Favorite breed[s]

Jeff, that's a fact! A couple of my herds have or had ancient Brown Swiss cows ... we're talking 11th or 12th lactation.

Swiss seem to be getting more popular around here ... I'm starting to see one in every herd, the way most herds also have at least one red-and-white Holstein! The ones I've seen, mostly first-calf heifers, aren't real standouts for high production. I've heard they mature later than Holsteins, so maybe they'll shine in later lactations, or make up for it by staying in the milking herd longer.

One herd has some Swiss-Holstein crosses ... they are putting BS bulls (AI) to their hard-to-settle cows. Again, these daughters aren't producing enormous quantities of milk, but they're nice girls nonetheless. Time will tell ...

I am going to disagree with Jeff just a little bit on the curious vs. smart thing. Jersies seem to me to be better problem-solvers than Holsteins ... of course, in context this usually means they are simply better at finding the hole in the fence!

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"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.

hey kiddo

Absolutely no small breeds.
Some of the larger breeds.
Middlesized cattle are best for the small holder: Jerseys and Gernseys for milk, Angus or Hereford for beef, or Highlands and American Milking Devon for somewhere in the middle.

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“It is tedious to live, it is tedious to die, it is tedious to c**p in deep snow”
Old Norwegian observation

And seriously, all these things with anyone are simply "my experiences". I've had totally different experiences with holstiens and jerseys. One breed may just *click* with you and totally collide with me!! One breed may do well with my set-up and have bookoo problems with your set-up. Your lines may be prone one way, my lines another.....it goes on and on. It really boils down to personal experience and preference. There is no "one perfect breed". There are simply the perfect breed for *you* and the perfect breed for *me*.
Thats why I'm *not* going to go into the things I don't like about other breeds........cause someone loves those breeds!!
Just my thoughts....

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

I have never had a full blooded Murray Grey but I have had some crossed with Angus. These are the best calf produces that I have been associated. The Murray Greys I had were medium sized cows that I crossed with registered Angus bulls and these cows would produce a fine calf without the cows ever loosing body condition. The Murray Greys are the easiest cows I know of for staying in top body condition on the least quantity and lower quality forage. I wish that the were black in color as they do not bring as much at the sale barn due to the color. Anything black brings a premium here.

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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!

Dexters or bust. I'm working on getting my homestead sorted now. As soon as I'm ready, I'm going to start hunting around for a Dexter cow and later, a bull.
Great temperament. Cheap and easy to keep them fed. Very hardy and basically will have a happy life without a vet getting close to them. I have a very simplistic way of dealing with cattle. Let nature take care of them and only intervene when nature can't, which is seldom. Dexters seem to fit the bill in that regard.
Only problem I have with Dexters are that it is difficult to kill them when the time comes - too darn cute.
I grew up on the farm with Brahma's - tough, mean and difficult to deal with. Ours grazed only - never fed them anything except water. Great meat, but bad milk.

My favorites are Dexters, 20 of them here now. I also liked the Jerseys, Guernseys, Ayrshires, Herefords, and Angus in their much smaller 1950s configurations.

My only experience has been with Dexters and Dexter crosses which I love. I started with Dexters because of their small size. I do have two 3/4 Dexter-1/4 Jersey and one 3/4 Dexter-1/4 Dutch belted. They are still small and temperaments are the same as full Dexters. We got the crosses as they are a bit cheaper. The other Dexters are three registered heifers and two steers. Your right, Afrikaner, our first steer to send off is going to be difficult. In fact our 10 month old steer thinks he is a dog; loves to be petted and tries to jump up on us which is not cool; even though he is small he still weighs about 300 lbs so jumping is not acceptable.

Try getting mounted by a 1,050 pound Holstein Heifer in Heat .Caught me off gaurd, her right hoof got me upside the ear, knocked me sideways slamming my 10th and 11th ribs against a pipe gate. Two days later I was at the Hospital being X-Rayed to make sure no broken ribs...
All in a day's work, LOL.

When our fencing is completed......
1st Choice: A Dexter cow, in calf, with a calf at foot.
2nd Choice: A Dexter cow, with a calf at foot.
3rd Choice: A Dexter cow, in calf.
4th Choice: A Dexter cow.

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BIDADISNDAT: Aiming to Live a Good Life of Near Self Sufficiency on a Permaculture Based Organic Home Farm

UpNorth: The steer I mentioned knocked me over. Fortunately, I was not hurt, but scared me. I think even the steer was a little shook up. After I got done yelling he just stood there looking very bewildered. He hasn't tried it since. I have taken to walking around near the animals carrying a plastic pitch fork for cleaning. I kind of think it gives them the feeling that I could use it even though it would not do any good being plastic.

Upnorth , I carry a short pvc pig bat with me when feeding the steers or around the bulls .. when they have horns as long as my arms and can move faster than I can , at my age .....It only takes once cracking them across the nose with it ,it's light, doesn't hurt and makes a loud noise ! All I have to do usually is point it and say back .. and its like a wave as they all back away from me and the approaching food !!!!

Sounds like a good choice to me.
I just bought a bull dexter from a friend a county east of me, he will be about 6 months old when I pick him up in a few months. The sire is there and he is very gentle so I imagine his progeny will be also. There are a few people raising them an hour west of my place I hope I can find some heifers with them.

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

Ya person has to be careful all the time. The one that jumped me (literally) was a big baby that is too friendly - her mother was same way. She was just horny that's all, not malicious. I was chaining up some gates to set up a corral and she came up behind me and mounted!
Doc says it just aggravated a previous break in the ribs which had healed over. He says when did you break those? I said LOL LOL.

Y'all be careful out there