Mini Dairy Cows

[minifarmer]

Anyone milk their mini cows? Is it worth it?

[Callieslamb]

I was looking at a milking dexter a week ago. The man that has them, doesn't milk them but is raising them so they can be. But he is trying to get out of the breed. Says they eat as much as his other cows and manure as much too. Have to have a special bull, etc. They weren't what he expected. I decided against buying one.

[MARYDVM]

My Dexter X Mini Jersey eats half what a full size cow eats, and produces less milk too. But that's perfect for me. I don't need gallons every day. I get more milk than I need, let her raise her calf, and raise a pig off the extra. It may not be "worth it" commercially, but for a small family they are perfect.

[genebo]

The key would be how much milk you want.

You have to pay for all the milk you get, in grass, hay or feed. It's a shame to feed and support a heavy producer when all you want is a gallon a day.

Many a small family uses a mini cow, such as a Dexter or Dexter/Jersey cross, to supply their milk and raise a beef calf. It's a natural for small acreage, where the land won't support a large breed, heavy producer.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[Onthebit]

My Dexter produces 4 gallons/2x day milking and the other who is a first timer is producing 2. (she is capable of more but was a struggle to get her to milk at all) So I am making cheese every single day and storing extra milk in the freezer to finnish my meat birds on. Have another milking Dexter to calve yet and she was producing 3+ her first year milking.

Funny that man said his eat as much as a big breed.....I think when he switches breeds he is going to be in for a BIG surprise!!

[linn]

My Dexter is also milking at least 4 gallons per day at her peak. Some Dexter lines milk better than others. Many first-calf heifers usually won't give much more than their calf will take.

We are milking Old World and mini jerseys-- they take about 1/2 the pasture that their standard counterparts take and we get an average of 2 gallons per day w/out pushing them or putting feed to them. They have not been hand-milked before, just had calves on them, so we expect next lactation to increase. The milk is very high in cream content and we make our own cheese, butter, s.cream, etc.. Anything left after the cow shares feeds the pigs. -ron
http:www.miniaturejerseyforsale.com

[deineria]

AppSprings, could you PM me an idea of your pricing on the mini Jersey heifers you sell?

[arcticow]

Originally Posted by AppSpringsFarm

We are milking Old World and mini jerseys-- they take about 1/2 the pasture that their standard counterparts take and we get an average of 2 gallons per day w/out pushing them or putting feed to them. They have not been hand-milked before, just had calves on them, so we expect next lactation to increase. The milk is very high in cream content and we make our own cheese, butter, s.cream, etc.. Anything left after the cow shares feeds the pigs. -ron
http:www.miniaturejerseyforsale.com

Was raised in registered Jersey world, just when size really started to differ 'tween Island and U.S. Jerseys. Semen is available from Island sources, so genetics need not be so restricted.

[minifarmer]

Appsrings, you are getting 2gallons per head from the mini jersey? What is the average weight of a minijersey?

Linn: you are getting 4 gallons from a mini Dexter? That is wonderful! What is the average weight of a mini Dexter?

How much hay do these mini dairy cows eat in a month? Or a better question would be how many acres of good pasture would be good for a single mini?

We are currently running dairy goats until our land is cleared enough to put it to pasture, then I want a cow. We have a family of 7, so all the milk we get from 2 or 3 Nubian goats is enough (approx 1.5 gallons per day) So a 2 gallon per day mini would fit nicely.

[Onthebit]

Originally Posted by minifarmer

Appsrings, you are getting 2gallons per head from the mini jersey? What is the average weight of a minijersey?

Linn: you are getting 4 gallons from a mini Dexter? That is wonderful! What is the average weight of a mini Dexter?

How much hay do these mini dairy cows eat in a month? Or a better question would be how many acres of good pasture would be good for a single mini?

We are currently running dairy goats until our land is cleared enough to put it to pasture, then I want a cow. We have a family of 7, so all the milk we get from 2 or 3 Nubian goats is enough (approx 1.5 gallons per day) So a 2 gallon per day mini would fit nicely.

Go with the mini jersey then, the Dexter's produce too much and require the same amt. pasture! I do think she/he meant sharemilking whereas I am not.......

[linn]

Dexters are not really mini cows. Their ancestors were small cattle. They are not bred to be a miniature of what the breed represents. I do share milk. I milk out one gallon in the morning and one gallon in the evening. I leave half the udder for her calf, therefore I figure she is giving 4 gallons per day or a little more at her peak production. She is always bred to calve in late spring or early summer, so the grass is at its peak also. Her production drops off in the winter. She has been producing this much for at least two years now. Here are a couple of pictures of her just after her last calving.



I think that is some udder full of milk for a Dexter. My cow probably weighs about 650 lbs.

[francismilker]

I have a couple of mini jersey that will raise their own calf and give about two gallons per day average from handmilking. They work good for raising an extra calf on if you prefer not to milk.

[genebo]

As a dual purpose breed, the Dexter is best suited to give you a modest amount of milk while simutaneously raising a calf for beef.

Good, heavy producing Dexters may give 3 gallons or more per day if fed for production. An average Dexter cow will give about 2 or 2.5 gallons per day without excessive extra feed.

Of course, the calf will require a lot of that milk to grow fast and make good beef. The people who have bought Dexters from me are happiest when they take 1 gallon each day for themselves and leave the rest for the calf. This is hardly a strain on the cow and she can live a long, healthy life this way.

A few, who wanted more milk than that, keep more than one cow. That lets them stagger freshening times so they always have milk. If they need even more milk than that, they look to other breeds.

Those who do the "1 gallon for me and the rest for the calf" plan rave over the beef they get. Tasty and tender. No matter how you feed it after it quits nursing, the jump start it gets while it's nursing helps make the beef great.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[Onthebit]

Originally Posted by genebo

As a dual purpose breed, the Dexter is best suited to give you a modest amount of milk while simutaneously raising a calf for beef.

Good, heavy producing Dexters may give 3 gallons or more per day if fed for production. An average Dexter cow will give about 2 or 2.5 gallons per day without excessive extra feed.

Of course, the calf will require a lot of that milk to grow fast and make good beef. The people who have bought Dexters from me are happiest when they take 1 gallon each day for themselves and leave the rest for the calf. This is hardly a strain on the cow and she can live a long, healthy life this way.

A few, who wanted more milk than that, keep more than one cow. That lets them stagger freshening times so they always have milk. If they need even more milk than that, they look to other breeds.

Those who do the "1 gallon for me and the rest for the calf" plan rave over the beef they get. Tasty and tender. No matter how you feed it after it quits nursing, the jump start it gets while it's nursing helps make the beef great.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

I do NOT feed for excessive production. I select for milky cows who can produce on hay or grass. They get a can of rolled barley 2x daily at milking with a cup of dairy ration. I hardly think thats pushing them to produce. 1 gallon share-milking is unacceptable IMO!

[Onthebit]

Here is a Dexter 'nurse' cow! She got no extra feed at all just pasture. She is not a dwarf but is 40.5 inches tall.

[linn]

Neither do I feed for maximum production. As I said I feed what the cow will eat while I am taking half the milk. I take one gallon per milking, night and morning, that is half of what she is giving, the calf gets the rest. My calves seem to do great, using this method. Many Dexters from milky lines will easily give four gallons per day, during their peak production years. A cow will adjust to how much milk is taken. If she is just nursing a calf, and the calf doesn't take all the milk, she will stop producing as much milk, so milk sharing with the calf or starting two or more baby calves on a cow will pay off in sustained production. However, as I said, not all Dexters are from milky lines. This is where doing one's homework pays off.

[LizD]

Originally Posted by genebo

As a dual purpose breed, the Dexter is best suited to give you a modest amount of milk while simutaneously raising a calf for beef.

Good, heavy producing Dexters may give 3 gallons or more per day if fed for production. An average Dexter cow will give about 2 or 2.5 gallons per day without excessive extra feed.

Of course, the calf will require a lot of that milk to grow fast and make good beef. The people who have bought Dexters from me are happiest when they take 1 gallon each day for themselves and leave the rest for the calf. This is hardly a strain on the cow and she can live a long, healthy life this way.

A few, who wanted more milk than that, keep more than one cow. That lets them stagger freshening times so they always have milk. If they need even more milk than that, they look to other breeds.

Those who do the "1 gallon for me and the rest for the calf" plan rave over the beef they get. Tasty and tender. No matter how you feed it after it quits nursing, the jump start it gets while it's nursing helps make the beef great.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

I don't 'feed for production' either unless someone considers grass feeding a production line. I choose cows with potential and then use AI bulls, known for the improvements they make on various points of conformation. I have cows that typically put out more per pound in milk than my Jersey. All of my girls top the 3 gallon a day mark but that's genetics not feed.

I also find that Dexters are excessively 'motherly' and if I don't remove the calf they tend to 'decide' how much milk they should allow me to have sometimes my portion would be a couple of liters!! I give the calves one gallon of milk per day and I use the rest .... but I still have a waiting list for grass fed Dexter beef, it's amazing!!

Liz, (la Canadienne qui parle francais!!! )

[minifarmer]

Wow, I think I like the Dexter. I like dual purpose animals. I want to be clear, A Dexter cow is not a mini? It is just a smaller breed?

[genebo]

To get technical, a Dexter is not a miniature, since a miniature is a smaller version of something larger. There are no large, 'standard' size Dexters. They're all small.

In terms of size, the Dexters are the same size as those that are miniatures of another breed, so it's OK to call them minis. The current usage of the phrase 'mini cow' simply means a small cow.

One implication of this is that a Dexter had two small Dexter parents, so the offspring will be almost exactly the same as the parents. Not all miniature cattle have two parents of the same breed so their offspring can vary.

Some mini cattle are actually crossbreeds of a Dexter and another breed. They got their appearance from the other breed and their small size from the Dexter. Their offspring may be more like a Dexter, the other breed, or anything in between.

As far as dual purpose goes, Dexter beef has won awards as the best tasting beef in the world more than once. In one contest in England, Dexter was first, Angus was second, and Kobe (the wildly expensive beef from Japan) was third.

A characteristic of Dexters that hasn't been mentioned is their temperament. As a breed, they're the gentlest of all. They're used for oxen, as pets, or in petting zoos because of their nature.

Their are some really good Dexter breeders in Texas. Find some nearby to visit. I feel certain you'll come away convinced.

Let us know your decision.

Genebo
Paradise Farm