Best cow for seasonal spring calving

[More to life]

View attachment 715682
We milk crappy holsteins

Photoshop?

 

[Devon lad]

What other breed can match the feet and legs of jersey

None imo

 

[Agrispeed]

What would these super fertile holsteins be fed though? Theres plenty of farms in NZ that wouldn't feed anything but grass, and even a few in this country.

I'm a big fan of KiwiX cows. you get the mobility and size of a jersey, but slightly higher yield and the ability to stay in better condition of a friesian.

 

[Devon lad]

Have jerseys at minute pure great cows highly fertile great feet good but this time of year get very thin especially heifers and lose condition would need to be buffer fed.Have first cross jersey holstein superb cows only problem is where to go from here have started using swedish red to keep size uniform has anyone been using this three way cross for some time.Have tried all breed and all have lameness issues except jersey or first cross

Can you not just breed to kiwiX?
5500 litres from a jersey isn’t too shabby, can you not just go oad at end of season or start and end, loose 500kgs of cake and 500litres of milk and gain condition? Probably be better off as well, and you still have an animal you know, probably less lameness and better fertility as well.

 

[dinderleat]

Photoshop?

Probably I only milk 12 cows so it’s easier to manage

 

[sidjon]

Found this in a paper from Cambridge about cross breed in dairy cattle.

 

[lazy farmer]

vote for xbreds here.
getting to the point that im almost proud of my herd.

 

[Clay52]

Well talk to any hoof trimmer and ask them cause i have asked many.I have also worked on several farms with holstein and british friesian cross. jerseys are in a different league when it comes to feet i petsonally think its down to there low body weight and solid black hooves

I don’t have a hoof trimmer so I never really talk to them.

Ive said before if I was going to use anything other than Holstein it would be Jersey.

 

[lazy farmer]

I really must visit outerspace, utopia for the Holstein awaits

 

[Devon lad]

Found this in a paper from Cambridge about cross breed in dairy cattle.View attachment 715746

Can’t seem to view this, am I the only one?

 

[Stinker]

I don’t have a hoof trimmer so I never really talk to them.

Ive said before if I was going to use anything other than Holstein it would be Jersey.

The trouble is that Australia isn't the uk. I don't doubt in your situation Holsteins are the best breed. Here in the north west of the uk on top of a hill it hasn't stopped raining for weeks. Tracks are a mess, grass is slush and the Holsteins don't like being made to walk 4km a day. Cross breds arent bothered and I think it's because they don't give as much milk and are lighter on their feet. We have been breeding for health traits for as long as we could but there is a limit to what you can get out of an animal that wants to milk that hard when you can't feed for it.

 

[sidjon]

Can’t seem to view this, am I the only one?

No, can't can't see it either , will try again.

 

[Clay52]

The trouble is that Australia isn't the uk. I don't doubt in your situation Holsteins are the best breed. Here in the north west of the uk on top of a hill it hasn't stopped raining for weeks. Tracks are a mess, grass is slush and the Holsteins don't like being made to walk 4km a day. Cross breds arent bothered and I think it's because they don't give as much milk and are lighter on their feet. We have been breeding for health traits for as long as we could but there is a limit to what you can get out of an animal that wants to milk that hard when you can't feed for it.

Depends on where you are in Aus. Certain dairying areas are basically underwater at the moment and have been for months while other parts are bone dry. Holsteins walk distances up to and over 4km a day every day of the year here.

 

[Stinker]

Depends on where you are in Aus. Certain dairying areas are basically underwater at the moment and have been for months while other parts are bone dry. Holsteins walk distances up to and over 4km a day every day of the year here.

I imagine your rain is a bit different to ours. Try coming at you sideways as cold as ice for the the next 6 months. It doesn't rain cats and dogs for 2 hours and then the sun comes out. We can go days without seeing the sun. Intakes are the issue. You can't get 25kg of dry matter into a cow in these conditions

 

[Irish NZ]

People get very excited at the 3rd cross when in actual fact it years away. After the 1st year of crossbreeding your herd isn't magically all crossbreed. And you will have a fair variation within the herd for years so using fr, jr and kiwi X bulks will cover everything.

@More to life makes one of his very rare good points. A big cow can do everything you might want but it is still a big cow at the end of the day and early and late grazing in suboptimal conditions doesn't not suit a big cow.

My vote is for "kiwiX" on a little more of the fr side(f10j6) tough ole buggers. Sideways hails does stop them grazing as we saw last week.

That's for a spring calving long grazing season herd.

 

[Llmmm]

People get very excited at the 3rd cross when in actual fact it years away. After the 1st year of crossbreeding your herd isn't magically all crossbreed. And you will have a fair variation within the herd for years so using fr, jr and kiwi X bulks will cover everything.

@More to life makes one of his very rare good points. A big cow can do everything you might want but it is still a big cow at the end of the day and early and late grazing in suboptimal conditions doesn't not suit a big cow.

My vote is for "kiwiX" on a little more of the fr side(f10j6) tough ole buggers. Sideways hails does stop them grazing as we saw last week.

That's for a spring calving long grazing season herd.

 

[Llmmm]

What sort of yields are you getting from kiwi cows cross is there much variation in cows

 

[More to life]

People get very excited at the 3rd cross when in actual fact it years away. After the 1st year of crossbreeding your herd isn't magically all crossbreed. And you will have a fair variation within the herd for years so using fr, jr and kiwi X bulks will cover everything.

@More to life makes one of his very rare good points. A big cow can do everything you might want but it is still a big cow at the end of the day and early and late grazing in suboptimal conditions doesn't not suit a big cow.

My vote is for "kiwiX" on a little more of the fr side(f10j6) tough ole buggers. Sideways hails does stop them grazing as we saw last week.

That's for a spring calving long grazing season herd.

Smiley face doesn't make it ok kiwi

 

[Dead Rabbits]

Smiley face doesn't make it ok kiwi

He’s Irish, can’t help it.

 

[Clay52]

I imagine your rain is a bit different to ours. Try coming at you sideways as cold as ice for the the next 6 months. It doesn't rain cats and dogs for 2 hours and then the sun comes out. We can go days without seeing the sun. Intakes are the issue. You can't get 25kg of dry matter into a cow in these conditions

You are forgetting australia is a big place. Down south has the exact conditions you describe almost every winter. It’s a miserable shît hole.