Prices for Jersey cow?

Happyfarmwife · #1 04/15/05, 09:08 PM

Hello all! My husband and I are wanting to purchase a Jersey for our family cow. Does anyone have an idea of what the average cost for one is? We are located in Coquille, Oregon.

Thanks

Patty0315 · #2 04/16/05, 06:40 AM

300.00 - 1000.00 Ity depends on if you want Reg or not , pure bred or not. Your cheapest option would be a dairy or beef mix cow. They would still give yo enough for drinking and butter.

agmantoo · #3 04/16/05, 08:36 AM

I was talking with my dairy farmer neighbor and told me that he has been selling cull Jersey milking cows for $100 over what they would bring at the beef market. These "culls" are low producers or have a quarter bad. The people that buy these use them as nurse cows or for home use. This seems to me to be a decent way to get a family cow. Maybe a check at a dairy would locate a milk cow.

allenslabs · #4 04/16/05, 05:04 PM

I don't know what the Jersey population is like in Oregon but around here they are scarce. I went to jerseydirect.com and found a list of breeders in my area and called all of them asking if they had any cull cows for sale. I wanted anything that wasn't over the hill and wasn't on three legs. I ended up w/ my Annie that way. She is 3 almost 4, bred and due 8-4, registered and gives 1 1/2 gal a day and I pd $700 for her. I get comments a lot on how beautiful she is. She was a cull cause she was a low producer. I tried all other venues adn this was my last resort and it should have been my first! But best of luck!!

Fran on MD Eastern Shore · #5 04/16/05, 07:19 PM

What's that website for the Jerseys? I tried that one, and what I got was a bunch of links to property for sale in New Jersey, but no cows.

JeffNY · #6 04/16/05, 11:17 PM

Allenslabs made me think of something. Culls are good, but keep in mind why it is being culled. Perhaps it has mastitis, and they can't get it cured. Perhaps the animal has a lame leg, bad feet etc. Perhaps it has some other condition. Now if it is being culled because its production is wayyy below what the farm needs, then that would get you something decent for milk. So keep in mind if selecting a cull "why is being culled?". Some also get culled because they get old, and their udders get sagging, that I wouldn't want, because some can step on their own teats. So, if you do go to a farm, find a cull, observe it. Ask a vet what to look for, my two concerns would be a lame animal, or one that gets mastitis all the time.

Jeff

Happyfarmwife · #7 04/17/05, 01:14 AM

Where we are here in Oregon it is dairy land. There are Jerseys everywhere. We just started looking.

Thanks to everyone for the information. I will check with the local feed store and see if there are any bulletin boards.

I understand about being careful about culls. My dad was a dairy farmer for years, and know cows quite well. We will have him check one out for us when we find it.

Happyfarmwife · #8 04/17/05, 01:43 AM

The correct url for the Jersey site is

www.jerseydirectory.com

Guess what? I found a dairy just down the road from me! We will be contacting them to find out what is available and for what price here.

Thanks again everyone.

willow_girl · #9 04/17/05, 02:38 AM

Also keep in mind that low production can be a sign of Johne's disease. TEST, TEST, TEST!

And, like the song says ... Don't ask me how I know ...

allenslabs · #10 04/17/05, 03:59 PM

Oh happyfarmwife congrats! Let us know your progress!! My Annie does have a low udder from producing so much before. You can see pics of her at http://community.webshots.com/user/jessamynrose I also should say I did ask all the questions just forgot to tell you to! Sorry..... mastitis? Any birth problems? General problems? I might be wrong but I'm thinking that dairies have to test for Johnes and such don't they? I would think they would have to!

Anyway..... let us know!! Thanks! Jessi

Happyfarmwife · #11 04/17/05, 05:51 PM

Jessi, you have a lovely Jersery!

Did you have any trouble getting her used to milking by hand rather than machine at the dairy she came from?

Just curious, where are you located?

Will keep you posted on what we find out.

allenslabs · #12 04/17/05, 06:23 PM

Well thank you! I do love her!
Actually no I haven't had much trouble. I've had her 3 weeks now and we're getting along ok now. I was just patient and talked nicely. It took a while for her to get used to me taking longer than the milker but she had a calm manner at the dairy. He had one more squirly that woud require a michine but Annie was gentler (granted no like my Sarah who is a large dog) and I could tell she would calm nicely. I tried milking her at the dairy and she didn't mind. She is getting friendlier every day.
I am in southern IN. I had to drive about 2 1/2 hrs from here to get Annie though.
I can't wait to hear something!! Best of luck!!

dosthouhavemilk · #13 04/18/05, 12:08 PM

Last I knew they didn't *have* to test. We've been testing annually since they started in Ohio. Probably about eight years now.
The state vet said that everyone in this area has dealt with Johne's..and we figure anyone who claims they haven't probably just doesn't test.

quailkeeper · #14 04/18/05, 01:05 PM

Willow girl, You should talk to my vet

He just told me Friday that you don't need to test for Johnes, his exact words were that it wasn't necessary. I can't believe that I am having this much trouble trying to convince him to test my own cow. :no: Approx. what does a blood test cost? Its going to cost me $40 and two trips to the vet to test for Bangs and TB. I couldn't get him to quote me a cost on Johnes.

65284 · #15 04/18/05, 03:14 PM

Blood tests for Johne's are highly unreliable/inaccurate. There are a lot of false positives. The only sure way is to culture a fecal sample.

Happyfarmwife · #16 04/18/05, 03:44 PM

Well my husband talked to the dairy down the road from us. They don't have any culls for sale now.

They also said they sell them by the pound! Fifty cents per pound. So what does the average Jersey weigh?

We will keep looking around. We have a vet here that we used to work for his wife in an upholstery shop, we will ask her if she knows of any Jerseys for sale.

If nothing else we will wait until August and go to the fair!

Deborah

allenslabs · #17 04/18/05, 04:29 PM

That's not bad I don't think. I think that the average is something like 800-1000lbs or something. So that would be great! I mean depending on the cow. Darn about the farm nearby. Best of luck though.... there might be one close still yet. Like I said I talked to EVERY dairy farmer w/in 3-4 hours from here to get Annie. He sent me pictures via email so I could get an idea of what she looked like. That can really help. Best of luck though!! She'll fall into your lap real soon!!