Jersey Calves

OnTheGame

Is there many people breeding purebred jerseys around the country..? anyone have any ideas on price of a jersey heifer calf??

colrow

We breed Jerseys in the UK and a 2 week old calf will cost you roundabout 200 there.

There's Ashley Fleming up in NI, breeds Jerseys.

Why do want a Jersey ?

OnTheGame

I was thinkin of getting one or two as pets really to produce milk for ourselves. I just like the look and small size of the breed. Does Ashley breed them for showing or does he milk a herd..? Would showing ones be more expensive..? what about yourself do you milk them or breed for showing or both..? Thanks for reply

colrow

modern jerseys are not suitable as pets or as house cows really. A third calved cow would probably do 30 litres or more of milk a day at peak. If she did not have the best of feed she would milk off her back ... and end up milking herself to death. you would also have the problem of what to do with all the milk. You can make cheese, cream butter and yoghurt but it is an awful lot of work for several months. You could feed it to bought in calves or pigs.
I think you would be better off with a dexter or a Kerry. They have not been bred as milking machines and would be much easier to keep in good health on just grass and a bit of concentrate and silage.

djmc

you could buy an average milking jersey but she would still milk 4 gallons a day at peak and if you dont milk her twice a day every day sundays and bank holidays included she could get mastitis
Jerseys milk is yellow not white like other breeds as it is also highest in protin and butterfat.
Anyone that milks cows will tell you are married to them
You could probably get a bull and casturate him for little or nothing if you just wanted a pet a bullock would be fine but jersey bulls like other dairy breeds dont make good pets.

colrow

My other halfs son has just got his website up and running, there's some nice Jersey cows on there http://www.quintrelljerseys.co.uk/index.html

Feargal as Luimneach

OnTheGame wrote: »

I was thinkin of getting one or two as pets really to produce milk for ourselves. I just like the look and small size of the breed. Does Ashley breed them for showing or does he milk a herd..? Would showing ones be more expensive..? what about yourself do you milk them or breed for showing or both..? Thanks for reply

Maybe a dairy goat might suit you better. If you raise a kid on a bottle, they can make decent pets. They don't take that long to hand milk either...