| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| highlandviewpantry |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 1:21:30 PM
I have the opportunity to buy and bottle raise a Jersey mix. The mother is full blooded Jersey and the father is Dutch Belt. I know enough about Jerseys - but what about Dutch Belt? This will be a family milk cow and I want enough cream for butter and cheese. Any advice?
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| sherrye |
Posted - Apr 22 2010 : 8:11:36 PM
i want to add that my mini jersey is quiet and content even when she is just with the goats and no cows. on the other hand if i am late to feed maddie the dexter is yelling at me to hurry up. if she wants something she is noisy lol sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farmgirl #1014
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| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Apr 22 2010 : 10:11:44 AM
So have you decided what you're going to do yet?
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Apr 22 2010 : 08:37:39 AM
I adore my jersey cow Mona. I got her as a 2 year old heifer pregnant with her first calf (called a "springer heifer" here) and that worked great for me. I wanted to raise one from a calf but never found anyone with a jersey heifer calf for sale. I don't know that I would have liked the wait anyhow. But...gosh just think how bonded she would be with you by the time she finally was ready to calve and be milked! Jersey's have the best, calmest personalities and the best creamiest milk in my opinion...can't go wrong there. I don't know anything about the belted breed. Would you be able to visit her mother and see how her personality is? I would be wanting to do that if I were you, to see if there are any bad quirks that may be passed along. Have fun!!
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
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| willowtreecreek |
Posted - Apr 20 2010 : 12:25:53 PM
I think Jerseys are GREAT and am looking in to getting one myself. However---if you are getting a calf it will be a LONG time until you have milk. That cow will need to be raised, bred and then calf herself before she will give milk. that is a lot of time and effort! Unless you are dead set on the calf I would suggest that you buy a cow that is already in milk.
Farmgirl Sister #17
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| mellaisbella |
Posted - Apr 20 2010 : 10:13:35 AM
we have jersey's. they are very gentle and mild. They have a high butter fat so their milk makes wonderful butter and ice cream
"we must be the change we wish to see in the world"
farmgal #150 |
| highlandviewpantry |
Posted - Apr 20 2010 : 10:03:43 AM
w3quote:
Originally posted by Farmtopia
Hey There--I was recently in PA and the farmer I was advising had neighbors who had 2 Dutch Belties and were milking a recently freshened heifer. Looks like they had good milk production--the farmer said he used one cow for his family but he always had extra with the Belties. He would breed one one year to give the other a break. Said he never had a problem, and they were very good on just forage and very good mothers.
Just in case, I looked up the breed association for you: http://www.dutchbelted.com/About%20the%20Breed.html
Hope this helps!
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Thanks - I am going to check out the site.
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| sherrye |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 6:42:40 PM
i have to laugh this evening. i spent hours cleaning up spent wasted hay and POOP in the corral. usually we have 1 cow here to milk. we have two again. one drying off and one ready to freshen. thank goodness for the tractor. 15 tractor buckets full. thats a lotta poo.lol just the slightest size difference from my mini jersey to the dexter and it shows in the barn. sherrye happy days on the tractor
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farmgirl #1014
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| Farmtopia |
Posted - Apr 19 2010 : 09:36:09 AM
Guys, now, you might want to be sure you're talking about DUTCH belted, which are smaller than BELTED GALLOWAYS. Two totally different cattle...though I believe the Galloways have Dutch Belted in them. Dutc
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View My Work:
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View the blog and radio show!
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NEXT RADIO SHOW: April 11th ~ Interview with Katherine Dunn, artist and farmer of Apifera Farm! |
| Hosanna |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 7:24:02 PM
I only know that belties can be "crazy", and are hard on fences. But seeing as your calf will be bottle raised and is 1/2 jersey that shouldn't be an issue......
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| sherrye |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 7:11:02 PM
ok lol does anyone remember the post the belteds are on the run. oh my goodness. read about the breed first. we were not educated on cows much. bought 2 belted steers. 11 months.put them on pasture they were with 2 dexters from their place. one took 10 hours tocatch. the other we shot. the nursery ryhme the cow jumped over the moon. its a belted girls. they are HUGE yes lots of milk BUT they are JUGE no matter what a big ol cow eats WAY more and MORE poop. i know i scooped poop today from one mini jersery and a dexter cow. i do not want to deal with that much poop. those calves flew over every fence within 80 acres of small farms every fence no matter size. it was a blizzard that night and next day. we butchered one here. took the one we caught back where it came from.they are great mothers they have lots of white milk and cream.if you have land to spare and a tractor for poop and a big area for winter.or year round forage. but when you stand next to one of those full grown cows they are over powering. now how ya gonna argue if they dont want to go in the barn and milk. they knock fences over like tooth pics. i would be concerned i would get stepped on. i like mid size or smaller cows. i can push them if need be. of course this is only my experiance with cows. food going in poop coming out a lot of it lol just a thought to ponder before you decide. they do have mini belted that give a lot of milk too. sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farmgirl #1014
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| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 3:12:23 PM
Countryside magazine has a great article about dairy cows that just came out. They say the DB are great for grass based dairy farming and small farms. Sounds like something I'd like. I have a Jersey-Angus cross that's 8 months old. I am planning on milking her when she has a calf. I am only grass feeding her with hay in winter. I do not want to grain feed. So a DB sounds like the way I should go. Plus they are a great dual purpose breed. And very high in butterfat. If I were you I'd get her. This way you can start halter breaking her and working with her.
My only advice with raising a bottle calf is they still think they are little babies when they are 1000 pound grown cows. So be careful. I am dealing with that with my bottle baby who is almost 2. She has a very big head and she can get very pushy.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| Farmtopia |
Posted - Apr 18 2010 : 2:05:32 PM
Hey There--I was recently in PA and the farmer I was advising had neighbors who had 2 Dutch Belties and were milking a recently freshened heifer. Looks like they had good milk production--the farmer said he used one cow for his family but he always had extra with the Belties. He would breed one one year to give the other a break. Said he never had a problem, and they were very good on just forage and very good mothers.
Just in case, I looked up the breed association for you: http://www.dutchbelted.com/About%20the%20Breed.html
Hope this helps!
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View My Work:
art/dolls: www.vagabondcreations.blogspot.com
The Horse Drawn Project and Farming!
www.beyondvagabond.blogspot.com
View the blog and radio show!
Renegade Farming!: www.therenegadefarmer.com
NEXT RADIO SHOW: April 11th ~ Interview with Katherine Dunn, artist and farmer of Apifera Farm! |
