Picture Butte Auction
LTD
Located in the Heart of Cattle Feeding Country
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How to Sell
Do you have items you wish to sell here at Picture Butte Auction?
Want to know what you need to get that done?
Well then - here are some rules, guidelines and other information for how to sell here at our auction
Fees on page are as of September 2025 and are subject to change
General Information
WHAT CAN I BRING?
We generally accept anything LIVESTOCK/FARM related.
We do not accept household items or furniture - BUT you may contact us about the possibility of a 'special' sale
WE WILL NOT SELL dogs or cats.
HOW DO I BOOK IN MY CONSIGNMENTS? DO I NEED TO?
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We HIGHLY recommend you book in your consignments. And the sooner the better.
This allows us to advertise them for you - and allows buyers (who come from HOURS away for a single animal sometimes) to plan to be here.
To book them in - all you have to do is complete this webform and you can even attach photos to it!
Sending photos along can make a difference!
WHAT TIME DO I NEED TO BE THERE?
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All consignments should be on the yard well before sale start time.
On Saturdays - this is 9:00am
On Tuesdays - this is 10:00am
This gives our yard crew time to sort and process - and buyers time to go through and look at potential purchases before the sale starts. Time to sort properly for you, and time for the buyers to peruse gives you the best possible advantage.
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EXCEPTIONS are Boxes (birds/bunnies) on regular sale days. These can arrive as late as 9:45am. Again - note that earlier does give buyers time to look.
AND Equipment needs to be in usually at least 2 days before sale day to be properly lotted.
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If you cannot drop your livestock off on sale day - we have feed pens available and we do accept livestock for drop-off all week.
Feed Charges:
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Cows, Bulls, Horses - $6/head/day
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Feeder cattle - $4/head/day
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Sheep/Goats - $2/head/day
WHERE DO I GO TO UNLOAD?
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Whether loading or unloading - the guide we give for choosing chutes is:
Chute 1: Best for smaller animals in the barn like pigs, sheep, goats and calves, but your trailer door must be able to slide open
Chute 2: Mostly used for semis - but also useful for animals in vehicles or boxes in the back of trucks.
Chute 3: located around the corner, this is a back-in alley chute, This is best for cattle and horses, and the alternative for if your trailer door only swings open.
Chute 4: is similar to #2, but is rarely used
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If you have boxes, just check in at the office first.
Depending on the time of year or the type of sale will
determine which ring they are unloaded into.
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For equipment - it will probably be unloaded along the
fenceline to the south. Just check in at the office and
we will help you get that unloaded.
We do have a skid steer available if it is needed.
HOW WILL I BE PAID?
As soon as all your items have sold, you can come to the office to pick up your cheque. If the cheque has not been picked up by noon on Tuesday (unless we have been told otherwise) we will mail the cheque to the address on file. (so PLEASE make sure your paperwork has your FULL MAILING address on it - NOT just your physical address)
Or you can leave your email - and we can e-transfer your payment! We will email you a copy of the sale report on the sale day, and send the money on the next business day. (this is usually Tuesdays for Saturday sales, and Wednesdays for Tuesday sales)
For information on deductions - please see specific sales information for what you are selling (e.g cattle, sheep, misc)
Small Livestock & Miscellaneous
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN SMALL LIVESTOCK?
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Small livestock is anything that we include in what we call 'box sales'
This usually includes chickens, ducks, rabbits - and has included turkeys, pea fowl, guinea fowl, geese, guinea pigs, hedgehogs, pigeons - all sorts of creatures
We also will sell miscellaneous livestock equipment as well - so feeders, waterers, penning equipment, incubators and more
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We DO NOT accept cats or dogs.
WHEN DO YOU SELL SMALL LIVESTOCK & MISCELLANEOUS?
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Guess what? We have 'box sales' at EVERY Saturday sale.
In the Summer (March to October) - we sell outside in a second ring starting at 10:00am
And in the Winter (October to March) - we sell inside at 10:00am, before the larger livestock
What you may be more familiar with is our Odd N Unusual Livestock Specials
These are bigger sales where we have a feature of all the special breeds of every animal (large and small) - and as a result - we get lots of heritage breed chickens, other specialty birds, large variety of rabbits and so much more.
We have 4 of these specials a year. They are held on the last Saturday sales of April, May, June and September.
GUIDELINES FOR BRINGING IN SMALL LIVESTOCK:
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Small animals must come in a box that you are not wanting back. ANIMALS WILL SELL WITH THE CONTAINER
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Box Condition Requirements:
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Boxes must have sturdy bottoms. ​
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Boxes need to have a viewing window (wire on one side). Boxes might not be opened at sale time for show.
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Labelled with what is inside (We will give you a sticker and you can write down on that sticker how many and what is inside. You can also pick up stickers in advance to do this, OR you can write it on the box. What is written down will be read out at sale time!)
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Boxes must be well-ventilated and uncrowded
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Make sure your animals have had water or have access to water. (These can sometimes be very long days for them)
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Make sure there is bedding when necessary (e.g. winter)
Well presented animals do sell better. And for those wondering - we do find that about 2-3 animals per box seems to sell the best.
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When you arrive at the auction with your animals on sale day - we will need you to check in at the office.
At the office - we will make sure we have your information for payment, and issue you lot numbers for your boxes (so make sure you know how many boxes of animals you have). These lot numbers are stickers that you will just peel off and stick to your boxes. Have a wire cage that the sticker won't stick to? No problem - we have tags that you can tie around it instead.
From here - we will tell you which ring they are selling in that day - and have you drop them off there.
Boxes will sell in order of arrival and will be given Lot Numbers as such.
Lot Numbers will not be given out in advance.
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We maintain the right to refuse any box/livestock in poor condition including but not limited to the following:
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Weak boxes​
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Overcrowded boxes or boxes where the animals/birds cannot both stand and lay down
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Boxes with sick/expired animals/birds
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Boxes that are not properly ventilated
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Boxes that arrive after the sale has started (please see What Time Do I Need to Be There)
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Note: We do not have extra boxes here.
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Don't forget to book in your consignments in advance! This allows us to advertise for you on our website and on Facebook prior to the sale! This lets buyers know what is coming - and lets them plan to come, sometimes from HOURS away.
MISCELLANEOUS SALE COMMISSION
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Commission is 25% with a $2/box minimum and a $100/box maximum.
Pigs
WHEN DO PIGS SELL?
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Pigs are accepted at every Saturday sale. They are the first of the 'medium' sized livestock to sell inside (Ring 1)
During the Summer - this would mean they sell right at 10:00am. In the Winter - they sell as soon as we are through whatever boxes we have that day.
At this time, we do not have any special sales designated for pigs.
GUIDELINE FOR SELLING PIGS
Pigs are under strict traceability rules and highly enforced by the CFIA and Alberta Pork. We highly encourage you to register with Alberta Pork beforehand if you have not already done so. They can help you get a lot of the resources you need to buy and sell your pigs. https://www.albertapork.com/our-producer-services/register-alberta-pork/
Pigs must come in and go out on a special pork manifest. We will accept electronic manifests, and we have Alberta Pork manifests available here for free. Out of province hogs should be coming in on pork manifests from their province. These manifests must be filled out entirely, with all tag numbers. All pigs must have individual or ISO tags. Herd marks are not accepted, and the pigs will not be unloaded until YOU have tagged them.
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EXCEPTION - Potbelly pigs are not included. We will have them recorded on a cattle manifest, and sell them as small animals
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We maintain the right to reject any animals that:
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are in poor condition/sick/injured on arrival
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arrive after the sale has started (please see What Time Do I Need to Be There)
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Don't forget to book in your consignments in advance! This allows us to advertise for you on our website and on Facebook prior to the sale! This lets buyers know what is coming - and lets them plan to come, sometimes from HOURS away.
COMMISSION FOR PIGS
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Commission on pigs is 12% with a minimum of $5/head.
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Subject to other provincially mandated fees
Sheep & Goats
WHEN DO SHEEP & GOATS SELL?
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​We sell sheep & goats every Saturday. In fact, we are the only auction in Southern Alberta that has weekly sheep & goat sales!
During the summer - sheep will start selling in Ring 1 right after we finish selling whatever pigs we have. This is usually shortly after 10:00am. In the winter - we sell boxes then pigs, and then we get to the sheep - so it can be a little later start. In either instance - the goats will sell after we have finished selling all the sheep.
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The first Saturday sale of the month is always a designated Sheep & Goat special, with a couple others sprinkled in throughout the calendar year depending on some market trends (e.g. Easter).
These are sales with a larger amount of sheep and goats that tend to attract some extra buyers from farther away, but beyond the extra headcount - does not differ much from regular sales.
GUIDELINE FOR SELLING SHEEP & GOATS
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We require sheep and goats to come with livestock (cattle) manifests. These are available at the auction, and can be filled out here if you did not have them before. We get these filled out so that we make sure we have all your information correct for payouts and that we have the correct head counts with the right person.
Sheep are required to have RFID tags.​​
Goats are currently not required to have RFID tags, but expect that to change in the future.
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We maintain the right to reject any animals that:
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are in poor condition/sick/injured on arrival
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arrive after the sale has started (please see What Time Do I Need to Be There)
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Don't forget to book in your consignments in advance! This allows us to advertise for you on our website and on Facebook prior to the sale! This lets buyers know what is coming - and lets them plan to come, sometimes from HOURS away.
COMMISSION FOR SHEEP & GOATS
Commission on sheep and goats is 7% with a minimum of $5/head.
If you bring at least 40 head, we will drop that rate to 5%.
We will also drop the rate to 5% on any individual animal that sells for more than $425/head
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Subject to other provincially mandated fees
Horses
WHEN DO HORSES SELL?
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​We accept horses every Saturday.
Horses will sell in Ring 1 after 10:00am, and after (boxes in the winter) pigs, sheep, and goats have all sold.
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At this time, there is no special sale designated for horses.
GUIDELINE FOR SELLING HORSES
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Horses (and donkey/mules) need a Livestock Manifest (for inspection and transportation - manifests are available here) Horses also need an EID (equine information document) filled out.
You should also have your a-form or bill of sale handy from when you purchased your animal in case the brand inspector asks you for it.
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We maintain the right to reject any animals that:
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are in poor condition/sick/injured on arrival
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arrive after the sale has started (please see What Time Do I Need to Be There)
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Don't forget to book in your consignments in advance! This allows us to advertise for you on our website and on Facebook prior to the sale! This lets buyers know what is coming - and lets them plan to come, sometimes from HOURS away.
COMMISSION ON HORSES
Commission on horses is 15% with a $25/head minimum.
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Subject to other provincially mandated fees
Cattle
WHEN DO CATTLE SELL?
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​We sell cattle at both our Tuesday and Saturday sales.
Tuesdays at 10:30am we start with whatever feeder cattle come in, then sell slaughter cows, and finish with slaughter bulls
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Saturdays the EARLIEST we start selling cattle is 11:30am, but we may start later than that as we will sell all (boxes in winter) pigs, sheep, goats, and horses first.
Cattle will then sell stickered (baby) calves, breeding stock and pairs, feeders from smallest to largest, and end with slaughter cattle.
Some of the specials that will come around for cattle include:
Bred Stock & Pair Specials
Yearling & Calf Specials
Holsteins & Crossbreds (this is held on the last Tuesday sale of every month)
GUIDELINE FOR SELLING CATTLE
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Cattle need to come with a Livestock Manifest (for inspection and as a transport permit - and are available at the auction if you do not have one)
They also need to have a RFID button tag.
You may also want to have the a-form or bill of sale handy for the brand inspector from when you purchased your animal.
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We maintain the right to reject any animals that:
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are in poor condition/sick/injured on arrival
-
arrive after the sale has started (please see What Time Do I Need to Be There)
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Don't forget to book in your consignments in advance! This allows us to advertise for you on our website and on Facebook prior to the sale! This lets buyers know what is coming - and lets them plan to come, sometimes from HOURS away.
COMMISSION ON CATTLE
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Commission rates on cattle are as follows:
Stickered calves: $26/head
Breeding stock/pairs: 3%, $25/head minimum
Feeders: $21/head
Slaughter cows: $22/head
Slaughter bulls: $40/head
Subject to other provincially mandated fees
Equipment
WHEN DO YOU SELL EQUIPMENT?
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​Equipment sells at special sales throughout the year.
These sales can be in-person in the auction yard, in-person at another farm/site, or by timed online auction
GUIDELINE FOR SELLING EQUIPMENT
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To sell equipment we need you to book in ahead of time! In fact, the sooner the better. The more advertising we can get you, the more bidders we will have at the sale. Part of advertising equipment can mean having it here at the yard for people to look at when they are here for other sales.
If you are selling a registerable item - we need the pink card, and we need you to fill out your portion of a bill of sale BEFORE the sale so that when the item is sold, it is as quick and easy a transaction as possible for the buyer.
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Do you want an Equipment sale at your farm? Call Brad on his cell 403-382-7362 to see what he can do for you!
COMMISSION ON EQUIPMENT
Commission for equipment consigned to an equipment sale is on a scale - per item
$0-$99 = 20%
$100 - $500 = 15%
$500+ = 10%
With a $5/item minimum
Contact Brad about commission rates & fees for Farm Sales.