sjcattleco
Well-known member
Just wanted to share this... I just saved about $60 on my vaccines at www.livestockconcepts.com... I compared online prices at PBS.. www.pbsanimalhealth.com and Valley Vet... www.valleyvet.com....
online livestock supply
- Thread starter sjcattleco
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red
Well-known member
I think we've used them before but didn't realize there was that big of a difference! How is the order time? Anymore we need all the breaks we can get!
Thanks,
Red
Thanks,
Red
and from the other side of the fence - he (she) who gives me the gravy work deserves extra special concern when it comes to animal care. I can tell you that these companies sell some products for less than I can buy them. If you want your vet to be in business for the next 20 years support them now. If there are any issues from vaccine you buy from your vet - they should go to bat for you - doubt that the livestock companies will.
Ya can't have it both ways folks - oh that damn vet won't work on my cattle, well of course I buy the cheapest vaccine I can find, but yea I do pick my vets brain to find out what I need ----
I have said it before and I will say it again - I pay a friend of mine every year to vaccinate my horse - why?? It is not like I don't vaccinate other peoples horses, but if I expect him to show up in the middle of the night to help me then he deserves some of the gravy work. Same reason I buy diesel from the guy who fixes my truck, and hardware from the guy who comes out and looks at the problem, and straw from a cattle client, and hay from another cattle client, etc
No I am not is a pi**y mood and I am not aiming at you sj - it is just that this one really gets under my craw (whatever a craw is) - if you don't support your vet pretty soon they will all be doing cat spays....
I see it now SJcatcolony - won't even have to change the initials!
I probably could have been more erudite here - but it just didn't happen! (dog)
Ya can't have it both ways folks - oh that damn vet won't work on my cattle, well of course I buy the cheapest vaccine I can find, but yea I do pick my vets brain to find out what I need ----
I have said it before and I will say it again - I pay a friend of mine every year to vaccinate my horse - why?? It is not like I don't vaccinate other peoples horses, but if I expect him to show up in the middle of the night to help me then he deserves some of the gravy work. Same reason I buy diesel from the guy who fixes my truck, and hardware from the guy who comes out and looks at the problem, and straw from a cattle client, and hay from another cattle client, etc
No I am not is a pi**y mood and I am not aiming at you sj - it is just that this one really gets under my craw (whatever a craw is) - if you don't support your vet pretty soon they will all be doing cat spays....
I see it now SJcatcolony - won't even have to change the initials!
I probably could have been more erudite here - but it just didn't happen! (dog)
knabe
Well-known member
i'm with dl here. my vet doesn't charge me for semen storage, they coordinate shipping, returns etc., is open sunday's before church, returns phone calls within 2 hours, less if a panic. there is less waste cause they don't expire. now that would change if i had 100 cows, but then the vets do good out here by coordinating purchasing in lots if you plan ahead, and also coordinate with neighbors to share barn calls, which is good for the vet too cuz he gets multiple calls with no milage. i also send a christmas card every year and also send thank you cards. lets me borrow things like elecric dehorners, etc,cuz i'm a small timer. I will say, i bought him, well me, a squeeze and preg check gate to be safe when he ai's and preg checks. i expect my vet to have more up to date info and regional practical knowledge cuz i want to maximize the fun %. probably different for people with cattle as a first job rather than a second or just fun like me.
some people call this payforwarding instead of payback. obviously you can get burned, but it's pretty easy to minimize that.
a craw is a branching point in a tree or under the arm, and tender and irritating with little effort on the offender, which is why ist's so annoying, which is why you remember.
spaying, i have a new neighbor, the county dog catcher. she moved in where the previous owner was one of those 200 cat ladies and also had 17 horse in manure up to their knees with all kinds of crazy crosses. catcher also took care of neighbor down the road who has about 70 cats. new law being proposed in CA where it will be illegal to "own" an unspayed or nuetered cat or dog. course they'll raise taxes to monitor this instead of enforcing the existing law which limits their numbers by household and targets ferals with spaying or neutering and trapping and euthansia after a week or so.
some people call this payforwarding instead of payback. obviously you can get burned, but it's pretty easy to minimize that.
a craw is a branching point in a tree or under the arm, and tender and irritating with little effort on the offender, which is why ist's so annoying, which is why you remember.
spaying, i have a new neighbor, the county dog catcher. she moved in where the previous owner was one of those 200 cat ladies and also had 17 horse in manure up to their knees with all kinds of crazy crosses. catcher also took care of neighbor down the road who has about 70 cats. new law being proposed in CA where it will be illegal to "own" an unspayed or nuetered cat or dog. course they'll raise taxes to monitor this instead of enforcing the existing law which limits their numbers by household and targets ferals with spaying or neutering and trapping and euthansia after a week or so.
DL you are right! 
I get what I can from my vet. I have him do most of the preg checking even though we have access to other folks that can do it. What I don't get from him (and he doesn't really want to stock vaccine) I get from one of the local farm/ranch supply stores. Because of our very poor planning last fall, when we ran out of feed for our calves that we were weaning on a SUNDAY, our LOCAL feed store opened up for us. I don't suppose that a mail order place would do that for me. : Also, the local businesses (small NOT Walmart) are the ones that we count on to support our fairs and our kids at fair time. Never have seen Walmart or a internet or mail order company buy one of my kids animals. Have seen the local small businesses do it many, many times. I am very thankful for them, and my vet who I can count on to help me thru the times I need them because I am helping to keep them in business. I don't think paying a few extra bucks for my supplies is a bad investment. In fact I KNOW it is money VERY well spent!
I get what I can from my vet. I have him do most of the preg checking even though we have access to other folks that can do it. What I don't get from him (and he doesn't really want to stock vaccine) I get from one of the local farm/ranch supply stores. Because of our very poor planning last fall, when we ran out of feed for our calves that we were weaning on a SUNDAY, our LOCAL feed store opened up for us. I don't suppose that a mail order place would do that for me. : Also, the local businesses (small NOT Walmart) are the ones that we count on to support our fairs and our kids at fair time. Never have seen Walmart or a internet or mail order company buy one of my kids animals. Have seen the local small businesses do it many, many times. I am very thankful for them, and my vet who I can count on to help me thru the times I need them because I am helping to keep them in business. I don't think paying a few extra bucks for my supplies is a bad investment. In fact I KNOW it is money VERY well spent! sjcattleco
Well-known member
dragon lady said:
red
Well-known member
I gues our vet has actually suggested to us to use the other services available. He has been without something like PCN & just told us to order it or get it from a neighbor. Sometimes things like lice dust, lube & wormers are just more practical from the catalog or on-line.
We do use him for most cases but he is not afraid to make suggestions on how we can handle situations on our own.
Red
We do use him for most cases but he is not afraid to make suggestions on how we can handle situations on our own.
Red
sjcattleco said:
Vets have done a really poor job of selling the fact that they are really selling knowledge and skill - not stuff. Time was you go to the vet and he charged 50 bucks for a routine vaccine - he also did a physical, used his brain, made recommendations etc but the charge was for the vaccine - so when people saw the same vaccine at the store for 2 bucks they figured they could save a pile of money by buying it from the store.
Does your doctor not charge you if he/she doesn't fix your right away or guarantee that you will live after treatment? Does your mechanic not charge you if your truck isn't fixed the first time? Does your plumber not charge you if he has to return to fix a pipe? In all cases you are paying for time and knowledge - Does your vet charge you to talk about vaccine protocols or phone calls or questions you have?? Maybe you need to find a new vet?
I might also add that in many cases by the time the producer has decided that they can't fix the problem it is such a mess that either it takes way longer than it would have days ago (and therefore costs more) or has become unfixable.
Does he write you scripts for the lutalyse? Does he charge you for the time to do that?I agree that $30 dollars for a bottle of lutalyse is a little high - the bigger vets probably get it for even less that I do and I sure don't charge that - why don't you ask him? Something like I would really like to support you cause you are the guy who saves my a** in the middle of the night but I can get lutalyse for $13 less than what you charge - is there any way we can make this more equitable?
We discussed this before there are fewer and fewer people willing to go into large animal medicine - if we don't support them there won't be any......stepping off soap box,,,,,,,
Jill
Well-known member
I know with our vet we made an agreement that when we buy medicines one bottle at a time we pay his price, but this time of year when we will buy 12 bottles he gives us the same price that Valley Vet does.
Jill
Well-known member
One thing in defense of DL's comments. We are in a suburb of Kansas City, there are not a lot of large animal vets in this area. We raise Corgi's in addition to cattle and I can tell you that my vet charges $3 to castrate a 500 lb calf and $6.50 to take off the dewclaw and tail on a 3 day old puppy. You all want to complain about a 100% markup start raising puppies, not too tough to tell which is more profitable and I think that is the point she is trying to make. As our large animal vets age, there are not a lot of new ones coming in that are wanting large vet practices when small animal is so much more lucrative.
ELBEE
Well-known member
We ran out of generic Ivomec pour-on this weekend, and so did our local Vet, where we buy 99% of our supplies. Valley Vet. is only a 20 minute drive, so we bought it there. Agri-Mectin 5L at Valley Vet. 74.95, Iveron 5L at local Vet 229.00. I plan on asking him why. How do these prices compare with some others out there? Lana?
ELBEE said:
Well ELBEE when you get the answer let me know! Generic ivermectin should be dirt cheap now and last I knew all the pour on ivermectin was made at the same place by the same people and put in different bottles (it is made from a bacteria if I recall correctly in a big vat) - on the other hand maybe it is made in the same place in China as the wheat gluten!
There is a hazard shipment fee for certain things that contain alcohol (and other stuff) - for example if I order a gallon of 7% iodine it costs $25 additional to ship it from 100 miles away, while if I order the same volume in pints it doesn't (it is the government - I don't get it). Same with a lot of the dewormers.....you don't think you got a deal at Valley Vet because of your great smile??
red
Well-known member
He probably took that little girl in with him & had her smile at them! That would get him a big discount I bet! (clapping)
Red
Red
ELBEE
Well-known member
Computer glitch! It thought we were buying Ivomec in 1995. We got a $150.00 credit. Worst thing is the vet. staff has to go through all their accounts to see how many people got over charged, and don't know, or know and are pissed off.
Jill
Well-known member
Ya, that is the same way it is at our vet. I bought a single bottle of Cystorelin at 37.50 from the vet and it is 16.49 at Valley Vet, but like I said, he does match the price when we have asked him to. The generic pour ons are all dirt cheap at this point, that is just a mark up from the vet.ELBEE said:
Jill
Well-known member
Computers are a great thing when they work, when they don't, not so great.ELBEE said:
Show Heifer
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- Joined
- Jan 28, 2007
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I can argue this one both ways. I like to support my vet, IF AND WHEN I CAN ACTUALLY SPEAK TO THEM.
But REFUSE to pay double. Whenever I pick something up at the vet, I have NEVER spoke to a vet for advice or knowledge. And on the RARE occassion that I DO get to speak to the vet and ask a question such as "Have a lame calf, foot not swollen, seems sore to flex but not to weight...." I get "Use Nuflor." No explanation, no "theory".
And I have played the "I can get it for $XXX through the catalog, what can you do with the price?" I usually am met with hostility.
I don't mind if my vet loses (kills) something. OK, I mind, but realize that when something breathes, it can stop breathing through no fault of anyone.
I find it hard to pay for someones new truck (at least every other year) when I am driving a truck with a million miles on it....find it hard to pay for someones knowledge when I never get the benefit from it....find it hard to support someone when they dont have the common courtesy to call me back. Sorry DL, that is the way it is in MY area.
But on a good note, I have found a NEW vet, which seems very willing to share advice and info, and actually enjoys discussing options....so am going to try him for a awhile. And then maybe my attitude will change!
By the way, going on 3 months from dead calves, posting/lab fees over $200 (I took calf in) and to date 31 phone calls to both office and cell phone, 16 messages left, and STILL NO CALL FROM THE VET. And to think of all that knowledge I STILL DON"T HAVE.
But REFUSE to pay double. Whenever I pick something up at the vet, I have NEVER spoke to a vet for advice or knowledge. And on the RARE occassion that I DO get to speak to the vet and ask a question such as "Have a lame calf, foot not swollen, seems sore to flex but not to weight...." I get "Use Nuflor." No explanation, no "theory".
And I have played the "I can get it for $XXX through the catalog, what can you do with the price?" I usually am met with hostility.
I don't mind if my vet loses (kills) something. OK, I mind, but realize that when something breathes, it can stop breathing through no fault of anyone.
I find it hard to pay for someones new truck (at least every other year) when I am driving a truck with a million miles on it....find it hard to pay for someones knowledge when I never get the benefit from it....find it hard to support someone when they dont have the common courtesy to call me back. Sorry DL, that is the way it is in MY area.
But on a good note, I have found a NEW vet, which seems very willing to share advice and info, and actually enjoys discussing options....so am going to try him for a awhile. And then maybe my attitude will change!
By the way, going on 3 months from dead calves, posting/lab fees over $200 (I took calf in) and to date 31 phone calls to both office and cell phone, 16 messages left, and STILL NO CALL FROM THE VET. And to think of all that knowledge I STILL DON"T HAVE.
ELBEE
Well-known member
We are so fortunate here! Thank the Lord for Doc. Musil, Prince among men!
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