What breed should we use to AI our jersey cow?

If horns are problem there are (homozygous) polled Jersey bulls available.

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I just had my two Jerseys: a cow and a first calf heifer, AI'd with Jersey semen. I had thought to cross to Milking Devon as I am fond of the breed, but in the end went to Jersey.

For me the choice is simple; I keep a couple of house cows for the milk, to keep my cows in milk they must have a yearly calf, should my Jersey cows age, and they will, or die, and they might, I'll need replacement Jersey heifers, preferably pure blood Jersey heifers. As Jersey bull calves are nothing more or less than a by-product of keeping my Jersey cows in milk; they are not an expense but a bonus, and when they are old enough and large enough, they'll do just fine on the table. On the other hand, a Jersey heifer calf is an enormous homestead bonus; if my older milk stock does not die, or age too quickly, I can sell the heifer for premium $$$$.

An anything crossed with Jersey will still be a cross, perhaps if it is a milkng something crossed with Jersey it will have value, but if it is a beef something crossed with Jersey it will only make passing beef, and be worth little or nothing on the market or at home, bull or heifer it matters not a wit, (my AI guy gave me a Jersey/Holstien cross bull calf a couple of weeks back for just that reason).

If I breed my Jersey milk stock with any breed of semen; I keep my cows in milk. 100% of the reason for breeding the homestead milk cow is to keep her in milk. I am not in the cattle business, calves are by-products, by AI'ing with Jersey semen I stand a 50/50 chance of a pure blood Jersey heifer calf, and if I get a bull calf...., he's free for the feed anyway.

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when we got our jerseys they came with a bull, used him and ate him and boy he was good!!! after that we bred angus got some nice girls two but only one was polled, but heiffers not worth as much as a pure bred
so this time we are only using a jerseybull, when we are done we will eat him, and already have his replacement(2 month bull calf from dairy for 150)
If you dont keep them much past 2 years old thier behavior is not quiet an issue( as you are talking ai its not one either except if your youngun is a bull calf)

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On the subject of eating Jersey bull beef, I find it singularly bewildering that anyone would find it objectionable; aside from the yellow fat, Jersey beef tends to taste as much of beef as any other in the bovine realm. Dexter owners, love their hearts, will be heard to drone on endlessly about the smaller cuts preferred in today’s beef market, and of how this situation fits perfectly with the size of a finished Dexter steer. Longhorn owners will herald long and loud the merits of the lean grass feed table fare their beloved heavily horned breed produces. A finished Jersey steer has cuts larger than a Dexter, and richer than a Longhorn, but by virtue of nothing more than cultural bias, butchers preference, and herdsman dogma, Jersey beef has been deemed unfit for the table.

To breed a Jersey cow to another race of milk chattle is a matter of questionable personal choice, or due perhaps the lack of an available Jersey bull, but to breed a Jersey cow to any sort of beef stock solely to improve on the quality of beef in a calf to be, is to waste a chance at a fine Jersey heifer, and does little or nothing to improve on the quality of the Jerseys’ beef.

IMHO of course!

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Along with the fine taste of Jersey beef ya get a higher concentration of carotene in the yellow fat...

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I am so glad I posted this question, you all have brought up points that we had not considered.

Two more questions:

1. Approximately what size would a jersey steer be at a year old? Assuming it nursed til 3 months, and was just fed pasture and hay? How much meat would you get? And forgive my ignorance, but how much less would that be compared to meat breeds?

2. How do you find and choose which bull semen to use?

Thanks,
PJ

There are so many factors as to what makes a steer do well, it would take a discourse on the subject to cover it all, but from a practical point of view, the crofters point of view: feed him as best you can, see to it he is wormed, and whatever beef he makes is yours.

On what makes a good heifer, every bull in the book is the best (just ask their owners), but again, from the practical point of view, Jerseys are bred for rich milk in good quantity, beyond that, "You pays yer money, and ya takes yer chances."

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jimandpj Hi. I see the whole thing a little differently. You have your housecow and the calf is the byproduct of being able to milk her, so if I were you my priority would be ease of calving, first last and inbetween. No point in going for some 'fabulous' beef breed and risking your cows health, lactation or death for the sake of a few more kilos of meat or white rather than yellow fat.

" No point in going for some 'fabulous' beef breed and risking your cows health, lactation or death for the sake of a few more kilos of meat or white rather than yellow fat." Actually bulls selected for an AI program for a beef breed like an Angus are selected for low birth weights. This is because beef farmers don't want to follow their herds around and have to pull calves from their cows. Milk breed bulls are selected for production and milk quality first. Low birth weight is a lot lower priority. Since your cow is not a heffer you should be able to breed to any small to medium size breed without a problem. We've breed Jersey cows to both Angus and Herford and havn't had any problems.

"How do you find and choose which bull semen to use?" You can get semen from select sires and other places as well. Do a Google on Bull Semen. Select Sires have a web page and probably a rep close to you that would do the AI. Most web pages have graphs for showing what you can expect from the bulls offspring.

"Approximately what size would a jersey steer be at a year old? Assuming it nursed til 3 months, and was just fed pasture and hay? How much meat would you get? And forgive my ignorance, but how much less would that be compared to meat breeds?" The weight might only be 25 to say 40 lbs heavier for an Angus or Hereford but freezer weight difference would be more. Jerseys have bony hips, and shoulders. Also when you cross two different breeds you get a bump in growth speed, size, and general hardiness. The term for this is, "hybred vigor." You can expect this as well even when crossing two dairy breeds.

In the end if you want to use the calf as a replacement and milk her I would only breed her to a dairy breed. Jerseys are the lowest milk producers of the dairy breeds. If you breed her to a beef breed you may not get the milk your family needs. It is easy to adjust to too much milk but much more difficult to adjust to too little./RA

most butcher at 18 months, i think our last jersey(intact bull, gain very nice like that and does not affect taste like hogs) was closer to 2, bulls flesh out much better than cows or steers, and the jersey is not near as boney as a holstein i cant remember what he dressed out as, but we got load after load after load of meat,

btw our vet was the one who said jersey beef is the best beef from what he had heard...(maybe he didnt want to have to deal with our feller much longer)

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also purebred jersey heiffer worth about twice the cross, for the bull calf, not much difference in worth, unless you find someone(like me) who is always looking for a purebred bull to raise to breed, when the one before is in the freezer

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What about A long horn bull. The calf would be A small birth weight calf. And grow fairly decent rate . And the cost of semen is not high.

We've always AI'ed our Jerseys to Lowline (small Angus). Birthing is very simple and uncomplicated (VERY important), the calf is born alive ( nothing more disappointing than pulling a dead calf out of a cow), and the calves grow into a very meaty animal ready for slaughter in less than a year if you don't want too much meat (ours go at about 10 - 12 months, dress out approx 175 kilos). No horns to be debudded (Lowline polled gene dominates)

I'm with Philip, and I believe I corresponded with him awhile back about the popularity of the Jersey/Lowline cross in New Zealand for those that want a smaller animal. I'm a former goat person. Philip, with your permission, I might share what you wrote about why you have the lowline cross.

You may get some beef off a Jersey, but it will take you much more feed. And feed costs money. Sounds like some think a calf out of a Jersey cow is free. Well, any milk used to feed a calf requires feed to produce. And it takes more milk/feed to put a pound on a jersey calf. If you want beef, it'll take more money. This is why there are no herds of Jerseys roaming the range in Montana.

While these discussions are fun, one problem I see is that we don't have enough information. It's like walking in a shoe store and asking, "Which shoes should I buy?" Well, what do you need them for?

Same with a cow. How much milk do you want or need? Do you really need several gallons a day, or do you have to find something to do with it? Do you like milking that much? Do you mind dealing with health issues, or do you want a cow with the lowest risk of problems? How much beef do you want? Is feed efficiency important to you? How big an animal do you want? Do you want two smaller animals, or one big one? And most importantly, what color do you want?

Yeah, what Haggis said.