Question about Jerseys

[cowkeeper]

Are purebred Jersey cattle always a solid color, or are they allowed to have white patches?

[topside1]

This same question recently came up....Try to do a search. The best I can recall many people had pure Jerseys that had spots or splotches...

[leefarms]

I have some registered jerseys that have white on about a quarter or their body. Those are my favorite.

[ilovejerseys]

Yes, they can. If you check out the official Jersey website where you register your jersey, you'll see their page has a white spotted cow!

They are unique.

[matt_man]

We have a registered jersey that has white markings on her head, legs, and belly. Her heifer calf does also. I have also seen that they have splashes of white on their hind quarters.

Rachel

[JeffNY]

What I'd like to know, is where do they get their white spots? Were they crossed with another breed somewhere? I know the Jersey Association was encouraging a cross between a Holstein and a Jersey so the breed wouldn't be as inbred, a way to expand Jerseys.


So anyone know that?


Jeff

[jerzeygurl]

Modern Jerseys may be of a wide range in color. There is little preference today between the solid and broken colors although most breeders slightly prefer the cattle with an unbroken color pattern. Most prefer the dark tongue and switch, but this is more a matter of an identification point than a point of discrimination. The color in Jerseys may vary from a very light gray or mouse color to a very dark fawn or a shade that is almost black. Both the bulls and females are commonly darker about the hips and about the head and shoulders than on the body. Most breeders slightly prefer the medium shades of color to the extremes, but nearly all of them realize that type and producing ability are far more important than the shade of color or whether the color is solid or broken.

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/