do you use jerseys on your cows

whelan1

if you do how do you find them and if you dont why not

bealaha

no i definately wont being goin dat route, i was out at d ballydague research farm yesterday at d open day and was shocked when i seen how small nd narrow d purebred jersey were, d cull cow value and bull calf value is gone out d window when ya use jersey, n dey werent giving any more solids than the HF.

whelan1

i was at the discussion group meeting in meath today and they where pushing the crossbreeding , now the solids looked really good but the milk yields where low , just got me thinking

fastrac

I tried them about 5 yrs ago.My experience to date is that they are very hardy,healthy cows that all calve during the first 2wks of calving.Temperament is not as good as the friesians and because of their size they are hard work in a parlour designed for bigger cows if they decide to act up.I have crossed mine back to friesian again as the yield was too low for my situation.Thinking of putting them in calf to Norwegian Red this year .I dont worry too much about the cull cow price as they last longer in the herd than other breeds.

irishh_bob

bealaha wrote: »

no i definately wont being goin dat route, i was out at d ballydague research farm yesterday at d open day and was shocked when i seen how small nd narrow d purebred jersey were, d cull cow value and bull calf value is gone out d window when ya use jersey, n dey werent giving any more solids than the HF.

while i believe this jersey this - jersey that madness from teagasc and the journal has gone too far and believe excellent solids can be achieved within the black and white breed , i wouldnt fall out with them over the value of the bull calf , black and white bull calves were only making 50 euro at two weeks old in north leinster this spring , the farmer who either shot or gave his jerseys away at birth would have more money out of them

irishh_bob

whelan1 wrote: »

i was at the discussion group meeting in meath today and they where pushing the crossbreeding , now the solids looked really good but the milk yields where low , just got me thinking

wouldnt think they would have any role in your system whelan , you being a liquid milk supplier and all , fertility is less an issue in year round production and besides , jerseys wont reward you for feeding them 1 . 5 tonnes of meal or maize or lots of silage , they will however walk further while retaining body condition , go in calf quicker , do less damage on wet land in wet conditions etc , they have thier place but personally i believe they are only suited to the southern counties , up north , i would consider it a waste to have a jersey inside milking for two months at the begining of the year and at the end of the year , as i said , they wont reward you when inputs are high

whelan1

was thinking that tbh , also spent so many years getting to pedigree why cross with crap ... i just dont really see the benefits ok the solids are good but thats it

blue5000

fella I know got one for free 2 yrs ago with a bunch of fr bulls, how much less than his fr comrades did he make on the hook, all killed as bulls?

browned

fella I know got one for free 2 yrs ago with a bunch of fr bulls, how much less than his fr comrades did he make on the hook, all killed as bulls?

couple of years ago i sent two 3yr old jerseyx bulls to the factory. they were born on the same day and had been used as sweeper bulls for two breeding seasons. one made 900euro while the other made 550. the difference between the two bulls was their mothers, one was from a mature cow while the other was off a heifer.

the vast majority of farmers that use jersey on their fresians, use them on their maiden heifers and the end result is smaller calves.

whelan1

so whats the best thing to increase milk solids with out going down the crossbreeding route

djmc

whelan1 wrote: »

so whats the best thing to increase milk solids with out going down the crossbreeding route

I would think using AI from a high milk solids bull and if buying a stock bull
try to get one with high protin and butterfat mother and shire

I have crossed but more to increase fertility improve scc and get a hardy cow than milk solids.
I have 4 jersey cross hefers just calved at two years old and they seem very small hope they grow another bit maybe should have waited another year to put them in calf.

John_F

whelan1 wrote: »

so whats the best thing to increase milk solids with out going down the crossbreeding route

Teagasc lecturer told us, two ways to increase solids...1) increase the volume of milk, or 2) increase the % of protein / fat, either can be done by feeding and/or breeding in my opinion,

Wont be going down the jersey route any time soon, not really suited to the system we are running, 1st cross is when there is the most hybrid vigour so after so much crossing i reckon you'd be buying in bigger friesan's / Holstein's again, I saw the cross breeds in New Zealand, suited to their larger herds as less minding in them, the dutch that went to nz to farm are using holsteins but finding it hard as poor milk price and the grass based system doesn't suit

snowman707

John_F wrote: »

Teagasc lecturer told us, two ways to increase solids...1) increase the volume of milk, or 2) increase the % of protein / fat, either can be done by feeding and/or breeding in my opinion,

got to agree with the feeding , best change we ever done was to change from 1 day paddock system, pulled the posts and wire up about 12 years ago. now have 10x 2.5 day "paddocks " with ability to take in some silage ground if needed.

we never graze bare with the cows, follow with the sheep to mop up . usually spread a bag of sweet grass per acre. a couple of times a year

while our solids are not top, we're usually in the top 10% in the co op

most certainly will not be using jersey ,

blue5000

blue5000 wrote: »

fella I know got one for free 2 yrs ago with a bunch of fr bulls, how much less than his fr comrades did he make on the hook, all killed as bulls?

40 euro less for the jersey