About Cow

[jeanno]

how much is it to buy a baby cow ? and how much can i sale it after 2 years ?

[chownah]

how much is it to buy a baby cow ? and how much can i sale it after 2 years ?

You seem to know so little about baby cows that I think if you bought one it would die.

chownah

[Joe Walshe]

how much is it to buy a baby cow ? and how much can i sale it after 2 years ?

You seem to know so little about baby cows that I think if you bought one it would die.

chownah

Much has been written on this forum on the subject of Raising cows. I notice from another post that you are interested in farming generally. I think you would be wise to search through the forum for general advice.

[dave_boo]

For what it's worth, up in the south east part of Nakhon Sawan Province, the price of cattle seems to be dropping rapidly as farmers are trying to sell them off due to more cultivation and less herding happening.

[ozzydom]

The dry season is upon us and green feed is starting to get scarce,cattle seem to go backward condition wise from now on so many farmers quit them while they are at their prime as they cannot afford quality food.

If your in the market and can afford to buy feed now is probably the time to buy good quality heifers with view to breeding.

[bina]

ozzy

my husband and i have just decided to have his sister (in korat area) buy two or three cows (the local not long eared kins ( ; we are sending the money (its hubby's paycheck but my decision)...

sister is trustworthy, she is a stay at home mom ...but their mother says that its not possible at the moment, its too hard to find good pasture, sis says she can do it (they have fields and land but no money for cow chow)... since i know animals, it will be hard to claim a sick buffalo w/o the real diagnosis, and they know that....

so, hubby called to find out prices but the conversation was non conclusive (i listen to the conversations in thai) ...

korat, soeng soong area : they said they paid 10,000 baht for three (not sure about age etc)... sis in law will get one calf out of any that are born, of either sex double that if the calves are kept to be bred (if females)...

i know all the possibilities of losing our money but its my husband's money so his problem. this is a one off offer for them to make or break. (we wont be in thailand for years so this is to give him some face (we dont send money w/o a specific purpose that we can control); sis takes care of it all, she gets part and we get the rest in cows or cash... the only stipulation is that selling a cow will only be for certain expenses (which we wont say unless they present us with the request: like a medical bill). the older sis is a bit of a gambler with a no good husband, the two younger sisters are married to good hard workers... the brother will not get anything from me thats not tangible (no cash)...

so what are the prices and what would be better?

proven pregnant ,

or calf running along side,

or young kept to breed ?

how easy is it to find a bull to breed with (not super stud, just decent sperm, no AI, or anything)..

in this season food is scarce so better a cow with almost weaned calf?

or young not bred? a bred cow would need good nutrition for the pregnancy.. and i'm not sure how the seasons run for breeding and feeding large animals. here, the ideal time is breeding in august and birth in january february -for goats (cows are AI here and kept indoors all season) just in time for good grazing...

they've kept cows before, they know what they are doing , i'm just curious....

bina

israel

[ozzydom]

Bina, I personally would opt for a good cow with a weaned or near weaned female calf at foot if your looking to expand.

I will look at the local sale on Thursday re prices although they tend to vary area to area.

If they have a bit of land available ,why dont you ask them to plant say 1/2 rai of guinea grass for cut and carry, this will ensure a supply of green feed ongoing ,plant in raised rows about 75cm apart then as you cut a row give it a handful of fertilizer and water ,it should be ready to recut in about 3 weeks.

Have tried to explain the benefits of growing your own feed to the locals, but they tell me its not the Thai way,although they are real quick to ask can they have the Guinea and Ruzzi grass that I grow around the ponds, but I swap it in return for labour with the brother in law.

[bina]

thanx for giving a real answer!! (w/o the sick buffalo comments) but as this is by remote control it may be beyond my powers to convince them to plant anything but cassava or rice... also i think they have irrigation problems although some rai are along a good running stream on their land.... but no money for irrigation systems as of yet.

it may be beyond sis's capabilities to plant and grow something she isnt familiar with... although brother in law might if he isnt working in bangkok... he is also the hunter in the family along with father... it is mother who is the agriculturist in this family.

but if there is a thread about guinie rass or ruzzi grass for me to read up, or info in thai from the net or can be got from somewhere in korat city, then maybe i can redirect their attention to it... (i.e. my husband will read and transfer info to them in bite size pieces.).

cow with almost weaned female... good idea, then to breed both to start up.... prices??? and how do they breed? with a neibhors bull for free or is it a service and how much then? (not needing the main stud of korat with the long ears that was advertised two years ago in the supermarkets... though his pic and phone number are on our fridge ) )

do these cows have a seasonal season or just maturity come in to heat?

ps

i forgot hubby has an old friend ( a woman amazingly enough that is studying at chokchai dairy farm agri program so maybe she is info for pasture raising for the local cows? and other good info.... will try a phone call in that area also.. if we can manage it

curious, where is the local sale at? korat area? where specifically?

[ozzydom]

Hi Bina, This site will give you an idea of Guinea ....www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/plants/guinea_grass.htm

I dont know about seed availability in the Korat area ,up here in Sawang the gold shops usually have stocks.

To keep Guinea manageable it is best grown in raised rows, because it grows into fairly large clumps ,it is better to seed into a small area then lift the plantlets and transplant ,just like rice into their permanent rows.

It is a perennial and is drought and fire resistant with a protein content of 10-13 % and is very palatable to cattle, (even our ducks and rabbits fancy it.

It is a prolific grower from seed and as such it could be a problem in some areas but because the idea is to cut regularly it does not get a chance to form seed heads.

With breeding there are plenty of bulls around for about 300 baht per service but vets have a selection of sperm straws for Ai for between 200-500 baht a pop,they usually show you a photo of the donor bulls and you just pick the one you want

There is no set breeding season, the cow will show visual signs when she is ready to breed , like riding other cows, swollen vulvar and discharge from the vagina.

There are cattle sales days every week at different locations around Korat, they would have to check with other farmers re where and when.

Hope this helps

ozzy

[bina]

ozzy,

surfed and glided thru many old threads: maizefarmer and ramdom chance to mention only a few: but i cant find the thread that we discussed the names IN THAI for these grasses... also, need the irrigation /water details, since sis doesnt ahve a way to irrigate but again perhaps we can help... slowly....

i think we will limit to one cow/one youngster female.... and see how it goes... i cant teach her to do the irrigation/planting/cut and carry part... but will try to use the woman friend studying with chok chai dairy farm....

i need info in thai... i can email to the monk cousin that has internet; he owes us a favour anyway ) so time to call it in...

any ideas on info in thai?? for ruzzi/ or other fodder (not silage, thats already to technical for us) that can be grown on a small amount of land, limited water (there is water but it cant be gotten out to the fields, etc....

well, just found this interesting link:

too tired to read through it all, and compare if this could be useful for issaan farmers or not but the mix of cassava and something else to improve soil already seems good....

http://www.kilimo.go.ke/CONSERVATION%20AGR...r%20et%20al.doc

and now on phone with some long ago friend of anon's to get an other number for someone that does cows also.... (just was told she went off to work in canada as immigrant worker... what a waste of an education....

maybe this will reconstitue the farming forum again? .. ha ha ha...

btw, i may be leaving the petting zoo and become a vet assistant for small animals, waiting to hear from them about a job.... my last year for mastitis, midnite birthings, hand feedings, grain overloads, goat rustlers, and all other fun farm things.... my name has spread before me though; the local arab village folks call me up before they call up the vet (im free, or maximum, a good meal or sweets and black coffee) to rescue goat kids/nannies at birth...

bina

israel

[ozzydom]

8. CONTACTS

For further information on forages in Thailand, seed sources (eg. ruzi grass, guinea grass, Verano stylo) contact:

Dr. Chaisang Phaikaew,

Division of Animal Nutrition,

Department of Livestock Development, Phyathai Road, Rajthewee, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand.

Fax No.: (662) 2511941

E-Mail: < [email protected] >

Bina, The contact above has booklets in Thai relating to the different fodder grasses,and is also a source for seeds at nominal prices to Thai farmers.

The booklets are also available from most Agricultural Dept. offices of which I am sure there are some in your sis in laws area.

Suppose we will have to refer to you as Bina VA if you get the job.

[ozzydom]

http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/Thailand.htm

Bina ,the above site is a really informative paper on Livestock and forage pastures in Thailand.

[mixedbreed]

Hello Bina,

Don't know if it is of any help or not, but we are in the Nakhon Ratchasima province, have around 100 cows in a feedlot operation. 500 rai, grow both Ruzzi and Guinea grass, do silage and hay bales on a commercial scale. only for our own consumption. but we are about 2 hours out of Korat on the 1305 bus from the big bus station. (Its not so far, just a slow bus) If you could convince your sister in law to visit some strangers, she could go up in the morning and be home late afternoon and she could probably see everything she needs to know about growing grasses, There a large number of families raising cows along the side of the road where we are, assume your sister-in-law has the same idea. some of these get fairly thin by the end of the dry season, but bounce back quickly after the first rains. If this appeals in any way PM me and I'll give you the telephone number for the farm and she can call. At least it is Thai farmer to Thai farmer, not so intimidating for her as dealing with a govt deptartment. Might help with having to try do the basics by e-mail.

regards

Mixedbreed

[bina]

hi,

thanx ozzy and mixedbreed; ok, now i have to wait for anon to come back this next weekend (he's home only thurs/saturday) so will wait and talk with him... these adresses, ozzy should be in a pin up somewhere... it would probably cut back on a thousand threads that start with: ' my family/wife/gf want to send money to thailand for business with cows blablabla...' so a pin with prices/markets/seeds for forage and stuff in thai since most of us are remote controllers and the real operators are thai speakers/readers.....

not sure thai woman will phone total strangers (they prefer within their own pi/nong networks, but will push in the general direction since its our $$$... )

good job all and many thanx, will get back to u all for sure this comeing weekend...

bina

ozzy, got the job, but kibbutz giving me grief on transportation: the salary isnt worth giving me a car so will be hauling two hours a/m and two back p/m to get there. but it will be worth it for the learning; i can always quit after a time period and search closer to home with experience....the salary goes to the kibbutz.

anyway its all small animals but the second vet (my goat/donkey/alpaca vet) is his partner so will still have access to large animal info.... i bet vet techs are on the forbidden work list in thailand? seems like a good profession, functional, and useful, if we were to move to thailand.... probably dreaming...

hard to believe i wont be doing late night runs to the farm to bottle feed or inject (now its freezing cold and still dealing with my fave goat which ill probably buy from the farm, since she should really be culled and i like her so will keep her as a pet)....

mixed breed: maybe u should become the 'advisor' on cattle for the forum now that two members have mysteriously disappeared from the cow scene....

[DLock]

I have never posted on the Farming forum before, but regularly browse and really enjoy the excellent advice that you guys give. So, thanks for that. I'll post my pond pics soon.

My wife, much to my disapproval, bought 28 cows for her Father about 2 years ago. In the 2 years, 1 cow died and they had 7 calves. There was additional expense in feed, vets, supplements, electric fence, sleeping enclosure and small "house". The cows were purchased for 150,000 baht and sold in December for 120,000 baht. Given 2 years of effort, it was clearly a bad stock, but a great result for her Father, given he put no money in. Sweet.

But I insisted on selling as I forsee the price for cows going even lower as it seems to be.

Now, like everyone else, they want pigs.

Lesson learned and one that is regularly advised on here - dont do what everyone else is doing and don't do something that anyone can easily do, but make sure you have a market for whatever you do.

Tough equation to work out I know.

Then again, what do I know...I make video games.

[chownah]

I have never posted on the Farming forum before, but regularly browse and really enjoy the excellent advice that you guys give. So, thanks for that. I'll post my pond pics soon.

My wife, much to my disapproval, bought 28 cows for her Father about 2 years ago. In the 2 years, 1 cow died and they had 7 calves. There was additional expense in feed, vets, supplements, electric fence, sleeping enclosure and small "house". The cows were purchased for 150,000 baht and sold in December for 120,000 baht. Given 2 years of effort, it was clearly a bad stock, but a great result for her Father, given he put no money in. Sweet.

But I insisted on selling as I forsee the price for cows going even lower as it seems to be.

Now, like everyone else, they want pigs.

Lesson learned and one that is regularly advised on here - dont do what everyone else is doing and don't do something that anyone can easily do, but make sure you have a market for whatever you do.

Tough equation to work out I know.

Then again, what do I know...I make video games.

Maybe you could make a Thai agriculture video game?

chownah

[bina]

chowna,

Thai agriculture video game?

that would be called gambling......

in dealing with the potential cows, i go by the same advice i give others when they think of goats: very rarely do people make a profit, but what they do make is their own food/milk/job to keep busy, and if the sales cover the costs, thats ok; u have to be a big professional (well not gigantic but organized ) farm to make good money: the tricky part, to keep doing the same as everyone else, then when they switch to new things, u keep up with what u were doing, and soon, u have more demand then supply, its all very cyclical... goats are like that here; lots of families tried it, some preservered and now they are the only ones still doing it, and they use it as a supplement to other businesses they have (usually tourist oriented stuff, but in thailand not relelavant)...

anyway, i dont see it as a waste if sis and bro in law raise a few cows; anyway she is at home with baby; it gives her and mom something to do, it provides meat if needed, or quick cash if needed, and also face (hubby overseas helping family etc)and i think its healthy that a family has its own garden/livestock along with other things.... i keep a few chickens by the house here for their eggs, not sure if i save money or not, but theres something in having the kids going out to feed them and get the eggs that is worth more then the saving /vs. feed costs for hens-- which i have to feed laying feed as kitchen junk is not enough for eggers... and in the end of course, they also end up in the soup...