Dexter vs Jersey -which one is The Best?

[happydog]

I know less than nothing about cows but I need a milk cow for our tiny homestead. We only drink about a quart of milk a day, although we do plan to raise 2-3 weaner pigs in the summer and have a small laying flock. (And I eat plenty of butter and cheese.)

I need something that's fairly tough and hardy, that will calve easily, that is small and easy for a newbie to handle, with a good temperament, and that we can eat the male calves.

I had decided that a Dexter would be perfect until I saw a Jersey calf and went AWWWE. They look so much -SWEETER - than a Dexter!
Now that's a ridiculous detour from practicality so I put it right out of my head. I can't afford to be sentimental about this.

Then I read The Self Sufficient Life and this:

"I unequivocally recommend a Jersey because I am convinced that for a small homestead she is without peer. I have tried Dexters with complete lack of success...my two gave less milk than a goat... A well bred Jersey gives plenty of milk and is small, healthy, very hardy, moderate in her eating demands, and is so lovable and docile that you'll be tempted to take her into the house with you."

On the other hand, the Jersey cows I've seen have these huge, grotesquely swollen looking udders, they remind me of strippers or Dolly Parton and look like they are in sore need of some support. (Uh oh, another ridiculous detour!) But those huge udders sure look like overachievers, are they more prone to mastitis or infections or just plain overwork? I need an animal who doesn't require much vet care.

I could sure use some opinions from folks in the trenches. What do you think? What are the pros and cons of Dexters vs Jerseys?

Thanks!

[southerngurl]

Sounds to me like you're describing a goat

[ozark_jewels]

I just love the jerseys so of course I would reccomend them. Ours have always been hardy, easy to keep, good cows. We have had Jerseys for about 20 years now. Our Blossom was just retired at 17 years of age and many, many calves.
They have been good for every need you describe and their beef is delicious.

I don't know what Jerseys you've seen, but your average homestead milker is not going to look as you describe it, "huge, grotesquely swollen looking udders, they remind me of strippers or Dolly Parton and look like they are in sore need of some support".

These are our Jersey milkers.....do they look like that to you?? To me they just look like cows.











None are *full* in these photos but they aren't like that when REALLY full, either.

There are of course lots of folks who like Dexters.

[genebo]

The Dexter is made for people like you. It fits every phrase you used to describe what you want.

Jerseys are nice, too. But a jersey is a larger cow that gives a lot more milk than you say you want. You have to feed the cow to get that milk. It's better to have a Dexter that eats far less and gives less milk.

The Dexter beef is really good, too. Jersey meat is all right, but it isn't anywhere near the best.

I believe you'll be just fine with a Dexter. As a bonus, if your milk needs increase, you can add another and still only eat about as much as a heavy milk producing Jersey. If you time their pregnancies, you can always have one in milk. You'll get two calves that way, too.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[ozark_jewels]

Originally Posted by genebo

Jersey meat is all right, but it isn't anywhere near the best.

This is a matter of personal opinion. My family and many others like Jersey beef the best. So its all personal preference....

[topside1]

Jersey meat is outstanding...Our freezer has been filled by many different breeds, by far Jersey is the best. Jersey steers take a bit longer to mature, but it's worth the wait.

[Wags]

Yes Dexters can vary in their milk output. But if you pay attention to pedigrees or get a cow already milking you will have a good idea what they produce. There are several all Dexter Creamerys and their cows avg 3+ gals a day.

Here are some nice Dexter udders (taken at Celestial farms):





(First Freshener)

I just bought two Dexter heifers because their milk output is a better match. But I do love the look of a Jersey!

[matt_man]

We have had both and found that a Dexter just wasn't for us and now we have two jersey cows and a heifer in waiting. Neither of ours have the grotesquely huge udders that you were describing either. If you come across one like it, pass it along until you find one with an udder that you like.

Rachel

[6ncounting]

Originally Posted by happydog

On the other hand, the Jersey cows I've seen have these huge, grotesquely swollen looking udders, they remind me of strippers or Dolly Parton and look like they are in sore need of some support. (Uh oh, another ridiculous detour!) But those huge udders sure look like overachievers, are they more prone to mastitis or infections or just plain overwork? I need an animal who doesn't require much vet care.

LOL LOL

[doodles]

If you plan to use your milk for cheese, butter or just want cream, please remember that the milk from a dexter is naturally homogenized and will not get a good creme line. I just had a call today from a fellow who has been milking his dexters for quite sometime but is very unhappy with not being able to get the creme to separate. I have goats that easily give 2 gallons per day of homogenized milk and they eat lots less than a dexter but for drinking I prefer my Jersey milk. We show Alpines and love them dearly but that Jersey milk reigns supreme in my opinion.

[Wags]

Dexter milk does have small fat globules but it is not actually homogenized. It does take longer for the cream to rise than other dairy cows milk.

[Slev]

I too had that question, Jersey vs. dexter. I have had several Dexters, and like them, but realize that unless you get the right cow, you'll be unhappy with it's output, and then judge the entire breed on that negitive experience, be it Jersey or Dexter. That, plus, the Dexter fans will like the Dexters and the Jersey fans will claim Jerseys... IMHO, The only real people who can offer such advice is someone who's had both, such as Matt Man, but I know there are others. But even at that, it's like I said, if you are basing your findings on a poor representitive of that given breed, then you're shorting yourself. ...just MHO Like I said, I've had several Dexters, and so I've gone out and bought me a Jersey so I can be one of those few folks out there with knowledge of both breeds.

Good luck, I'd just get the Dexter, unless you can get a Jersey cheap enough,

[unclejae]

Get a cross. Thats what we did. Dexter father with a full sized jersey mother. She looks dexter but just a bit bigger.

Unclejae

[bricned]

I have had both breeds and can honestly say that the jersey or a good jersey
cross breed is hard to beat. I have had dexters twice from two different lines
and did not find them to hold a candle to a good jersey. In fact one time I
Purchased a hole herd from a man up in Ark. I was glad when I saw the last one leave my place.

[happydog]

Gee, I was kind of hoping for a unanimous decision here, guys.

I agree with you Southerngurl, goats would seem to be what I need. I tried goats when my children were small. We all tried valiantly to acquire a taste for goat milk, until the youngest one observed that "Annie's milk tastes just like her breath" and after that none of us had the heart to pretend any more. I gotta have a cow.

I've been getting raw milk and making kefir for about a year and it has totally turned around my digestion and health. My favorite part of The Self Sufficient Life is this,

"Nothing keeps the health of a family, and a farm, at a high level better than a cow. If you and your children have ample good, fresh, unpasteurized milk, butter, buttermilk, cheese, yogurt, and whey, you will simply be a healthy family, and that is the end of it. If your pigs and poultry get their share of the milk by products, they also will be healthy and will thrive. If your garden gets plenty of cow manure, that too will be healthy and thrive. This cow will be the wellspring of all your health and well-being."

That's a lot of pressure to put on a new cow!

Ozark_Jewels, that last picture hugging the cow was most persuasive. I want a pretty cow I can Love. I have to look at her all day, so I'd sure like a pretty, sweet cow. And those udders don't seem too big. Maybe I'm just used to seeing goat udders, I dunno. I've nursed four babies (not at the same time) so maybe I feel extra sympathetic for poor old cows that have huge 5 gallon udders knocking on their knees.

genebo - you made some important points. I do need a SMALL cow! I only have an acre (though I'm hoping when the economy gets bad the out of town neighbors will sell me some additional acreage.) I'll have to plan and manage it very carefully and I'll need to buy hay all winter for her. Luckily everyone around here grows hay for the beef cattle.

I really appreciate everyone's viewpoint. I guess the important thing is to be extra careful with picking the individual cow, rather than insisting on one breed. Also, it'll depend on what I can get around here. I wouldn't mind a cross either. I just want some good milk, I'm going through withdrawal!

One more question - which one is tougher? I'm in the mountains, in Western NC and the winter can sometimes be harsh. I'm planning to pasture my animals during the day and put them in a barn at night. We have coyotes. I need something that doesn't have delicate digestion or get mastitis and is generally healthy. No time for prima donnas. Do either have the advantage there?

Thanks SO MUCH everybody!!!

[matt_man]

Originally Posted by happydog

Ozark_Jewels, that last picture hugging the cow was most persuasive. I want a pretty cow I can Love. I have to look at her all day, so I'd sure like a pretty, sweet cow. And those udders don't seem too big. Maybe I'm just used to seeing goat udders, I dunno. I've nursed four babies (not at the same time) so maybe I feel extra sympathetic for poor old cows that have huge 5 gallon udders knocking on their knees.

genebo - you made some important points. I do need a SMALL cow! I only have an acre (though I'm hoping when the economy gets bad the out of town neighbors will sell me some additional acreage.) I'll have to plan and manage it very carefully and I'll need to buy hay all winter for her. Luckily everyone around here grows hay for the beef cattle.

Our two jersey cows are small girls and the heifer we have is 1/2 mini and we can tell she is going to be quite small as well. The 2 yr old first calf heifer we bought this spring is actually the same size/a bit smaller than our Dexter was. They are about the same height but she is shorter lengthwise than the Dexter.

Our 2 yr old gives 3 gallons of milk/day, peaked at 4. This was taken the day she calved:



Our other cow is only 45" tall and peaked at 4.5 gallons/day. Here she is with her 1/2 mini heifer calf:

[Tabitha]

I guess with cows it is like with people, no two are alike. We got Dexters and if I had to judge them by my experience so far I would be disgusted. but then, I am sure part of the problem is myself. I am also milking two goats, compared to the Dexter it is pure pleasure, they milk easy, there is a thick foam on top of the milk. the Dexter does not want to be milked, period. husband had her gentled and she started out letting me milk her, I tied her to a fencepost and put feed in front her and she wuld munch and I would milk, but for the last week now she will not stand to be tied for all the sweet feed in the world. She has tiny nipple holes, what I milk in five minutes with the goats takes me half an hr and she does not care for that. My hands feel worn out, there is a tiny stream and when I milk her two hind spickets out I get a bit more than a quart. Not enough to even think about making butter, the reason I wanted a cow. If all Dexters were like that, I would forget it. As it is, I feel really frustrated, I can not in good conscience sell her to someone else. Our other Dexters are a wild bunch, over winter they gentled down, would let us pet them and massage their udders, but the moment they had a calf they were off to the back fourty with a very unfriendly attitude. we are not exactly set up for them well either, we do not have a milk stand, stalls to confine them.

[Wags]

You might find this link to the Finger Lakes Dexter Creamery interesting reading. They have quite a few dun cows - which is my favorite color.

[happydog]

Wow, thanks Rachel. 4 and a half gallons a day or even 3 is an awful lot of milk! I'm trying to guesstimate how much I'll really use - not anywhere near that much I think. There's only two of us and DH doesn't drink milk, so maybe a gallon a day if I'm really industrius with making butter and cheese? 2-3 weaner pigs to raise in the summer and a dozen hens. I wish I knew how much a pig would drink. Maybe a gallon?

When you said in your first post that Dexters weren't for you, can you elaborate some? What was it about them that didn't work for you?

And then just as I'm thinking I'd better stick with Dexters or I'll be awash in milk, I read the next post, Yikes, that doesn't sound good either. Even if I'm careful and get an older proven milker, what about her heifer, will she be a good milker? Is a great milking Dexter the exception rather than the rule?

Thanks for the link Wags. I did read that. They say an average Dexter gives 1.5 to 2.5 gallons a day. I wonder how many cows they audition to get a whole herd that gives 3 gallons apiece.

Also, they leave the calves with their mamas so how much milk does a calf take? Maybe between us, the pigs and a calf I might need that 3-4 gallons a day.

Is there anyone here who's had both breeds and prefered Dexters?
And can anyone give an estimate of how much more a Jersey would eat than a Dexter?

Thanks, all. This is really giving me a lot to consider. I'm trying to figure it all out ahead so I don't end up like poor Tabitha.

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by happydog

And can anyone give an estimate of how much more a Jersey would eat?

In winter, and when she's not in milk, I give my Jersey Tulip gets each day, a1/2 small square bale of nothing special hay, and 3 pounds of 18% dairy ration per day. The hay costs me $2 per bale, and dairy ration is $17.95 CWT; this works out to about $1.50 a day.

When she is in milk and it is winter she gets the same 1/2 bale of hay, and 9# of ration per day; this works out to about $2.50 per day. In summer and when she is in milk she gets the same 9# of ration and eats all the grass she wants; this works out to about $1.50 per day, and summer or winter, I get 3 to 3 1/2 gallons of milk per day for a once per day milking.

For the first three mionths of her milking cycle she's feeding a calf 12 hours per day, and I still get the same amount of milk.

I like nearly every breed of cow and after a lifetime of being around Jerseys, and just for a change, I would love to have something else, if anything else held a candle to a Jersey I would get it.