Jersey family cow question
 

I have been looking for a family milking cow for a little over a month now. I have dealt with chickens, goats, and horses, but never cattle, so I'm inexperienced with the whole situation. I have however, found a small Jersey cow who freshened for the first time about 2 months ago so she's currently in milk. The woman also said she would be happy to keep her for the next month (making things easier when we're on vacation) and have her bred back by the time I pick her up. All of this sounded like just what I was looking and hoping for, except the price. She's asking $2,000. Is this a reasonable deal? I just don't know the prices of these animals so I'm hesitant. She also said she'd like the calf back, but I need to clarify if that's part of the deal or did she mean that she just wanted first dibs at buying the calf if it was a heifer.

Also, where would I go about finding an A.I. person who services my area? Would it be cheaper to use one of them or have the vet do it? Just trying to think ahead....

I am located in south eastern NY.

Thanks in advance!

I erased my long speal, keep looking....Unless money is no object. Here's an example, and keep in mind that this example is even overpriced...I don't doubt she's a fine 3/4 cow, plus bred back, just overpriced in my opinion....Topside
http://www.golsn.com/listings/farm-l...k/2239570.html

If the cow I mentioned above was sound around, and without any other hidden problems, then I'd pay $800 for her without thinking twice....just trying to give you the clearest of pictures....Topside

My father lives in Middletown, Orange county. Jerseys in milk are about $750 and available all the time.

Thanks. I would love to find something like the one in that ad. I suppose it also has to do with being in the location that I am. Cows or really any sort of livestock other than horses, are very rare in these parts. Being just outside of NY city is a very expensive area in general, and to find something like what I'm looking for in a cow within a 2 hour drive is pretty much unheard of.

Brooks, Middletown is a little over an hour from me. How would I go about finding a Jersey in milk near there? Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places???

I call Bull on the NYC idea...only three dairy farms in my area, not many cows for sale. That's a 4 county area...Anyway enough said, good luck...Topside

I just bought an AWESOME cow from a local dairy. She is one of their lower producers (5 gal a day he said but I think maybe 4 but still....plenty for me lol) but has all 4 quarters and is only 3. He is even going to send in papers and she was $600. Did you look on the jersey directory online? Like the association? I did that and called every one close to me and even had to look at ones up to 4 hrs and found one 2 1/2 hrs away. Where are you exactly and I can see if there are many in your area.

Thanks for the help allenslabs. I will have to try the directory online. Like I said, maybe I'm just not in the know when it comes to the websites I should be looking at. I am in Putnam County NY, zip is 10588.

I'm glad now that I asked, it seems like there really are other option out there. Thanks again!

www.jerseydirectory.com is the site. What would your area code be? LOL...that's how I had to do it. Zips don't help me a bunch. But if it helps there are 40 registered herds in NY! LOL!

And I was prepared to pay between $750 and $950 as I thought that was all there was but turns out I just had to be patient. LOL!

My area code is 845, but it covers a HUGE area. I did go on that site, and I emailed the 2 that I could find within a 3 hours drive, spanning a few states. We are close to Northern NJ, and parts of CT and PA. I'll give them a call next week if I don't hear back from them by email. I've also been searching craigslist, but sometimes those people can be shady!

I emailed several and never got a reply from a one. But when I called, I left voicemails and even though it took a couple days within a few days I had one that had one for sale. Actually had three places with cows but this one had one ready now and one had a cow that had mastitis in 2 quarters and might lose them and dispite the very low price, I went ahead and pd a little more for one with 4 good quarters. LOL!

Just wondering with those kinds of prices, where is the incentive for anyone to raise good Jersey stock? Everyone thinks $2000 is way overpriced for an animal that the seller has been feeding and providing vet care for 2 years or more, got her bred, trained her to milk, etc. Seems like the value is there?? I have sold weanling beef heifers fresh off their momma for about as much as y'all want to give for a cow with training into her and already producing her product. What am I missing here??

Ya know, I totally understand what you are saying. I agree actually but was thrilled to find one as I did. A lot of things don't make sense with animal prices really. I used to raise dairy goats and could sell my kids at less than 2 months old for $225 and had a hard time getting $150 for a trained milker. Go figure. Like right now, you can find a yearling jersey heifer for $600 but a milk cow for $600 and up. So yep....not sure why but that's how it happens. LOL!

My 1st and third milk cows came from a commercial dairy in East TN and were $1,110 and $1,200, in calf. My second milk cow came from a middle TN beef cow/calf operation that milked Jerseys for his bottle calves. She was $1,200, bought a calf to graft for $300 and she wasn't bred back. Each cow was a registered Jersey, had great bloodlines, even got a Wilderness Blueprint daughter, and were sound.

$2,000 sounds like the low-end show cow prices and is reasonable for one that is not perfect in conformation and bloodlines. It all depends on what you want. Do you want to show cows or milk?! Also, surrendering the calf will cause you grief in the end; make it a clean purchase.

Not living in NY state, I cannot speak to your situation with authority, just telling you my purchasing history to help you decide. Best of luck to you.

Look up Distelberger dairy farm in Middletown (Wallkill), NY. They are cattle brokers and run a dairy farm there. If you're in Putnam, might be worth a drive to Middletown. There farm is practically in the middle of town... East Main Street, I think.

If you'd be willing to come as far as SWPA, I could probably line up a Holstein for you for about half the price.

I work on a small commercial dairy (family farm, about 100 cows) and occasionally we have a low producer who I think would make a good family cow. In fact I can think of one in the herd now right off the top of my head.

The most important thing, as far as a family cow, is: Is she easy to milk? Temperament is part of the equation, but her udder is equally if not more important. Some cows have "tight" teats that are really hard to wring milk out of. If you're hand-milking, you do NOT want one of those! Do not buy a cow without "test-driving" it ... that's my advice.

$2,000 seems a bit steep to me for a "short bred" cow especially one who is not confirmed pregnant.

But anything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, so ... :shrug:

Thank you all so much for the comments and advice. I did hear back from a semi-local dairy (1 1/2 hours away) and I think we'll take the trip up there today to check out what they have. If that doesn't work out, or the prices there seem about the same, then the first cow will be back in contention.

Brooks VW- I did send that dairy an email yesterday, i will call to follow up though. Thanks.

Oh, and I did get an email back from a farmer who is looking to get out of the dairy business. I saw his ads in a couple of places, he's selling equipment and registered Jersey cows. He said in this area the ow market is very high right now, a good cow would cost between $1500 - $2000, with my price range of $1200 or lower he could maybe sell me a 3/4 cow or an older one. So it kind of confirms the price I was getting from the first farmer.

Let us know what happens! I didn't realize there was such an extreme difference state to state. Guess I am lucky! LOL!

For a good sound cow, trained to milk, bred back, currently producing, I don't think $2,000 is out of line. When I thought I was going to sell my cow I was going to ask $1600-$1800 and had people interested at that price, I just decided to keep her. I sold her calf for $400 at two months old.

Ask to milk her or see her milked and ask the woman to get the cow vet checked, then call the vet to ask his opinion on the cow.

Wow, it really does seem that the prices do vary from place to place! Here in southern Oregon, a Jersey that is milking runs about $1200-$1600 depending on age and whether she is pregnant or not.

I was lucky and got mine on a trade when I sold out my rabbitry.

This is a link to a current ad for Jersey cows near me (MO) , but most ads are somewhere between 750 and 1400. Used to be a novely around here for someone to have a dairy cow, but now I can count one every couple miles.

http://shopping.rollanet.org/categor...ces-Below.html

I’d rather pay $2000 for a young healthy cow than $800 for an older cow that’s lost quarters and possible mastitis or milk fever, etc.

I’ve had problems myself buying a “cheap” five year old and seeing the mastitis go to other quarters. Also have read other train wrecks on this and other boards.

If you pay $1000 more, but get 3 more years out of her, that’s only 300 more per year without the vet bills and other headaches.

Having said all this, are you sure you want or need a pure Jersey? Can you use several gallons of milk a day and can you milk that much?

I recommend to most newbies a beef/jersey cross cow – still plenty of milk, and when bred to a beef bull, get a ¾ beef calf which grows much better than jersey for beef.

In fact, I am now milking a beef heifer. Stealing a quart or more a day for just the wife and I. I also have a Hereford/jersey calf I’ll milk someday, but she will probably make too much milk, so will breed to a beef bull to get a heifer making less milk.

The other advantage of a beef cow for milking is the longer teats. Like willowgirl said, some dairy cows have very short teats that are hard to milk.

With lower production, beef cows allow you to hone your milking skills without causing problems if you can’t get all the milk out. And if you need to be gone for a day or two, just let the calf take it all.

Can also get a second beef cow and have them calve different times of the year so can milk one when the other one is dry.

So....how did it go??! Find anything that you like? Hope it went well!

We won't have any answers until later in the week. I am waiting to hear back from one dairy, they're thinking over which cows they would like to present to me for purchase. Another dairy only has holsteins and brown swiss, both of which are too big for us (and produce too much), but it's another option out there. I will go to their farm to check things out on Tuesday if this first dairy doesn't have anything I like, plus that first Jersey (the $2,000 one) is still on the table.

DJ in WA - Thank you for your thoughts! I agree that I'd rather pay more for a healthier younger cow. I just didn't know if that was a reasonable price or not, and didn't want to get taken advantage of because of my naivety, so I thought I'd check around.

With 4 kids soon to be teenagers, the milk will get used here. Because of our land, the smaller the cow the better. I do not have enough pasture to keep more than a cow and calf, and while raising a beef cow sounds like a wonderful idea, it's just not practical. I don't need a pure Jersey at all, but again, it's a size and weight issue and Jersey really seem to be exactly what I'm looking for in a cow. Teat size is not an issue for me. I milk our Nigerian Dwarf goat who has teats the size of half my pinkie. Larger teats would be great, but not a necessity.

I will keep you posted, and should hopefully have an answer by next weekend!

Just my opinion here..........Any cow can be milked if she'll stand for you. You might consider getting a cow that's half beef. Lots of dairys breed their heifers to a beef bull for smaller birthweights and a lot of those cows are heavy milkers. They just don't usually measure up to dairy production standards.

No matter what the price you pay, make sure you can live with it. With the cost of hay and feed ever rising, you'll be surprised how much you will have in a gallon of fresh milk if you're milking her to her full potential.

Even though there aren't any dairys left in my area, there's enough homestead cows and craigslist that you can pick up a family milker for $1000 or less any day of the week that's milking and bred back.

Ouch! My hands are cramping up just thinking about that. :)

You are making my hands cramp just thinking about it! Something to consider though is that it is one thing to milk 1/2 gallon with teats that small...it is another to milk 2 1/2 gallons out of teats that size! LOL!

Well, Big news! We put money down on a cow I saw on Tuesday. She was put on craigslist just that morning, and she is exactly what we were looking for. We had originally wanted a Dexter, then thought about a dexter /jersey cross (a.k.a. Belmont or Irish Jersey) but couldn't find them anywhere, which is why we were looking into a full Jersey. This one we bought is a dexter/jersey cross, 2 year old heifer bred to a Jersey, due in October, at a very decent price of $700.

Her teats are much wider than the Jersey we were looking at, so they do seem easier to milk, and that's with her only just starting to bag up now. We're hoping to bring her home this Saturday, just have to get a new tire on the trailer. The farmer said she is like a big baby, following him around everywhere, but since she's been in the pasture for the last few months, she'll need some working on. Hopefully the 2 months we have before she calves will give her enough time to come around, get used to us, and we can start working her in a stantion. She is certainly short and fat, but now at least the calf will either be a good milker or good beef!

Sounds like you saved some money & got what you wanted....Shopping and waiting pays off...Good luck....Topside

I am so happy for you! Waiting, although SOOOOO hard for me, really does pay off sometimes. That's happened to me before. Look and look for something and finally give up and start looking for what you'll settle for and you'll fall into exactly what you started out wanting! Did that with my jersey/angus bottle baby. Wanted one, wanted one...looked all over and couldn't find one and finally just gave up and looked for all jersey and the first place I went to told me he didn't have anything but his brother had one I probably wouldn't want cause she wasn't all jersey but jersey crossed with angus! lOL! Went right there and bought her.
So see.....patience really does come in hand sometimes. But I'll seldom admit to that! LOL!
Congrats again! Can't wait for pictures!