I have a young friend who would like to purchase a thermal sight that he can also use to view his cattle herd at night when they are calving.  What is the least expensive price point and resolution that is actually worth buying?  Newborn calves hunker down in shallow depressions and can be difficult to see with a spot light or even my Gen 3+ that I have let him use.  He is leaning toward a thermal sight for that reason.  Range to ID a calf or coyote should be 200 yards at least.  I know there is alot of expert opinion here.  Thanks!

Sounds like he needs a thermal spotter.  What kinda budget does he have?

Given these parameters I would ask one final question:

A) If he needs it *now*, he should look hard at the Pulsar Quantum 384 line of monoculars.  They are priced aggressively right now.
B) If he can wait a while, the Fair Q14B is going to be pretty fantastic (or at least it's being marketed and received that way).