I want to get a cow, I think?
 

We have ten acres of land and are thinking of getting a cow. The first thought was a mini jersey (or jersey) and or a lowline angus. Then someone mentioned a dexter. Seens like an awsome choice, as were looking for milk / dairy and beef (is there a good cross with a jersey?). We have never had a cow. My questions are if we get a Dexter calf how difficult / risky is it to make it a milk cow? Is there a better choice? We will probaly put about 7 acres in pasture this year. We would prefer (we think) to get a pure breed animal so maybe we can sell any offspring we do not use. Any advise would be helpful.. Thanks

Others are FAR more knowledgeable than I but here are my thoughts..

We have a Jersey cow and have really struggled with mastitis issues. Many feel that a pure Jerseys just run too high of a risk for these issues while others have had much better luck.

I have heard good and bad about dexters but do know that you would need to get one from milking lines as not all are. For myself, if I had to do it over again, I would probably get a Jersey/lowline angus cross - lower production but less problems and calves would have meatier carcasses.

question
 

So (not that I know anything about cows :hrm:) a Jersey milk cow and breed her back to a lowline angus for beef?

I have bred several Dexter/Jersey crosses. They are really good crosses, because the Dexter heritage practically eliminates the mastitis and milk fever problems, while still producing more milk than a Dexter. This cross also tends to make pure white milk with smaller fat globules, so it's easier to digest.

Here's one as a young heifer:

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...2004Misty1.jpg

Dexters are a very gentle breed and you have an excellent chance of making a milk cow out of a young heifer. However, not all heifers make good milk cows. If I were you, I'd look for one that had already been trained enough to know it will make a good milk cow. Expect to pay a little more for a trained milker.

Ideally, you'll go visit the cow before buying to make sure you're going to enjoy spending the next years of your life in close contact with her.

Dexter beef has been judged to be the best beef in several contests and consistantly ranks high on taste tests.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

I think that if you haven't had cattle before - especially milked a cow before - you will be much better off starting with a cow that is already trained to milk. Teaching a newly fresh cow to stand still isn't an easy task and the difficulty can be multiplied if the milker doesn't know what they are doing either. I was raised on a dairy farm and spent most of my waking hours if not in school in the milk parlor and I STILL had trouble with my first cow. It takes 2 years to get a heifer calf to milking age. I found out it was more expensive to raise one than to buy a cow. Honestly. I went to small organic dairy and bought a nice little milk cow for $800. Personally, I like jerseys - the minis are way pricey to me. Our jersery provides milk for the house and 2 calves DS is raising to pad his college fund. Rather than look for a specific breed, I would find the best cow available in your area. She might be jersey, she might be dexter - or maybe a cross. Breed isn't as important as health and production - and if she's an easy keeper so much the better.

I wouldn't keep just one cow - they are herd animals and like company. Our 7 month old steer is our cow's companion. Her calf this year will be old enough to be her buddy when the steer makes his trip to the butcher. My last jersey steer weighted 1100 at 16 months with very little grain. A beef cow would do better for me, but I have the jersey for the milk. Do some checking in your area and see what's available, then do your homework.

Good luck. I hope you find a really nice cow that suits you and your family.

Jersey cows are no more prone to mastitis than any other breed of cows. And as far as milk fever, that is a feeding issue that causes that. Jersey`s are wonderful cows, and are about as friendly of cow as you could ever want. They do produce more milk than one person can use for the most part, but you have to be the judge of that. Remember it is a 365 day job being a cow keeper, not everyone is meant to have and keep cows. You can breed a jersey to a beef bull and keep the calf for beef if you want. Do you have anyone in your area that sell raw milk, try to find out, ask questions and talk to them. If I had a source to buy my milk, I sure wouldn`t keep a cow, ties you down on the place most of the time. I had a customer this morning was asking about cows and milking and told me several neighbors of his are thinking about getting a neighborhood cow, so they can all share the milk from one cow, that way they don`t have any one family tied down. They all take turns milking and caring for the cow, sounds like a plan, don`t know if it will work or not. Think it over before you jump in. > Thanks Marc

I agree with Callieslamb, whatever you get, make sure it is a fresh (currently milking), already trained cow. If you are inexperienced, you don't want to be trying to learn while training the cow/calf. When you buy a calf, you also have no idea what it will grow up to be. Here is my experience with dexters: its hit or miss in regards to milk and meat. There are apparently at least two lines of dexters. There are the truely mini dexters that are tiny and produce barely enough milk to feed their calf. Luckily the calves are usually tiny so they are fine on 3 quarts or less a day, but leaves nothing for you. The larger dexters are really not that different from low-line angus in size or appearance. These are the meat dexters, they are very beefy looking and large. Mine were purebred and registered, the cows went around 800 lbs and the bull they had been bred to was 1000+lbs. Their meat is FANTASTIC! I do not raise them any more, because I got my hands on an aggressive dexter cow. Let me tell you, when you have an 800 lb cow chasing you with horns that are two feet long each and extremely pointy, you realize how dangerous they are. All mine were gone three days later. I now am extremely happy with my POLLED mini jersey. She is bred to an angus bull, so if its a bull calf, he should be good for the freezer. I've heard good things about milking a jersey/angus cross. I would highly recommend whatever you get, make sure its polled or dehorned. Cows will be cows, and sometimes they can hurt you by accidently turning their head sharply or lifting their head up quickly, etc. Jersey do have shorter horns, but again I don't take any chances any more. Sorry! Didn't mean for this to turn into a book!! :)

Just another quick note, Jerseys have been diary cows for at least 600 years. You know there must be good reasons why.

I beg to differ on the Dexter/Jersey parents on this calf....:yuck:

And with that in mind, I try to convince people not to use their Jersey as a source for beef calves. Just as Callieslamb said, cheaper to buy than raise a milk cow, you'd be better off buying a beef calf and raising that, rather than trying to feed out a half Jeresy, half something else. Around here, a Jeresy heifer is worth as much as a beef calf. I'd breed her to a quality Jeresy and if I got a heifer, sell her and buy a nice beefy beef calf. If I got a Jersey bull calf, I'd just castrate him and eventually send him to freezer camp.

Jerseys are a small breed with small calves. Cross breeding can result in calving difficulties that a novice might not be prepaired for.

Having a milk cow is a big commitment. You are tied to the farm, morning and night, EVERY day, without fail.

As with many topics, there are many varied opinions and everyone thinks they are right. Everyone has had different experiences.

Hence the suggestion by all here who mention crossbreeding a Jersey to use angus or dexter (both small calvers) . . . . And for many people, including myself, it is almost impossible to find a jersey bull (or any dairy bull for that matter) to breed your cow with. Nearly everyone has an angus here. If you have a jersey/angus cross cow for milking, you can cross that with a beef bull and end up with a very nice calf and have the milking bloodlines there in your cow. Also, if one of the parents of your milk cow is purebred angus, then that would make your cow polled (dominent gene). Another huge plus!!

By all means,whatever breed you decide on,get one that's been milked before.You don't want to break a first calver to milk.And it's been my experience that a jersey won't be satisfied with kicking once,they're so quick they'll kick you 10 times before you can jump out of the way.

I was searching for info about mini jersey when I came across something new (at least to me). The miniature jersey registery had information on a "new breed" called the Jey Low. It is a mini jersey crossed with a lowline angus. These can be registered and probably sold for a good amount (I just saw that you wanted something you could sell offspring off of). A lot of info at the following link. It says they are a dual purpose, polled breed. You may be able to get your hands on a registered jersey cow and breed to a registered lowline bull. Sounds good to me. http://www.miniaturejerseyassociatio...Program2PG.pdf

That would be some expensive milk! The mini jerseys I have seen advertised were very expensive, and the Lowlines averaged about $5000 per head at their national sale in January. For a novice who is test-driving their first dairy cow, that is quite a commitment of money as well as the time. My suggestion would be to get a grade Jersey on the small side, already broke to hand milking. You could always AI her to a Lowline bull and do so much more reasonably than buying into the latest and greatest "it" breed.

I bought my mini jersey as a bottle calf for $100. I've seen adult cows for $1000 and yearlings for $600. I know someone right now who has them for sale at these prices, BUT these are not registered. Lowline angus are cheap here, few want to go smaller (also not registered). Original post said he wanted something he could sell calves off of for good money, thats why I suggest the Jey Low. The big thing is to shop around, see what you have locally.

I thought the same thing! I'm thinking there's a holestein in the background there...

cjb,

You might be right, but it wasn't obvious. The sire was a registered fullblooded Dexter. No Holstein there. The dam was an unregistered Jersey that looked like a perfect Jersey. Coloring and shape were just right. She died of mastitis when the heifer was only two months old. A second Jersey cow adopted the heifer for the next two months.

It gets even weirder! The heifer was bright red, like a Hereford, when she was born. She turned black by the time she was four months old. There's more than Holstein in there, I think.

That's the problem with unregistered stock like this heifer's dam. You never know what's lurking in their genes.

The heifer grew up to be Dexter sized and is as sweet as can be. Good milk cow. She has a Jersey face and jersey eyes. She's the favorite cow of the lady who bought her. She eventually sold all her other cattle and kept just this one.

From what I've been told, it's rare to find a Jersey that can trace it's ancestry to the cows that were originally imported from the Isle of Jersey. So many have been crossed to make them give more milk or be polled. This heifer's dam is probably like that, although she wasn't polled.

The first time I showed pictures of this calf, a lady in Colorado sent me a picture of her Dexter/Holstein calf that could have been this heifer's twin sister. Identical markings! Even the heart on the face.

Just goes to show that you can't tell by looking.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

You got some good advise here. Callieslamb hit the nail on the head all the way around. I might just emphasize a few things.

Buy what you can find locally. If you have to travel 500 miles to find the cow you want, you are going to spend too much and end up with a novelty item, not a good functional cow.

Breed is not nearly as important as quality of the individual animal. Every breed has a range of quality. Someone will have had a bad experience with any breed. It doesn't mean the whole breed is good or bad. You need to select specific animals within a breed. If you don't have the skils to do that, find someone who does and have them come along with you.

No one breed does anything the best - that is why there are so many breeds. You just need to know what you want and what matters to you. Do you want milk, beef, horned, big, small, thrifty, hardy... the list goes on and on. Matching what you have available and what you want is the key.

Have you considered Red Poll? They are a dual purpose breed. Not horned. Medium frame. Maybe check them out.

7 acres of pasture isn't a lot. I would think you could probably get 1 maybe 2 cows at the most if they are small. Jersey or dexter would work. Lowline would make a great cross to either, but wouldn't be purebred which you said you were considering. Is it more important to have good beef production or to have purebred stock? Maybe you need to look at the local market and see what fits the best there. If you do run purebred stock, you need to be much more selective as people are depending on you for quality animals. If you run a commercial program your animals are just for slaughter, so quality isn't as big of a concern.

Well she's a cool looking heifer either way. I would love to have a nice spotted cow that didn't have the size and problems that would come with a Holstein.

I have been thinking about breeding my jersey to a guernsey so maybe I'll get spots. :)

Quailkeeper,

Would you mind telling WHERE you found a mini jersey bottle calf for $100?

I would be interested to know...

There's someone in Seymour, IN with TWO Jersey/Dexter cows for sale that are being milked once a day. That's a long way from FL, though.

The ad said they were about 350 lbs, and gave 1 1/2- 2 gallons of milk a day. Not too shabby!

Judy, sent you a message. There were over 25 heifers for sale at a local dairy, all mini jerseys. This was about 2 years ago, haven't checked since if they have any more.