meat cow/milk cow...

[darbyfamily]

Ive been doing a lot of reading about cows lately, in prep for our move to the country. We are going saturday morning to see the inside of a 100 yr old farmhouse with 62 acres of land. We are already in love with the land..and the house looks great from the outside...

The land has a place for our chickens already a building that will work well for a hen house...and the livestock gate and a cattle chute...and this building here

What would we need to do to that building to make it suitable for a milk cow to live in? walls? Hmmmm?

Anyway, back to my original question....

One of the articles I read said that Jersey bulls make excellent beef because of the higher fat content of the milk diet they are on....??? Has anyone here ever had meat from a Jersey? or Holstein?

Jersey is my first preference for a milk cow, but on the off chance that we end up with a bull calf when we breed her...would we just automatically sell it off? or raise it for beef?

For some reason, I hve it in my head that cows, like chickens, more often have bulls/roosters than heifers/hens....is that true?

Anyhow...Im just reading all I can..I will have tons more questions, and plan to get that book on the family milk cow too.

[Horace Baker]

Originally Posted by darbyfamily

What would we need to do to that building to make it suitable for a milk cow to live in? walls? Hmmmm?

A cow would probably like it as is. Someone milking the cow might want walls in the winter.

Originally Posted by darbyfamily

One of the articles I read said that Jersey bulls make excellent beef because of the higher fat content of the milk diet they are on....??? Has anyone here ever had meat from a Jersey? or Holstein?

Jersey beef can be great if properly finished. IMO the biggest mistake made with Jerseys for beef is harvesting before it's mature.

Originally Posted by darbyfamily

Jersey is my first preference for a milk cow, but on the off chance that we end up with a bull calf when we breed her...would we just automatically sell it off? or raise it for beef?

If you're planning on a beef animal, why not keep one you already have?

Originally Posted by darbyfamily

For some reason, I hve it in my head that cows, like chickens, more often have bulls/roosters than heifers/hens....is that true?

They can have, but in my experience it averages out to about 50/50.

[tyusclan]

I agree with Horace on his answers. One other thing you might consider is breeding the Jersey cow to a beef bull such as an angus or hereford. Your meat to bone ratio would be a little better and the calf would finish out a little sooner than a purebred Jersey.

I usually raise a bottle holstein every year and the beef is great. You do have to let them grow some frame before they really start putting on the beef.