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05/07/14, 09:09 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oxford, Ark
Posts: 4,471
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Quote:
Originally Posted by haypoint
I was trying to introduce an other option. Check the sale barn prices for your area. Perhaps a 5 month old Jersey Heifer could be sold and a pair of week old beef cross steers purchased. If you end up with a Jersey bull calf, perhaps you could buy another, fairly cheap, to raise together.
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This is what I was saying.
No, AIing your Jersey with sexed semen doesn't give you a beef calf to raise - directly.
But you can easily sell a Jersey heifer for a pure beef calf - and any beef breed will give you more beef than a Jersey crossed with anything - and possibly also enough $$ to feed your beef out, as well.
You don't have to get a pair of baby calves, the $6-800 that a 5 month old Jersey heifer would bring here would get you a nice size steer, or, even better, an strapping big Angus freemartin (the best beef comes from freemartins, and for reasons related to feedlot management they sell cheaper than steers). If you aren't set on a black hide, and will feed out something unlucky enough to have a white spot or show signs of Brahma blood, you may well be able to get something nearly ready for the processor.
So, weighing the scales; scrawny jersey cross that you have to pay to feed vs. beef steer and ton of corn for him.
Me, I would breed for a pure jersey heifer, sell her and get a big beef weaner or finisher.
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05/07/14, 10:52 PM
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-Melissa
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: springfield, MO area
Posts: 795
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sexed semen is not a 100% female guarantee... yes, it's better than unsexed, but not a 100% for-sure thing. I'm unlucky enough that I could use sexed and get a bull... or a free martin female. :/
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05/08/14, 12:23 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Oxford, Ark
Posts: 4,471
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No, it's not a sure thing, but it's a better than 90% chance, and I'll take those odds. Worst case scenario, you eat some Jersey beef, and that's what you were getting anyway (Every Jersey cross I've seen, the Jersey influence is strong)
After all, if you breed to a beef bull, you've a 50% chance of getting a heifer, which isn't going to grow as well for meat, and won't be near as valuable for breeding as a purebred of either.
In fact, I don't know a beef farmer who'll buy a cow that's more than 1/4 jersey, if that, because they don't want the potential calving trouble. You might get lucky and sell her to a homesteader at better than sale-barn prices. Or you might get stuck trying to fatten a half-dairy heifer to eat.
When you balance it all out, the tiny chance of getting a Jersey bull calf is totally outweighed by other factors.
And you only get a freemartin with twins. I'd not think myself unlucky with twins. LOL, after all, it takes 2 Jerseys to equal one beef steer anyway.
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A ship in the harbor may be safe, but that's not what ships are built for
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05/08/14, 06:51 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: va
Posts: 738
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On the limousine thing, I doubt very seriously that limousine calves would average anything close to 77 pounds bred to Jerseys. They have a habit of sizing the calf to the cow. That 77 pound average probably comes from 100 pound calves from big mature cows and 40 pound calves from small heifers. I know a guy that bred a chianina to a jersey, kind of by accident, (ever try to talk a chianina bull out of something?) Little bitty calf, when it was born, a foot taller than mom when weaned, had to get down on his knees to suck. I wouldn't knock the limo idea, in terms of what you could breed a jersey to and get the most beef out of a steer calf, without bringing in auction calves. Don't know if it would be a good idea on a heifer, though.
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05/08/14, 06:58 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: WV
Posts: 164
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Your aim here is a small calf, easy for the mama to birth especially if you are dealing with a small cow or if she is a young heifer. Another jersey is always a good choice but if you are looking for something beefier an angus; AI scored for small birthweights (not just any) works well. We've had a couple and they were very nice. Easy births and nice steers. Another great choice would be a dexter. Nice small calves, great little steers plus there is a market for jersey/dexter crosses for milk cows in case you get a heifer.
I would personally be cautious of the larger beef breeds. Herefords have wide heads and some breeds have very large calves.
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05/11/14, 08:22 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: PA, FL
Posts: 165
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wvdexters
Your aim here is a small calf, easy for the mama to birth especially if you are dealing with a small cow or if she is a young heifer. Another jersey is always a good choice but if you are looking for something beefier an angus; AI scored for small birthweights (not just any) works well. We've had a couple and they were very nice. Easy births and nice steers. Another great choice would be a dexter. Nice small calves, great little steers plus there is a market for jersey/dexter crosses for milk cows in case you get a heifer.
I would personally be cautious of the larger beef breeds. Herefords have wide heads and some breeds have very large calves.
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YES!
Jersey and Dexter have a similar profile. The Dexter has more 'meat' quality.
Anyone who thinks breading a Jersey heifer to a limousine is not thinking of the mothers health!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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05/14/14, 12:07 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 841
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I'll be breeding my little Jersey heifer to a jersey bull. I agree wtih Haypoint. If I get a bull calf, that's meat in the freezer (love jersey meat here) and if I get a heifer, she'll bring a good dollar if I decide to sell. Plus, I've put too much work into my hiefer to risk breeding her to something that could risk her health
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05/14/14, 01:12 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 65
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Do Jersey steers grow a nice amount of beef?
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05/14/14, 02:38 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Northern Michigan (U.P.)
Posts: 9,384
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Homesteader333
Do Jersey steers grow a nice amount of beef?
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Nice?
Jersey is a small breed. Milk breeds have less meat per pound of total weight than beef breeds.
Nice? Better than eating a Leghorn rooster, for sure.
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05/15/14, 10:28 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Central Oregon
Posts: 6,172
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Homesteader333
I am planning to get a jersey cow/heifer in the future and I wanted to know what I could cross her with to get a nice calf that will be used for beef. ..........!
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It depends upon which cow you buy. If she is a high quality registered Jersey, then used sexed semen from a Jersey bull that is close to top of the line. If you want a beef calf, you sell your registered high quality jersey heifer and buy a full beef bred feeder beef calf with the money. (notice I said "feeder". Don't buy a bottle baby)
If your cow is a grade jersey, and / or she has conformation flaws, then you AI with semen from a purebred Angus. The semen comes with all sorts of statistics about what the bull produces, including average birth weight and head size.
Some of those Angus bulls will be marketed as first calf heifer bulls. That's what you want. Look for a "first calf heifer" bull who has a cute small head and huge hams on him. try to get one that produces a large ribeye (yes, there are figures for that, too, in the bull's profile)
I don't know if it is worth buying sexed semen for a beef bull, but if there isn't much price difference, buy semen that will get you a bull calf and elastrate the little guy as soon as his testicles drop.
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05/15/14, 06:45 PM
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Family Jersey Dairy
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Illinois
Posts: 4,773
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We have bred a couple Jersey cows to Red angus, they have had wonderful calves. They are smaller at birth but seem to really take off after they are born. I wouldn`t breed a Jersey to just any beef bull, only a low birth weight bull. Trust me having calves that are to big at birth are not good for anyone, the cow can die, the calf may die, and you will wish you hadn`t done it.
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