jersey bred to a holstein = calving problems?

[Runnymede Farm]

We bought a beautiful Jersey cow off of Craig's list. She was bred to a Holstein and is now due at the end of the month. Should I be concerned about the size of the calf for her? I hadn't really thought of it until someone asked me if I had a calf puller when I told him she'd been bred to a Holstein. She is of normal Jersey size and has delivered 2 other calves without incident.

Thanks for any input!

[topside1]

Don't want to get you upset but I find it unusual that a Jersey cow was bred by a Holstein bull. Generally it's the other way around, accidents happen I guess. Good luck and welcome to the forum. I noticed in your profile you forgot to fill in your location, we could be neighbors....Topside

[Jennifer L.]

If she's freshened twice before she probably won't have any problems. If she is particularly small, you probably want to be around to help out when she calves, but if she's your average Jersey, she'll probably be ok.

Jennifer

[sammyd]

If she's not a springing heifer she may be all right. Was she AI'd ? If so you could look up the bull for calving ease.

[Runnymede Farm]

Thanks all! She was not AI'd. Her previous owner lived next to a dairy farm and just brought her over when she was in heat. Apparently, the owner of the dairy farm preferred that rather than his bull trying to break through her fence...at least that was the story!

I can't figure out how to put my location but we are in Walnut Grove, MO--about 25 mi NW of Springfield. A wonderful place!!

[francismilker]

If she's calved before I wouldn't worry about it much. Although Holsteins have a pattern of high birthweight calves, Jerseys have a history of low birth weight. Just watch her and keep a good eye on her every few hours when she gets close. If you see her lay down and not produce something after a half hour give her some help.

[travlnusa]

I agree with the others that with this being calf #3, I would worry less.

With that being said, you still need to have the right tools on hand no matter what she is bred to. A set of chains and pulling handles will cost you under $20. Also have a tube feeder if for some reason she will not take to the Dam on her own.

I have Angus and use low(er) birth weight bulls, but I still keep stuff around just in case.

[haypoint]

As cattle breeds go, holsteins have large calves and Jerseys have small calves. Sometimes even holsteins have trouble calving holstein calves.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

[Madsaw]

I was always under the assumption teh cow controls the size of the calf. With that said I have had alot of my jerseys have calves to holstein bulls. I will not keep a jersey bull on the farm. One accident once was a little jersey heifer getting bred to a fencing jump white parks. Nine months later teh heifer had a nice little calf and had many calves after that for me.
The worst trouble I had with a jersey calfing was a old cow AI to jersey. Cracked her pelvis pulling the monster. Took 2 hrs to get him out. We lost teh calf teh next day. I worked with my old cow for 2 weeks before she could stand by herself again. The calf was over 100 pure breed. The cow herself would run about 1300 to 1400 depending on the feed.
So just keep a eye on her when it coems time.
Bob

[haypoint]

I have a neighbor with a fine herd of Hereford and Angus cows. A number of years ago, he tried a Charolais bull.

Nine months later, the Vet became a regular visitor. I'm not sure how much a bovine C-section costs , but nearly all his cows sported a shaved side and huge insision. The Charolais bull found a new home.

http://www.embryoplus.com/cattle_breeds.html

lots of info here.

[wr]

It's probably too late to mention it but something contributes to oversized calves as anything is oversized feeding programs late term. You certainly want to see your cow going into calving in good condition but often people figure if they increase the cow's feed substantially, it will help with milk production and in reality, it can cause big problems. We're range breeders and our feed is calculated based on our pastures being covered in snow for the lead up to calving but on the years that our pastures are open, we find that normal feeding plus carry over grass increases calves birth weights by quite a bit and those rare monsters seem to show up more often.

[agmantoo]

Along with haypoint's post my neighbor tried to improve is herd with a Gelveih bull and about put himself out of business 3 years ago. Same problem, calves too large to calve naturally.

[Runnymede Farm]

Thanks for more info everyone! I am feeling more confident it will be OK. We're watching her closely. We haven't been feeding her too much, either.

We had a bad outcome with our Holstein being bred to a Charolais bull by mistake, too. The calf died and our Sarah almost did, too. Now we live next to a farm with Beefmasters. Nice small babies!

Susan in Walnut Grove, MO

[Runnymede Farm]

Just thought I'd let you all know--Maggie had a bull calf on Wednesday. No problems. He's a beauty!

[gone-a-milkin]

Yay! Congratulations on your new calf, and all that milk!