes.

...ditto... I would be unhappy with that situation but can't see how to avoid it other than not selling anything with a calf at foot, other than to smallholders etc.

I don't like taking animals to slaughter, but I still prefer to slaughter than sell because I know they're not going to end up being alone in their old age with an owner who thinks they're doing them a favour. Personal opinion of course. Sold a horse once and it ended up being alone most of the time, well looked after physically, but alone. Tried to buy it back but they wouldn't let me.

domsmith wrote:What goes through your minds when you find out one of your breeding cows you have sold goes straight to slaughter, and the calf sold off.

Do you think well business is business, fair price paid and good luck to you.

do you feel any regret?

Do you think i was obviously not charging enough, (see previous discussions)

or Do you not get yourself in that situation.

Does it matter, at some point the beast was going die.

I think i am not cut out to be farmer sometimes.

hmmmm

dom

No good beating yourself up, once you have sold it you have effectively lost control. Find out the buyer's intentions before they purchase and keep your prices above the cull value. Ignore the 'I'll give it a good home if you drop the price' brigade because they may sell it on cheaply when they tire of it.
I am not cut out to be a farmer either dom as I could not deliberately breed something with the sole intention of feeding someone else because few people appreciate that the animal has laid down it's life for the food on their plate.

This is happened a couple of times to me recently. The first with a couple of dexter cows and calves that went to a ice cream parlour/ visitor farm.
They ended up seperated and at the local market. i managed to come across 1 completely by accident and felt dreadful. they had left the peace and quiet here to go somewhere i thought would be the best place. then to have them passed from pillar to post. good cows too.

then off topic, as it was an angus cow and calf. she was too big, a quiet giant. and absolute beauty but at around 800kg too big for my system and crush!.i had her 5 years and she was just so quiet. so she went to a breeding sale with a great angus calf at foot. made £1500 which i felt was above the cull value, i saw it as £1000 plus £300.
then i was registering my last calves yesterday and i just had a look at her movement history and it showed her going to abattoir 2 days after the sale.
i felt really sick, because it was such a shame. i havent told the family and indeed i might not, not only would i be unpopular but tears would be shed.

but it just set me thinking was i alone in feeling this and am i just kidding my self i love beef. to eat it something must die.

i wont dwell on it too long just filling in the gaps for you.

dom

domsmith wrote: made £1500 which i felt was above the cull value, i saw it as £1000 plus £300.
then i was registering my last calves yesterday and i just had a look at her movement history and it showed her going to abattoir 2 days after the sale.

There's a typo in one of those figures.

I try and think of it the other way - I don't expect anyone to do anything else with them other than kill, so I don't sell breeding stock, I cull them from the herd. Then, when I do check up on them in the future, or happen upon them at some point I feel pleased that they are still around (as long as they are well cared for).

i meant the cull value in my eyes was 1000 for cow 300 for calf. so when i got 1500 i was above that.

d

Ah, yeah, I read it wrong, sorry about that.