Jersey/Dairy Shorthorn cross - Is it worth it?

[kile529]

I've grown up with friends that had horses, so I'm quite comfortable with them. No experience with cows. My husband and I are considering getting a couple bottle feeder bull calves that are Jersey/Dairy Shorthorn cross. $25/head. Great local farm that I know and trust. That being said, my dad (who wants me to raise one for him) thinks I should get a breed like Angus or something. Keeping in mind that my 3 boys (13, 11, 9) will be working with them a lot, here are my concerns:

1) Aren't bottle-feeders more used to people and therefore more apt to be easy to raise? Worried that a 3-4 month old will be more dangerous for the kids and I.

2) My dad says it probably costs the same to raise an Angus vs. a bottled Jersey/Shorthorn and I'd get a lot more meat. Is that true?

3) I'm in lower mid-Michigan - Fowlerville - 20-30 minutes east of Lansing, is there a way to figure out a ball park of what raising a bull-calf is before actually raising one?

4) How big can I expect this cross to get??

5) I have an option at another good farm to get holstein bottle calves for $150/head. Would that be a better option?

6) We have to put up our pastures in the spring - high tensile electric fence? Any suggestions?

Thanks everyone!! I'm really excited and nervous, just don't want to mess this up.

[haypoint]

If your lack of knowledge is likely to kill the calves, then the jersey shorthorns would be best to start with. No sense killing something with value. You read the sticky about sale barn calves? Have anyone to guide you. The Holsteins are more valuable, that is reflected in the cost. Likewise an Angus would be even more costly. Get any bulls you get should be banded.
Most projects take me far longer than I expect. Will the fence be a reality by late May ?
I have no idea if your children will be any help after the novelty wears off.
High tensile fence with a real hot fence charger is good for cattle. Not so safe when you get horses.
I don't figure feed costs. Too much variables. Let's say 5 pounds of hay and 2 pounds of grain for each pound of gain. 600 pounds of gain would be 1 1/2 tons of hay, half ton of grain, each. With pasture, cut the hay in half. Ask your local sources.

[jwal10]

IF you can get 2 that favor the shorthorn, I would go with them for that price. I would just as soon have them as full Holstein for the meat. Make sure they get colostrum, 2 days or more worth would be good. Don't know what you would have to pay for a couple angus where you are as bottle calves unless you know someone. Start them on grain (calf manna or calf starter to start) I usually start with a small handful and put it in their mouths for several days/ Keep a little fresh in front of them with good hay and fresh water at all times. Fat steers will weigh 1000 and up....James

[kile529]

Thanks Haypoint! I did read the sticky - although I'm not going through a sale barn. Just farmers I know - so while the list of what to watch out for is good, it didn't seem to pertain completely. After a few pages my eyes started to glaze over, I'll go back a little later.

Lack of knowledge killing the calves - exactly my first thought! lol I'd hate to lose a $600 calf (what angus is going for around here) on my first go. lol

Fence should be a reality - thankfully we have the wood posts in the ground from the people before us, so it's mostly just adding the wire as well as posts to make different pastures.

We're homeschoolers, so the boys are around all the time and they're hard workers.

We won't end up getting horses, but maybe some goats...or a donkey...and definitely chickens & turkeys. Will high-tensile kill them?

Thanks for the figuring of feed/weight gain. It'll give me at least a place to start. Might have to just try it out and see what happens.

James - Thanks for the advice on getting two that favor the shorthorn. I wasn't sure really if it mattered. As long as it looks more like the shorthorn I should be good to go? So far I haven't been able to find angus bottle calves. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough? I've only found around $600/head when weaned up here. Seems crazy to me to spend that when I'm just starting out. lol I also don't want to waste my time either....getting say 300lbs of meat when I could get 800lbs...

[haypoint]

Horses, perhaps a donkey, can get badly cut by running into a high tensile wire. Plus there have been a number get wrapped into it.

[Farmer Jayne]

I have had goats and cows in high tensile wire, as well as a mule. The hard part is when you first put them in the field. They don't see the fence. Introduce them to it when they are calm and you have time to spend with them. They need to investigate it on their own when they can touch it with their noses and see what it is. If they are scared or stressed at first intro, and run into it, they just feel pain and they don't realize where it's coming from. Often they will try to run through it. Once they touch it to investigate it on their own, they steer clear of it.
The fence won't kill your birds if you use the kind that zaps in pulses. However I wouldn't expect them to pay a lot of attention to it either. Their feathers insulate them from the shock.
Angus bottle babies are very rare. With dairy cows, the babies are taken from their mothers so that the moms can be milked. Most farmers I know with Angus let the mothers keep them. It's easier to raise a calf when the cow does all the work.

[kile529]

Thanks for the tip Farmer Jayne! Would it make sense to put some ribbon on the wire so that they see it? I'll make sure to spend a lot of time with them while they're learning too.

I see different gauges of wire - which one should I go with? Also, how do I know if it's a pulsing zapper? Not worried about the chickens going through it - they'll be free ranging.

Just talked to the farmer with the jersey/shorthorn crosses. As soon as they have a couple bull calves, she'll give me a call so I'm ready to pick them up after a week or two. Thankfully, she insists on keeping them at least a week to make sure they get enough of mom's milk. We'll get them late February most likely.

What's a list of "must-have" supplies to keep on hand? I got bottles today and was looking at electrolytes, iodine, thermometer etc...actually, the thermometer looked very....short and small for use in a bull-calf/steer. lol

[solsikkefarms]

We've had all kinds of horses, cows, and sheep over the years in high tensile fences, but we do put marker flags on the fence every couple of feet so they can clearly see it, never had a problem.

[kycrawler]

for local off the farm calves it is hard to go wrong at $25each with a $50 bag of milk replacer you have $75 in the calf .If you have a little pasture that is a cheap freezer beef

. If you buy 2 calves $50 2 bags mr $100 dehorn paste and band them $50 pasture them the first summer feed them 1 winter at 6 round bales each at $30 per bale =$360 1 ton of 16% feed to start the calves with and for finisher ration $350 that comes out to $910 for 2 steers ready to butcher before their second winter

[Lost-Nation]

Go for it! I'm getting ready to start getting $25 Jersey bull calves from a friend's dairy to *hopefully* graft onto a 60-something pound milker they're culling b/c she has a chapped teat, & her udder is fancy enough for the show ring. If that doesn't work, our pigs will be eating EXTRA good, LOL!

Jersey meat is actually supposed to be superior in flavor, it's just that some people turn up their noses at the yellow fat, they take a lot longer to grow out &, since they're a dairy breed & not a meat breed, don't yield as much meat. We've raised a couple of Jersey steers on extra goat milk & the meat was delicious.

Best wishes,
Sarah/right down the road from you in south-central Michigan

[barnbilder]

Donkeys or mules are a lot better about not killing themselves doing something dumb, like getting tangled in fence. A roll of flagging tied in little tags between the posts on the wire would make high tensile a little more visible, some people make one strand of electric tape and the rest with high tensile.

[kile529]

Your responses are just getting me more excited! Lol Sarah - I would find it hysterical if we somehow knew each other outside of here. Know anyone from Howell/Fowlerville?!

[Chixarecute]

Buy a good quality milk replacer. Your feed mill ought to be able to explain the difference.

[Raymond James]

I think the dairy cross for $25 a piece sounds like a great deal. Get the fence and everything set up before you get the calves.

Go to the farm and help feed them for a couple days before bringing them home if you can . Make sure you are comfortable and have a place for them . Then go for it.


They will get big enough, won't cost that much. Bottle calves for beef breeds are very rarer. No reason to take a calf off of its mother like in dairy. Beef Bottle calf usually means a dead mother or for some reason mother would not nurse the baby.

[mulemom]

Duct tape works well for visibility and it stays put-won't short out the fence and it's cheap. We've used hi-tensile for horses and mules since the '80's. If there's no electric they'll push it which is when they're most likely to get a leg in it, or if they're new to a pasture and can't see it when they're running. Duct tape folded back on itself to make a six inch long flap about four feet apart gets their attention.