Jersey, hormone questions

[VictoriaAnn]

We might be buying a jersey cow from a dairy. I'm wondering if its a given that they have had rbh and rbst given to them, and how long it stays in the milk. Are they given these hormones routinely or just one time or how?
Thanks

[pygmywombat]

It's never a given. I would ask them and find out. I think cow's get the shot every few months, so it leaves the body slowly.

[VictoriaAnn]

I remembered something else, this cow is 2 years old and has always been milked by machine. Is it difficult for a cow to get adjusted to hand milking after knowing nothing but machine milking? She is not halter trained, either. This will be my first experience with cows in about 25 years. (I handmilked cows briefly when I was a kid.) Any advice on training?
Thanks

[Nan]

First off, BST is a natural hormone produced by a lactating cow. So it is always present. Some dairymen will use BST and other hormones late in lactation of older cows to extend the lactation curve a little. (To keep cost of feed below amount of production) The expense of BST is very high so it does not make since to use it in young cows in early lactation. When it is used, it is only for a short time and then the cows are turned dry. I would not worry about a two year old ever having it given to her. The question I would have is why a dairy is selling a two year old in the first place. Usually they have not had there first calf at two years yet, so it could only have had one lactation by this time if any. The thing to check is milk fever or mastitis. Make sure all quarters are good. As for always being on a machine, once again her age says she could have only had one round of milking if any so she is not really used to anything. But this does not mean she will take to handling easily. The best thing to do is to handle her while she is being feed. Move slowly and don’t try too much too fast. Most of all have fun while you do it. We have had many cows and all (except one heifer) have been easy to train.
I have work in the dairy industry for 17 years before changing careers and took care of about 28,000 dairy cows for 254 dairies. I have addressed this hormone issue many times.

[milkstoolcowboy]

No, it's not a given. It's most common in large dairy operations, especially in the Western states. Just ask the farmer from whom you are buying the cow. Usually, cows are given BST to help maintain their peak production, and typically shots given every two weeks.

If the cow you're buying is a 2-year old, she must be in her first lactation. Wonder why they are selling her? I'd definitely check her over, especially her udder. She might be prone to mastitis, a hard milker, difficult to handle, it's impossible for us to know.

Since she's in her first lactation, she is not familiar with hand-milking (except for prepping) but she can't be that familiar with machine-milking either. I don't know what facilities you have, but I'd definitely want to get her used to a halter. If you have a stanchion, you can just feed her grain and some hay at milking time to get her in the stall. If you're gentle with her and don't startle her, she'll quickly get used to being handled.

[VictoriaAnn]

This is family run dairy not far from us, they had a sale this spring, but we missed it. I called to see if it would be possible to buy one this late. They said they did have one 2 year old who wasn't up to their standard of production and they would possibly sell her. The lady I talked to said she is giving 40 lbs / day. Now, isn't that 5 gallons or thereabouts? Anyway, it would be plenty for us. They're asking $1,000. We're trying to decide if we can swing it.

[christy]

Just curious VictoriaAnn where this dairy is, I live in KS and can't seem to find a dairy that is willing to sell any. I have been looking for around a year.

[pygmywombat]

She sounds like a good little cow. I wouldn't worry too much about her not being used to the milking routine, we bought our cow when she was a few months into her first lactation and she milked like a pro, nice and calm. She might be a bit confused as to why the milking machine isn't being put on and get restless because handmilking (especially when you are just starting) takes longer.

[VictoriaAnn]

Christy,

http://www.heartlandjerseys.com/

They are in the northeastern part of the state, Seneca, KS. They had an open sale this spring which we missed, and when I asked about future sales they said they wouldn't have one next year, but possibly the year after. I have another lead on Jerseys in Kansas, email me privately if you would like information.

[DorothyGail]

My husband bought me a two year old Jersey from a dairy for a birthday present. She had her calf about two weeks before and had stepped on one teat. The dairy couldn't use her. We also bought calves at the same time. She was a wild and did not like men, but we were able to get a halter on her. We started milking when we got her home with the calves finishing up to make sure she was empty. We put grain out, tied her to a pipe corral, and milked.

While it did take time, it was not hard. I left her halter on her and would catch her during the day to brush her. I spent time with her when I wasn't milking and now can walk out to the pasture and she waits for me to catch her. She is now four and is due to calf in December. The best birthday gift yet.

[dosthouhavemilk]

It isn't a given, no. You need only ask.
Posilac (rBST) is a shot given every two weeks starting about two months into the lactation until about a month before the cow is dried off. It helps to maintain production when tehy would normally drop off.
BST is naturally occuring and higher producing cows have a higher amount of that hormone...why they give so much for so long. rBST is the synthetic form to help maintain a higher production.

[john in la]

Well you have given me a little more to go on here so lets see what you have.

Like I said $1000 for a registered springer or first lactation cow is cheep. Registered show calves go for 800 to $1000 at a week old. The $2000 figure is more in line for a good registered cow.
Since Holstein is the cow of choice in your area they will bring the most even though Jersey may have better milk.

For a home farm and table milk a lot of people opt for grade cows which produce 40 to 50 lbs a day. A good grade Holstein cow is still going to run you in the 1000 to $1300 range. And then you do not get the registered calves.

I would be interested in looking at production records of her mom and dad. She could be a runt but still have the pedigree to throw good calves. If you had the names we may be able to look it up since he has pedigree papers on his web site for his cows. I assume he owns the mom and this is not a bought cow so she comes from a good background because I looked at his papers online.

With limited funds and a first time cow this seems like a good one for you if all info is correct so far. We are going on the fact that she is a runt and producing 30 lbs a day because of this. If she is producing 30 lbs a day because of a bad quarter that is even better.

Let me clear this feed to milk ratio question.
Most parlor barns feed on a average production of the farm. Yes they make ear tags and neck chains that the feeder can read and feed better cows more but this is not used a lot at least in my area.
So this guy has 70+ lb a day cows from his web site. To get 70lbs you need to feed for 70 lbs. Then here comes a cow giving 30 lbs but getting feed for 70 lbs. Does not take long before you can see this does not add up. So she must go. To much feed in for milk out.
Also 30 lbs is low even for a grade dairy. You also need to get production per man hour so that is why they are selling her.

Your options if you decide to get her is to see how she does for your needs. 30 lbs a day is a lot of milk. Based on this you could then keep the first heifer to upgrade or sell the registered heifer calves.

[VictoriaAnn]

John, and everyone, thank you so much for your input! Its all becoming clearer to me. I feel now that I have some intelligent questions to ask and more to base our decision on other than emotion. I'll let you all know what we decide.