Free or near free livestock?????

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We are going to be on a limited budget. We already have a small herd of cattle. Does anyone know of how to get free or near free livestock be it pig,calf or anything else to add to our income?

-- tim (herbs@computer-concepts.com), February 04, 2002

Answers

Watch the class ads and bulletin boards. We have found many free animals that way. I like to be honest if I know I am just going to end up eating the animal in question and tell the person so. Understandably, that doesn't always fit people's idea of "a good home!"

-- Shannon Meeker (bramblescratched@yahoo.com), February 04, 2002.

Tim, you could put some cards in your local farm or ag store, but you may get all sorts of offers of sick animals, so beware.

Please also think about not taking on more than you can comfortably afford. There will be vet fees, medications and food to say the least. When money is tight like you say, more animals means more $$$ going out.

Good luck.

-- Carol K (ck7951@bluefrognet.net), February 04, 2002.


If there is a custom processor in your area which does deer, stop and and talk to them. Sometimes a hunter will leave a deer to be processed and then not return to pick it up. Locally, for a family in real need, they will just give them a box. For others they request their cost of processing.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 04, 2002.

My experience has been that you generally get what you pay for in livestock. I have gotten a few great deals, but usually a free aniaml is free for a reason, sometimes they are diseased (you can't always tell this from outward appearance) sometimes they have an evil personality, have been poorly cared for and will never do well, sometimes they just are not worth the feed they will be eating.

And there is another aspect- the cost of the animal itself is just the tip of the iceberg. The feed, shots, and occasional vet bill will add up to much more than what the animal cost, unless we are talking high dollar breeding stock. So no offense, but I would say that if times are tight, wait a little while until you can afford a good quality animal from a reputable breeder.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 04, 2002.


Try 4-Her parents around about the end of your county fair. Sometimes the kids don't want the animals anymore or are leaving for college and don't need them. GL!

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 06, 2002.


You usually get what you pay for. If you bring in cheap stock, quarantine them away from your own stock for 2-3 weeks 'cause chances are good they have something your stock can catch.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2222@hotmail.com), February 07, 2002.

i agree with ken.i go to the deer coolers every year for our venison. for 40 bucks (pardon the pun) a deer we end up with 40 -60 lbs per deer.contact them before deer season and ask to contact you. may hunters are just out for the kill and antlers or justdont pick up the meat for some reason.this year between nov and dec we got 9 deer. thats a lot of meat!! cody

-- cody (urbusted@alltel.net), February 09, 2002.

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