Went to look at the amish jersey...

[dk_40207]

We are on the fence. The Cow is 3 or 4 yrs old, $1000, drying up a little giving 3 gallons a day, due to calve in about 4 months. She was out in the field, so we didn't get to handle her, but he said she is the most gentle(the kids milk her), but gave slightly less then his other cows.
I don't know that much about dairy cows yet, so I wasn't sure about her udder. It looked like the back 2 hung lower and the front 2 were a lot higher..so it appeared to be "back saggy". Could this just be because she was drying up?
We weren't expecting show udders, but just need to know if this may pose a big problem. He said she milks fine, no trouble. We thought the $1000 was a bit high given the looks of the udders, but she is due to calve, and Jerseys are all but impossible to come by around here.
She would be a family milker right now and a cow share girl if we get overwhelmed w/ milk after she calves.
He said she also had a touch of pink eye, but he expects it to clear up, they are treating it twice a day w/ peroxide.
We told him we did want her, but needed about 2 weeks to get our ducks in a row. We are supose to write him to tell him what day we will be coming.

Whatda think?

[JeffNY]

Usually the back sagging is due to the ligaments that hold up the udder in the rear, are weak. When the teats point out some, that is either the way her teats are, or the median suspensory ligament is weak. I have a holstein, her teats when full point a little bit out, front dont. She has a strong cleft, it is the way they grew. Either way, what you want is a cow that has a strong, tight udder that will last. That cow could very well have a weak udder, that wont last a long while. With her age being 3-4 yrs, she could very well have some weak ligaments, sounds like breeding to me.


Jeff

[dk_40207]

Jeff, please forgive my ignorance. What do you mean by "sounds like breeding".
I wish I could draw a picture of this udder! It is like normal-ish in the back two, but the front two seems so much higher that they almost point out.....

And what do you mean by an udder "that will last"? What will happen to a non-tight udder, exactly? None of the cows there had a "tight" udder like I see in pictures of the registers dairy cows or sow cows, her was ust a bit more uneven.
Would this do for a family milk cow being hand milked?
Thanks!
Christina

[Up North]

She may have weak center rear ligament as Jeff says. She may not give as many years of service as a cow with better genetics(BREEDING) as regards correct udder structure. She may not have a pretty udder to look at.
But, she will probably give you a few good years of service, meet your needs, and produce her own replacement for you. If she is safe with calf and does have 4 healthy milk producing quarters, she should be ok.
My only caution is if you have other cattle at home, do not bring her home til Pinkeye has cleared-Highly transmissable via flys. Best Luck.

[Dale in Ar]

Well,you done told them that you would take the cow,so you are bound in that.What I would do is,ask for a written agreament of the cost and condition of the cow and that she was bred.This is what they said.If they would not write the agreement ,then I would refuse the deal,because if they are not on the level,you can be stuck with a unbred cow that will not freshen for awhile and may not even have a calf at all.Next,I would get the cow in the barn and milk her to find out if she did give milk.From past experience,I have found some,not all,cows that had a small udder in one area was maybe dried up from past health problems.They still milk but only from the larger part of the udder.This cow may have a genetic problem and have nothing wrong with her deformed udder,but to be on the safe side ,I'd ask for a written agreement to protect both sides and to see the sincerity of the seller.I have never dealt with the Amish but the Minninites are getting a bad reputation in our area of slickering their neighbors and others.Hope your deal turns out for the best.

[Ken Scharabok]

For someone looking for an older Jersey I have a Black Jersey. She may be a cross, but absolutely looks like a Jersey. Has a large brown heifer calf old enough to wean. Heifer has the triangle shaped head of a dairy breed, so bull might have been a Guersney. Nicely shaped bags with finger size tits. She was purchased as a full-mouth, which means she is likely 7-9 years old. I strongly suspect she was someone's milk cow at one time. She is guaranteed bred to either an Angus or long-legged brown bull. Probably the latter as he was the more sexually active of the two.

This cow LOVES to eat so I suspect she can be milked while being fed. Will follow a feed bucket anywhere.

I am not sure, but I thought I saw her nursing a calf which wasn't hers a couple of days ago.

Added: Cow is polled. Calf has horns and reminds me much of a 'young Elsie'.

$1,200 for cow and calf.

Located near Waverly, TN (About mid-state and just east of KY Lake).

[dcross]

Most udders are slightly higher in front, you get slightly more milk from the rear also.

Is the udder high enough for you to get underneath it to milk her? Kinda hard fittin'em with stilts

Never heard of using peroxide in the eyes before. If she still has pinkeye when you get her, you can glue a piece of cloth over the eye until it clears up.

[dk_40207]

In the written statement, what exactly would you have written for the condition of a dairy cow?, and would it just state that she is guarenteed bred.....would we put in writting that we would get a full refund OR replacement cow? I just hate to offend, but I understand the reasoning behind it. We've bought culls from lack of knowledge before...

Thanks for all of the advice! Keep it comin'!

[cindyc]

Originally Posted by Ken Scharabok

For someone looking for an older Jersey I have a Black Jersey. She may be a cross, but absolutely looks like a Jersey. Has a large brown heifer calf old enough to wean. Heifer has the triangle shaped head of a dairy breed, so bull might have been a Guersney. Nicely shaped bags with finger size tits. She was purchased as a full-mouth, which means she is likely 7-9 years old. I strongly suspect she was someone's milk cow at one time. She is guaranteed bred to either an Angus or long-legged brown bull. Probably the latter as he was the more sexually active of the two.

This cow LOVES to eat so I suspect she can be milked while being fed. Will follow a feed bucket anywhere.

I am not sure, but I thought I saw her nursing a calf which wasn't hers a couple of days ago.

$1,200 for cow and calf.

Located near Waverly, TN (About mid-state and just east of KY Lake).

Man, if I had the money I'd be at your door in about two hours.
Cindyc.

[john in la]

Originally Posted by dk_40207

We've bought culls from lack of knowledge before...

Most all older stock is culls. That is what you are looking for if you are shopping dairy cattle. Some are just worse than others so you need to shop around.

This cow sounds like she has a weak utter which means she may not produce like a top of the line cow or last as many years but she should be good enough to raise her own replacement which is a good starting point. The thing you need to watch with a weak utter is how far is it from the ground. Will a bucket fit under her.

I do not agree with any written contracts and would tell you to hit the road if you wanted one. Even million dollar race horses do not come with written guarantees.

Now if you wanted to milk her to see how she handled; measure the amount of milk she is producing today; have a vet check her to prove she is pregnant today; ect that will be ok.
In fact you should expect a out of sight guarantee.
Once you are out of sight there is no guarantee.

[KSALguy]

they do make sling lookin things for dairy cows that have such huge udders that it drags the ground, to help hold them up, if she is produceing milk and needs a little pick me up in the back that shouldnt be a problem, and like they have said she should raise at least one good heifer calf to keep as a replacement if not more, just because she has a tilt to her udder now doesnt mean it will get alot worse tomarrow, you would have plenty to time to milk her and raise a suitable replacement,

is there a bull on the place where the cow is now? can you see the bull she is bred too? this might be good to do as well

[susieM]

Go back and make sure that she is gentle. How much trouble could it be, to bring her in for you to see?

[ozark_jewels]

Is her udder high enough to get a milk bucket under and still have room to get your hands in there and milk her?? Her rear udder *should* be above her hocks for a good milk-bucket fit. It is miserable trying to milk a cow whos udder hangs in the bucket..... Most dairy culls have udders that are slightly higher in the front than in the back. The back quarters give more milk. It is a bit of a pain when milking by machine as dairies do, but its not a problem when milking by hand. It *is* genetic and not desirable, so when breeding her be sure to breed to a bull that does *not* have this problem in his genetics. Always look to improve when breeding, if you get a hiefer, you want her to be better than her dam.
*Don't* buy without getting that cow in the barn and test-milking her! You do not want to get home and find out she is a wild child. Also, be sure the pink-eye is totally cleared up before bringing her home if you have *any* other livestock, it is extremely contagious, especially this time of year(flies).
Have her preg-checked by the vet before you put money down. A cow with an udder like you described is not worth $1000, unless she is for sure bred at time of purchase, in my opinion. So be sure she is bred.
All this does not guarentee that you won't have problems with her, but it should minimize them. All the farmer can guarentee is that the cow was bred when she left his farm. After that, anything can happen(probably won't), and there is nothing he can do about it. I have never had a cow slip her calf when moved, but it can happen, even with healthy cows.
She sounds like she would make a good family milk cow if she is all he says she is, just not a show cow.
Out of curiousity, is her rear-udder lower than her hocks?? If it is at such a young age, her udder can be expected to be very low as an aged cow.

[susieM]

Originally Posted by KSALguy

they do make sling lookin things for dairy cows that have such huge udders that it drags the ground, to help hold them up, if she is produceing milk and needs a little pick me up in the back that shouldnt be a problem, and like they have said she should raise at least one good heifer calf to keep as a replacement if not more, just because she has a tilt to her udder now doesnt mean it will get alot worse tomarrow, you would have plenty to time to milk her and raise a suitable replacement,

is there a bull on the place where the cow is now? can you see the bull she is bred too? this might be good to do as well

Oooh! A bra for cows! Just thinking about it makes me hurt.

[susieM]

Boric acid disolved in sterile water makes a good solution for pink-eye. One quart of water, one tablespoon of boric acid.

[Up North]

Originally Posted by john in la

Most all older stock is culls. That is what you are looking for if you are shopping dairy cattle. Some are just worse than others so you need to shop around.

This cow sounds like she has a weak utter which means she may not produce like a top of the line cow or last as many years but she should be good enough to raise her own replacement which is a good starting point. The thing you need to watch with a weak utter is how far is it from the ground. Will a bucket fit under her.

I do not agree with any written contracts and would tell you to hit the road if you wanted one. Even million dollar race horses do not come with written guarantees.

Now if you wanted to milk her to see how she handled; measure the amount of milk she is producing today; have a vet check her to prove she is pregnant today; ect that will be ok.
In fact you should expect a out of sight guarantee.
Once you are out of sight there is no guarantee.

I am in complete agreement with John on this one. Most dairy farmers are independent, stubborn, and proud. Most still operate on the credo that a man is only as good as his word. Sure there is a bad apple in any line of work. But asking most dairy farmers who spend their lifetime taking care of, nurturing and improving their stock to put a bunch of conditions in writing is tantamount to telling him his word is not good. This will promptly get you ushered to the milkhouse door, SANS COW. A few of the local Irish Blokes may even suggest that you go to a place where it is even hotter than it was today. Sorry if you don't like to hear this, but that's how it is with stockmen & women who feed, milk, and doctor cows 730 times a year.

[dk_40207]

Makes sense. Do you think he would be offended if we ask to(via letter)see her be milked, and milk her a bit ourselves before we take her?( I just hear that teats that stick out are a pain, and because we didn't get to see her up close, I'd like to see how a bucket fits under her)
I do believe that she is bred. The reason is that he wasn't actively trying to sell her. We left them a note, and they wrote us back. He wouldn't have sold any of them, but the milk truck guy quit the week before. He even said he may be interested in buying back the calf. I believe him.
About the pinkeye. I are set to go back for her two weeks from yesterday. Should it be cleared up by then? What if it's not?

Thanks, bunches.

[Up North]

If this is going to be a family milk cow I think it is very important that you handle her a bit yourself or at least see how she behaves for the farmer. I don't see why the pinkeye shouldn't be cleared up in two weeks. When you go to get her take a good look at her eyes. Make sure they are nice and clear. No cloudy spots.

Heather

[Tango]

Pink eye is highly contagious to all animals and humans. Don't bring her to your place unless it is cleared up and it should clear up with proper treatment in a matter of a few days not weeks. I use terramycin eye ointment and it clears up in two days (on goats and dogs).

Do ask that you are allowed to milk her so you can find out what members here are saying. Milking is uncomfortable at first and one quickly realizes how important the udder and teats are. My Jersey has "two finger teats" in the back and I've gotten used to them. When she calves again, I'll leave those for the calf. One homesteader with one cow can live with a disadvantage that a person being rushed to milk several cows by hand doesn't want to deal with but alow udder you can't fit a bucket under that might be the limit for anyone.

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by dk_40207

Makes sense. Do you think he would be offended if we ask to(via letter)see her be milked, and milk her a bit ourselves before we take her?( I just hear that teats that stick out are a pain, and because we didn't get to see her up close, I'd like to see how a bucket fits under her)
I do believe that she is bred. The reason is that he wasn't actively trying to sell her. We left them a note, and they wrote us back. He wouldn't have sold any of them, but the milk truck guy quit the week before. He even said he may be interested in buying back the calf. I believe him.
About the pinkeye. I are set to go back for her two weeks from yesterday. Should it be cleared up by then? What if it's not?

Thanks, bunches.

He should not be offended at all if you ask to handle and milk the cow before buying. That is just common sense and making sure you are making a good investment with your money.