Help Me Choose a Breed

[Bubba1358]

Hey all. Need some help settling on a breed. Here'swhat i have so far:

Need a good milker. Minimum 2 gallons a day, more preferred. Excess is planned for chicken and pig food.
100% grass fed needed, on 2.5 good acres shared with sheep. Minerals will be supplemented. No grains.
Higher butterfat is preferred, but not essential. We don't drink much milk, but we do lots of butter and sour cream.
Needs to do well in TN. Zone 6b. HOT summers, light snows in January.
Need a calmer disposition, capable of tethering as a primary component of the management system.

I am leaning toward Jersey, but I have heard tell that they can be prone to nutritional deficiencies if not grain fed. I can't do grain. It MUST be pasture only, hay in the winter. I have also looked at Dexter, but the typical milk output is below what I need. I hear Brown Swiss do well on grass, but what about quantity, climate, and disposition?

Thanks for your info and recommendations!

[karenp]

I think it would depend on the Jersey, there are some grass fed lines. FYI, sheep may not be able eat cow minerals, something about the copper.

[suzyhomemaker09]

My Dexter was chosen from a meat herd...she gives me on average at least 2 gallons a day. A good milking Dexter averages 3 gallons a day.

[karenp]

Suzyhomemaker,
Do you share with the calf? If not how do you feed it?

[francismilker]

The colored breed dairy cows (Milking Shorthorn and Ayrshires) would be my choice. They have proven over the past few years to work well with grass based only milking.

If you have access to some heritage breeds like Devon, you might seriously consider that.

[nosqrls]

How many sheep? 2.5 acres isn't much for dairy cow and calf and sheep.

[gone-a-milkin]

Dont rule out the crossbred cows for your situation.
Dairy crossed with a smaller beef breed can give you a very economical option.

[lakeportfarms]

Two Dexters. Stagger their breeding so that when one is dry the other is still producing milk. When both are working you'll get at least two gallons each from one out of good milking lines. You're at the limits for pasture however for one full size Jersey or two Dexters.

[G. Seddon]

Some things to consider: What else cuts into the 2.5 acres (house, barn, shelter, etc.)? Experience with cattle? Have you tethered a cow before? Do you already have the sheep? I agree with karenp about the minerals.

In my opinion, no matter what breed you select, I think expecting a milk cow to make do on pasture without supplementation on 2.5 acres might be a bit iffy, especially after factoring in sheep. Two small cows, combined with sheep, and I believe you will soon have a drylot with no grass whatsoever.

[Bubba1358]

Thanks for the replies. Will look at thise other breeds.

I jould mention the calf will be early-weaned then pastured elsewhere. The sheep are Katahdin - 2 ewes, 1 ram, lambs raised to slaughter weight then freezer camp.

The 2.5 acres is dedicyed land. I have 5.5 total and the 2.5 is dedicated to pasture. Thet would be intensively rotationallu grazed - cow first then sheep.

[genebo]

Check with your County Agricultural Agent for the stocking rate in your area. The rate he tells you will be for beef breeds. Dairy cows will require a lower stocking rate or feed supplementation in order to produce.

Milk is not free. It costs to produce it. You either provide the nutrition in grass or hay or supplement with grain in order to input enough nutritional value to produce the milk. Short on rations and you get less milk plus unhealthy cows.

I don't know what the ratio is between total dry nutrition (TDN)and a gallon of milk, but you can find it by searching the web. You can also ask your County Agent for the TDN values for different types of grasses in your area.

I doubt that you can extract the amount of milk you want from 2.5 acres of grass. Sharing the grass with other animals just compounds the problem.

[opportunity]

a cow eats a lot of grass but if you have a very good pasture and manage it well you can get milk for about 10 months out of the year. I have a jersey that can nurse two babies if she is on irrigated grass she had both till 6 months then just one for the next 2 and she is in ok body condition. I had her on 7 irrigated acres with three heifers and her calves. I did not rotate very well it is only divided into four sections. I do believe that the small jersey cow with her babies needed 3 acres to make it though. As for weaning the calves much earlier you can do it but they usually do not do as well. sheep can't eat a lot of the cow minerals there are warnings on them so be carefull.
I have had one cow that I could tie up and let eat but I had to watch her because she would get tangled up and if the rope was two short she wouldn't graze. cows are not usually very good to tie up and have graze.

[Bubba1358]

Thanks all.

My stocking rates are 1.18 steers/acre.

I have aseparate elctronet for the sheep so minerals will be separate too. I have experience using tethered approach on a donkey. Will have a thick chain inside a hose to prevent tangling.

How much of a difference do these numbers make if i dry lot on bought hay for 2 months? 3 months?? Planning on doing this with sheep anyway. Adding a second pen is easily doable. What about a half acre of winter oats? I can add a second garden planting for a cover crop/ feed.

[gone-a-milkin]

Where do you live at Bubba?
(so we can get an idea of your climate)

In the user CP you can add your location to your posts (It doesnt have to be precise)
Doing that helps so much on many topics.

[Bubba1358]

It's middle TN. Along the I-24 corridor between Nashville and Chattanooga.

[Raymond James]

I am probably kicking a hornets nest but in my very humble opinion I do not think it makes a great deal of difference in the breed ( Dexter verses Jersey, Jersey verses a shorthorn ) as long as you get a smaller line of Jersey. Look at the mother and the father as well as any full siblings to see how big they are. Try and get what ever you buy from a non- commercial dairy if you can.

If you want a lot of cream I would go with the Jersey. Also I would think you could get a Jersey easier and at a lower price. A good idea is to see what others around you have then try and get a shorter/smaller line of that breed from herds near you.

I have many neighbors who routinely stake out / tether there milk cow and do not seem to have any problems.

I attended a cattle show in San Antonio several years ago and noticed the pictures on the wall showing the winners in the Herefords. In the 1950's the exhibitor stood behind the cow with several inches of pants viewable below the belt buckle and the top of the cows back. Every year a little less pants visible, then just a little bit of buckle . By the 1970's you can only see the top of the persons head and by the 1980's they were standing beside the cow. Cattle in several breeds are getting bigger/taller. This is not necessarily a good thing.

I find my smaller Angus to be better for the home freezer market.

[suzyhomemaker09]

Originally Posted by karenp

Suzyhomemaker,
Do you share with the calf? If not how do you feed it?

I do share with the calf but he is bottle fed as I do with my goats...he'll often get some goat's milk mixed in the bottle with the milk form his dam.

[Jennifer L.]

I'm all for cows, but 2.5 acres isn't much. Have you considered milking sheep? Since you have them already?

If it's cow or nothing, then I'd go with as small as I could get. I don't think breed matters at that point as much as size vs. pasture area. Nearly any cow will milk decently if they aren't pure beef, and even some of those are good milkers although they will have a shorter lactation than a dairy breed.

[MO_cows]

Is the 2.5 acres improved pasture, with legumes? Are you willing to supplement with good alfalfa hay, stock beets, something to boost the nutrition since grain is forbidden at your place? It takes nutrition to make milk.

The breed doesn't matter as much as the type. A cow from from a similar background to what you want to implement is going to perform the best.

[Bubba1358]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I do appreciate them! I will keep mulling this over. Y'all have given me much to ponder.