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Custom calving cows

I calve for a friend of mine and we just agreed on a price per cow. Sort of like a rate per acre. We agreed on a figure that allows me to make a little money and he has no worries in winter/calving. Vet, yardage feed etc all included. He just picks them up and takes to his pasture when the grass is green!
 
We calved out 300 heifers a few years ago for an absentee owner. He paid feed/yardage and a bonus for each live calf. If a veterinarian was needed, the bill was sent directly to the owner. We were paid mileage if she had to go to the clinic. Best advice I can give you is....Do NOT let the cattle leave before all bills are paid. Once the heifers and calves are loaded and gone, you're screwed. It was tried here but we knew better. You should also consider antibiotic expense if calves get sick. Mineral/salt needs to be discussed. Your safety should be considered as you don't know these cattle. Discuss expectations. If the owner expects 100% calf crop, that's a tough one. We weren't worried about friendship as this was a business contract and we didn't know the absentee owner. Milk replacer is expensive and you will probably be feeding a calf or two. Good Luck.
 
We have customers/friends who have done it now for several years. They get $100 per live calf and the owner pays for feed (hay) and mineral. I don't know who pays for medicine--they don't usually have to doctor many, if any. They have had the same guys heifers for 3 years now, so guess everyone is happy with the deal.
 
It's a different situation if it's someone you know. In my example, the owner was a speculator in Chicago. He'd bought hundred's of heifers, put them in feed yards across the state, then at the last second, decided to breed them instead of slaughter. We never got a reliable answer as to how the heifers were bred. One person said they used bulls that were there on feed, another said they were A.I.'d. Oh yeah, it was a good time! We had a 120 lb C-section calf and the heifer tried to destroy the vet clinic. We tagged some calves in the bucket of the tractor for our safety. And there were some very gentle, motherly heifers that took great care of their calf.
Probably wouldn't want to do it again.
One the bright side, we're providing some diverse examples-aren't we!
 
DejaVu said:
It's a different situation if it's someone you know. In my example, the owner was a speculator in Chicago. He'd bought hundred's of heifers, put them in feed yards across the state, then at the last second, decided to breed them instead of slaughter. We never got a reliable answer as to how the heifers were bred. One person said they used bulls that were there on feed, another said they were A.I.'d. Oh yeah, it was a good time! We had a 120 lb C-section calf and the heifer tried to destroy the vet clinic. We tagged some calves in the bucket of the tractor for our safety. And there were some very gentle, motherly heifers that took great care of their calf.
Probably wouldn't want to do it again.
One the bright side, we're providing some diverse examples-aren't we!
Click to expand...

Good judgement comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgement. :wink: :D
 
We charge a rate per day to feed (includes feed, yardage, mineral etc), a live calf bonus. All vet bills are charged to the owner, either directly from the clinic, or I bill him on the next invoice. And a chute fee for anything through the chute.

Right now we're feeding an extra calf. Crazy heifer that we had to pull the calf out of, never did mother it....
 

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