What beef breed is safe to cross a Jersey heifer to
 

Our Jersey heifer is almost 13 months old and is about 550-600 lbs. Today she is in a raging "bulling" heat and is chasing our poor boer buckling all over the pasture. We finally put her in "time-out" in her own pen. Now, according to the "chart", she can be bred. Is this about right? She has had all her shots by the vet, but I always vaccinate our goats at breeding so WHAT does a heifer need at breeding time. Should we get an AI man out, or should we go for a natural breeding. I am thinking we'll cross her to a meat breed for this breeding. What beef lines would be safe for her? Shorthorn? Angus? Hereford? We are flying blind right now and would like to do it right the first time. We will probably look at breeding her in November.

A calving ease Black Angus bull would be my recommendation.

I think I`d wait a couple more months to breed her so she is at least two years old when she has her calf. Yes an angus would work. >Thanks Marc

If we breed her in November she'll calve at 23-24 months which is about right. We started charting her heats today...I think she is cycling at about 20 days since she's already had some heats but they've been quieter. So if we project out, we'll breed in about 60 days which would put us around November 20ish or so. Our friends have an angus herd and would let us run her with their bull. Are all Angus the same? They sure all look big to me! Or would it be better to go the AI route?

let her run with the rest of the herd, ask them about their bulls lines though, most Angus have low birth weight but to be sure go ahead and ask, the bull will take care of her just fine,

I'd suggest you breed her to a good AI Jersy. If you get a bull, casatrate him and eat him. If you get a heifer, sell her and get a good beef steer.

i agree with haypoint. A jersey heifer is worth a bit of money if she tame. Not that the angus wouldn't work...it would very well. It just depends on what you want from her.

Either or. Unless I was specifically wanting a Jersey for the freezer (and they are my first choice for eating) or a Jersey heifer to up my herd numbers, I would put her to an Angus bull.

Cheers,
Ronnie

We have a very small place; just under two acres. The pasture we rent is 8 1/2 acres BUT the pony and two foals are there right now and they don't want to overgraze that property. So one milk cow is plenty. We'll share the milk with a calf...we already have a steer coming in trade for one of the foals. I'm thinking though, it might be cheaper to pay for a pasture breeding than an AI. AI man, out here twice, runs around $200 plus the cost of the straw. The calf will be sold anyhow, heifer or bull, or go to freezer. My girlfriend said we could bring her out to their ranch at Thanksgiving, which should get her bred in December.

Red Poll's were a dual breed. they have mostly been selected for beef in the US so their milk production may be a little lower than in the past. However, they are great a grass efficiency, and have low birth weights, not Jersey low, but beef breed low. They are also a lower profile cow, with a smaller frame. They will beef out better than other breeds. they have a great temperament, and are supposed to be much more tender than other breeds. plus they are a gorgeous red. Go to the american red polled web site and check for breeders in your area. They will likely let you breed her to a registered bull for $25 or so. I have 2 heifers and a breeder 30 miles away bred my pair for $50. They are now about 15 months old and 2 months pregnant. Even coming out of the summer drought they are in very nice condition.
The nice thing about this breed crossed with a jersey is you could keep a heifer calf for breeding and milk in the future if you wanted and sell your Jersey off. You would get less milk, but better beef. Also if you have plenty for them to eat, they can feed a calf at side on milk while still being bred back. Most cant do that. It would be hard on her physically, but it does demonstrate how good of milkers they are, and how fertile they can be. If you emphasis is milk, you might consider AI from a British sire, I think they still use them for dairy over there. Also Red Poll's have milk that produces fewer allergic reactions, they are milling some protein or something.
By the way did I mention they are gorgeous and have a great temperament.

I looked up the red polls; holy buckets they are beeyooteeful!

I would do the easiest thing, take her to that friend's place.
That bull will settle her quick.
Then , next year you can decide on something different if you want to. :)

Good luck with her. I am already looking forward to the calving adventure. :p

Unless you especially want a Jersey calf, the Black Angus bull is the easiest answer. Another poster mentioned asking about the bull's calving ease background. That is a good idea. Ask about the birth weight of the calves the Angus bull has sired.

I just found a lowline angus breeder nearby who also has belted galloways; any thoughts?

i would go with the LowLine, JMHO lol

Lowline is WONDERFUL!!! I have a half Jersey half Lowline steer calf right now that is amazing! Strong, vigorous, healthy...best cross I have ever seen.
This year I did not have access to the Lowline so I borrowed a friends Scottish Highland to cover my heifer and cow. Next year I will go back to the Lowline though.

I came to answer with black angus, but others beat me to it.

Longhorns also have small calves.

We bred our 14 mos. old Jersey AI to a Jersey bull named Krammer...she liked to drove us crazy when in heat. Very vocal about her needs! So will calve in June'11 just when the grass is at its best...and she will be two years old. Big well grown heifer. Hasn't come into heat again. Our AI guy hasn't failed us yet; not repeat visits needed. DEE

Well the lowline guy has a closed herd; says he is concerned about venereal disease. I could have offered to test her, but he seemed pretty done talking so I didn't push it. I think we'll call out Mr. AI man. Do I have to catch her in heat, or can we do the catholic way (that shot called cysterellen sounded like SISTER ELLEN when I first heard about it). I think there's an insert a shot and another shot? That would save me two call outs from Dr. Strangelove and all I'd have to pay for would be one visit and a straw.

why not still take her to your GirlFriends ranch?

You can get Lowline semen, too. Of course, I'm a little prejudiced towards lowlines but they are wonderful cattle, especially for smaller acreages like yours. A heifer would be a J-low and a bull calf would be fantastic eating! ;-) Also, they are perfect for breeding heifers to as birthweights are low but they grow quickly.

Long leg Dexter would make a pretty safe bet for first time Jersey

GAM,
Thanks for pointing that out. I hardly ever pay attention to the date on most threads. Now that you said something I remeber what happend. So I figured I best edit this post and hope things are going better out there.
Bob

Either AI or a small Dexter bull out of small parents would be my choice.
Though I may be biased, we just had a 25 lb. Dexter calf out of one of our Dexter heifers from our bull. She's smaller than some manure patties I've seen out of larger cows.

Having a 1300 lb+ bull of any breed on a young Jersey heifer is taking an unnecessary risk, IMHO.

Put her in the pasture with a yearling angus or longhorn bull and you should be fine with the issue of a bull riding her. I've seen some lightweight heifers run into probs from putting a heavy bull on them and I've seen some do just fine.

This is an old thread from last year.
The story has a sad ending, but not from breeding/calving troubles.

:(

What happened?

Iam new to the homesteadingtoday. I saw your question and Ive had jerseys bred to beef. I have a jersey milk cow and her jersey heifer from last birth. I have a low birth weight black angus bull in now. The heifer was 1 year old as of July 15,2011. The bull was on her sept 6th and has not come back into heat. She will calve at 23 months old. I breed my jerseys to a black angus because they calve easy and at market bring a nice price, they look alot like a angus cow. I wrote a post on my website "what 1 milk cow can do for you". I will be making a post on milking a cow soon. the site is survivalpreparedmom.com I hope this helps. Thank you

We lost her right after our June fair to a probable case of "redwater". She was due to calve in late August/early Sept. to a Jersey bull. The vet has since told us to vaccinate twice a year for clostridial diseases as there's been a lot around here lately. The guy whose cattle were next to us at fair lost a bunch (which we didn't know about until later in the summer). On a lighter note, the two heifers we bought in early July are doing great along with their "freezer camp" bull/steer calf friend. We just moved them off our place to an 8-acre property two doors down.

Jcran, if you are still looking for a beef breed bull for your new heifers, if you have any near you, try looking for a young Scottish Highland bull. Highlands throw small calves, they don't typically get near as massive as other beef breeds. I can go into the pasture with a curry comb/brush and brush our 2 yo bull out completely....he loves it! Good cross-bred vigor in the cross calf, the cross calf will grow out faster than a pure Highland does.

Just a suggestion, if you are still in the market for a bull. ( I have a young white one, but CA is a bit far to come for a bull, I'd think).