Yes, uk is a know dumping for iffy disease cattle unfortunately.
Jersey Thread - For all things Jersey
- Thread starter Bald Rick
- Start date
More to life
Member
- Location
- Somerset
What sort of yield would you expect from them as heifers?
I thats it
Member
Wider than she is tall
- Location
- Loading....
I have worked with jerseys (not sure how pure) for several years now and they are very friendly and make nice pets. They are awsome for low acreage. they are very heavy eaters for their size, but this can mean very good milk and lots of cream. all around i think they are the perfect small farm animal.
It's a weird thing but heifer yields can range from anything from circa 4300 to 7000+ at 305 on the exact same regime.
Interestingly, the higher yielder will often stay around her maiden lactation whilst the "poor" performer will out do her next and subsequent time around.
Do others see the same?
My biggest problem is getting 305 day milk.Your are cows are in excellent condition as your feeding them well.I dont think the modern jersey apart from the low yielding nz ones are suitable for grazing.Even been looking on viking website they have no daughter proven jersey bull suitable for grazing recommebded
- Location
- cornwall
Don’t use that danish stuff unless you like painting by numbers! The problem with the Danes is that if the computer says no, then that’s what they do!
Mix USA bulls with Canadian and Bob’s your uncle. We get 5700 at 5.4 and 3.9 off 1.4 tonne of cake and 60% from forage with conception rates between 50 and 60%.
- Location
- somerset
we have just dried off a jersy cow, just under 12,000 liters, 5.4 fat 3.8 p, calved nov 18, due nov 20, normally, she would have gone, but never dropped below 13 litres, latterly at over 6 fat, and worth bugger all to kill, we are told, we have to be ruthless, with culling, for block calving, we usually are, but, in this case, we have correctly kept her !
Homesy
Member
- Location
- North West Devon
Probably lack of rest for the high yielding heifers. Try giving them them an extra 2 weeks dry. Your lower yielding heifers have just been cruising through their first lactation whereas your 7000litre heifers have been going flat out. If your were to slowly jog for a mile you could probably recovery pretty quickly and jog another but if you ran a mile flat out you probably would need a little more recovery time.
Homesy
Member
- Location
- North West Devon
How many American and Canadian farmers graze their cows ? I saw several Danish farmers grazing their Jerseys albeit organic. From what I have seen the Americans, a bit less so the Canadians, are like little blonde Holsteins with not very clever components. I met an American farmer who milks 15000 Jerseys, who was switching to Danish to improve the components and strength.
These guys seem to get on alright grazing Danish Jerseys.
News
www.vikinggenetics.com
They are all treated the same. All we can think of is that the lower yielding ones are not as aggressive at feed face until they are bigger, more mature animals ie 2nd lactation on
Ideally we would have a separate heifer group but it never seems to happen
Homesy
Member
- Location
- North West Devon
"They are all treated the same". That's what I mean. The higher yielding heifers need more rest. The lower ones have probably had rest at the end of their first lactation allowing them to grow and mature as well as recuperate whereas the higher yielding ones haven't hence perhaps not giving as much as you expect in their second lactation. Whether or not it would be worth giving the higher yielding ones more rest I do not know but I always make sure my heifers have 60 days dry.
Provided the vet gets his scanning right, nothing gets less than 60 days here ... firstly in a far off group then moved to the transition shed 3 weeks prior to calving and a change of diet.
As I said, we think there is an element of genetics plus perhaps not been so aggressive at the feed face but the "lower" yielders will often out perform the "higher" yielders by second lactation & beyond so to an extent, we view heifer lactations as irrelevant in bare numbers.
I would also add that we calve the vast majority at 22 months so that has a bearing too
You have to be a little careful with the very high yielders as they can be an indicator of Johnes.
Did you read the very last part of the farms profile it says the farm feeds tmr all year round which i believe is necessary to get these cows to perform.Im not saying there bad cowsim a fan but the lack body condition to properly graze.How many American and Canadian farmers graze their cows ? I saw several Danish farmers grazing their Jerseys albeit organic. From what I have seen the Americans, a bit less so the Canadians, are like little blonde Holsteins with not very clever components. I met an American farmer who milks 15000 Jerseys, who was switching to Danish to improve the components and strength.
These guys seem to get on alright grazing Danish Jerseys.
News
- Location
- cornwall
I graze my cows, and to be honest, the odd danish we have used has not coped,How many American and Canadian farmers graze their cows ? I saw several Danish farmers grazing their Jerseys albeit organic. From what I have seen the Americans, a bit less so the Canadians, are like little blonde Holsteins with not very clever components. I met an American farmer who milks 15000 Jerseys, who was switching to Danish to improve the components and strength.
These guys seem to get on alright grazing Danish Jerseys.
News
Ours walk up to 3 miles a day, we have 3 cows in their 10th lactation
- Location
- somerset
best keep an eye on her then, coming to her 6th, or, should we say 7th !! worth £200, dead, even at that age £750 fresh
- Location
- somerset
we have a few by gaby's arrow, Canadian jersey, decent milk, with good constituents, but they are not 'proper' jerseys, have kept a bit plain, all summer, but ok.
