riggers
New member
Please forgive me if I say something stupid due to my inexperience but I started w/ one jersey for farm fresh milk and got a bit deep I think. LOL.
My cow had her second calf (first was born somewhere else) 3 months ago and I got a second calf to keep on her so I didn't have to milk out 6 gallons a day. Plus I got a first time Guernsey that had a little heifer and I got her an extra dairy calf too. So anyway. I am just realizing as I am weaning the calves and sending to auction that jersey calves are not worth the time and energy I put into them. The heifer did a little better but not a whole lot. Plus like I said previously I really did not need 6+ gallons a day per cow.
I find my Jersey to be a little more stubborn and skittish than the Guernsey. Plus she requires a lot more feed to keep her weight on. The Guernsey holds weight much better. So I got to thinking that I'd like to cross my Guernsey w/ either a Hereford or a Charolais. I think the Charolais would make a prettier cross but I'd like some advice.
My intent is to get rid of the Jersey and to grow up a cross w/ the Guernsey w/ one of those two breeds to try and make a better milk cow for my needs. One that has a decent milk production but not so much that it requires a sack of sweet feed plus per day and still loses weight. One that produces a calf that will put on weight faster than these little jersey calves and that will actually be worth keeping alive to send to auction. But most importantly one that will have a really calm disposition. I am not sure of these two breeds which is generally a more gentle cattle.
I've heard Hereford are very gentle. I would try and cross the Jersey but I was told by the guy here at auction if the buyers see ANY sign of it being a jersey calf that'll it'll go for dirt cheap because they don't gain weight well and they tend to be aggressive (the bulls anyway) and their bone/meat ratio is really bad. So... suggestion advice please!
My cow had her second calf (first was born somewhere else) 3 months ago and I got a second calf to keep on her so I didn't have to milk out 6 gallons a day. Plus I got a first time Guernsey that had a little heifer and I got her an extra dairy calf too. So anyway. I am just realizing as I am weaning the calves and sending to auction that jersey calves are not worth the time and energy I put into them. The heifer did a little better but not a whole lot. Plus like I said previously I really did not need 6+ gallons a day per cow.
I find my Jersey to be a little more stubborn and skittish than the Guernsey. Plus she requires a lot more feed to keep her weight on. The Guernsey holds weight much better. So I got to thinking that I'd like to cross my Guernsey w/ either a Hereford or a Charolais. I think the Charolais would make a prettier cross but I'd like some advice.
My intent is to get rid of the Jersey and to grow up a cross w/ the Guernsey w/ one of those two breeds to try and make a better milk cow for my needs. One that has a decent milk production but not so much that it requires a sack of sweet feed plus per day and still loses weight. One that produces a calf that will put on weight faster than these little jersey calves and that will actually be worth keeping alive to send to auction. But most importantly one that will have a really calm disposition. I am not sure of these two breeds which is generally a more gentle cattle.
I've heard Hereford are very gentle. I would try and cross the Jersey but I was told by the guy here at auction if the buyers see ANY sign of it being a jersey calf that'll it'll go for dirt cheap because they don't gain weight well and they tend to be aggressive (the bulls anyway) and their bone/meat ratio is really bad. So... suggestion advice please!