My old cow

[Madsaw]

Many years ago I decided to cross a gurnesy heifer to a brown swiss bull. This was her calf. Bagel is around 15 now. She had this bull calf ealier today. She is also the mother to my brahma cross heifer too. This is a testment as to how long cows will last. She has had issue with her hoof problems over the years. Seems to be a trait from the gurnesy side. Seemed as if she had a softer hoof that would not take to rough rocky soil or on cement. With most of the heifers we kept from the bull we used in the crossing never had a issue. Those heifers were holstein swiss cross.
Bob

Here is Myst her brahma cross

[gone-a-milkin]

Good job, Bagel.
Maybe it is just the pic, but she doesn't look very Swiss-ey in that shot.

In case I ever wondered what a guernsey/swiss/brahma corss looked like?
Now I know.
Gosh is she ever fancy with all that brindle hide!
She shows more swiss than I would have thought.
Pretty girl.

You must be doing something right for your Bagel to still be going strong and calving at 15.

Great job.

[Judy in IN]

Good old Mama cow. Where do you think the brindle came from?

Cows sure can last a long time when they don't live on concrete.

[myheaven]

I hope holly aka storm sticks around for that long. She is so sweet. My dh even admitted she is his favorite. Holly is so sweet. She has spunk but is also calm. She has major mIlk veins and good mammary glands. I think she will be a high producer. And she is only a little over 6 months old.
For me I swear by crossing animals. I prefer mutts. They seem to be heartier and last longer.

[Madsaw]

Judy
The brindle comes from the swiss cross. Bagel looks dirty in the pic but alot of that is a slight dusty brown brindle. One of her other daughters looks just like a pure gurnesy but with brown brindle in her tan spots. Very strange looking marks to say the least. When we crossed to come up with bagel as a calf we had a good number of brindles out of that brown swiss bull. He was out of one of the top swiss herds in the nation.
Yes crossing seems to help out a good deal on how long cattle last. Seems anything with swiss is a stronger more long lived animal.
Myheaven when your ready there is still some heifers here and a couple springing up. They have just about the same tempement as Holly.
Bob

[NeHomesteader]

They are all adorable and I love the names you have. We just got a heifer that I named Mabel and she had a heifer calf the 5th of this month called Mattie. Willow our other jersey will be due to calve end of July/August supposedly with a heifer. They are so much fun!! I have only ever been around beef cows and seems like the dairy cows are out to please...

[cowbelle]

I have two friends, both ranchers who have several cows over 20 that are still calving. They are commercial crosses - mostly Hereford, and not given any special treatment. The older ones seem to lose condition faster, and not milk as long as their younger counterparts. Both owners really appreciate the old girls.

The brindle color would also come from the brahma side - there's lots of brindles there.

[MO_cows]

Love that Brahma cross. Cool markings and what a face! Is she a milker too?

[Jersey/guernsey]

Bagel is beautiful (I just love those pink guernsey cross cows) and looks great for fifteen could easily pass for ten.
Her calf is nice to J

[genebo]

I lost Beth at 16 years old, due to an accident. She was in great health and was just a couple of weeks from calving.

Wee Gaelic Ms. Fermoy lived to be 20 years old in fine health. When she was 19, a neighbor told me he'd stopped by while I was out and was admiring the pretty young red heifer I had. That was no heifer! That was Ms. Fermoy! She was pretty.

So you should be able to look forward to many more years with Bagel, barring ill fortune. I hope so. I'm pulling for you.

[myheaven]

Hey Bob if we move out to north Dakota I'm looking to get another 6 heifer or cow calf pairs. More for beef then milk. We may be talking this spring. I have a jersey cow on order from a local friend. I'll pick her up when I get back from the Bahamas.

[Tad]

We just sold our oldest cow at just shy of 18 1/2, they last along time if the get off concrete every now and then. That Brahma cross cow is COOL looking!

[Madsaw]

We had a small holstein cow we called Mary. Age finally caught her at 26. Another old one was willie. She was a swiss holstein cross. Very big and dark black/brown in color. We used her as a calf cow in later years due to her bag being low and we milk with surge belly milkers. Her lactation would normally run upto 18 months and she would raise up to 30 calves per run. She was 24 when we lost her. So we are no strangers to old cows.
I will look through my pictures and try to find some more from Bagel's family. She has all differnt color combos over the years. From red and white holstein looking to black and white holsteins.
Bob