Mini/Old World Jersey

Lost-Nation · #41 01/24/14, 07:55 PM

Disclaimer: I'm a dairy goat person who "dabbles" in cows, having a pet/beloved Guernsey family milk cow for the past 7 or so years & just recently adding Jerseys - little-ish ones, but not those waist-high ones that cost a couple of appendages just b/c they're cute & small, & trendy. (there are a couple of mini breeders who are also breeding for nice udders & good production, on milk-test & everything, but sorry, the majority are breeding novelty pasture decoration type things to make $$$)

I don't know abt asking the breeders of the $$$ Minis - of COURSE they'll tell you how fabulous they are & how your life isn't complete without one, LOL!

I wholeheartedly agree w/ the people who are talking about efficiency. I don't see any sense in feeding something that eats as much as 8 goats, & gives as much milk as 1 good goat, either. It's a farmer thing. We can't help it.

Matter o' fact, I bought one of those a couple of months ago in the form of a smaller-statured Jersey (46" at the hip). I bought her w/ an even smaller-statured Jersey (43" at the hip so qualifies as a Mid-Sized Mini) who gives 3.5 gallons (both first fresheners, BTW), is as sweet as can be, & doesn't require a bunch of fancy feedstuffs to keep giving pretty close to that much milk, even being accustomed to the silage/grain/etc. commercial dairy diet & transitioning over to my minimal grain/grass-based regimen.

I got a really good deal on them b/c the kid was wanting to go "Show Holstein" with his herd & had his eye on some $$$ stock, so wanted them outa there & the $ in there ASAP, to go buy his fancy show heifer, LOL. He also fell in love w/ our Farmcollie puppies & suggested deducting her price from their purchase price

I sold the bigger/low production one just a couple of weeks after their purchase b/c she was one of those "stereotypical temperamental Jerseys" you always hear about. Plus, I really do NOT see any sense in feeding something that big, that much, only to get a gallon & a half of milk. That's some expensive pig feed! (their primary job right now is finishing out pigs, LOL)

I also agree w/ whomever said to just make your own - find a nice, smaller statured Jersey, if possible - if not, just a **nice** Jersey since that's most important - & breed her to smaller-statured bulls!

I'm a research junkie & keep a close eye on "the market" to be sure the price is fair for what I'm buying or selling, & Jersey milk cows are running anywhere from $1000 up to double that, just depending on if they're in milk, bred back, how much they're producing, how "family milk cow-ish" they are, pregnancy tested, location, stuff like that. All of those criteria hold monetary value & factor into price.

& oh yeah, be careful b/c they're pretty addictive! After selling that persnickety low-producing milker, I bought a group of heifers that I didn't need - but boy were they cute & awwww, in need of TLC (& I'm a sucker, LOL) & . . . yeah. It's hard not to succumb!

commonsense · #42 02/01/14, 08:16 AM

I keep a small dairy herd that is mainly comprised of Jerseys, small-statured but not minis. I had a few large breed dairy cows, but they really do eat more, take up more space, push around the smaller cows, etc, so I sold them and kept a really nice bull calf to raise as my replacement bull. He is a pure Jersey bull, but short, so I will continue to keep my future cows on the small side.

I like the smaller cows, but really have no desire to go "mini", just because it's harder to attach milking equipment to a low cow with a full udder. And, we have zero calving issues, everyone is sized just right.

Temperament-wise, I only had one jersey who was nasty. She was a phenomenal milker though, so as soon as I got a heifer from her, I sold her. A couple of my jerseys are a little flighty, but they settle down well into a routine and become very sweet.

So for me, my ideal herd is small, but not mini.