Any money in Jersey Bull Calves?

[skyhightree1]

:Growing bottle calves will be a good experience and education for you. How do you plan to market them? The feed cost and medicines for 3 months will be more than the selling price, but you will have fun losing money. You did not give your location, most locations their is not a market for them, you can always eat them. :2cents:

This is a broad brushed statement that is not factual but an opinion of yours.

 

[skyhightree1]

I do not know of any restaurant that will buy meat from an individual. Too many health factors.

Many do. Obviously it has to pass USDA inspection.

M.Magis I was going to say the exact same thing...

Cowboy I think sometimes it would pay for you to sit back and learn something instead of being negative and not knowing exactly what you are talking about. I am not trying to start an argument but in general one can learn more by sitting and reading than typing in responses of misinformation just to post something.

 

[farmerjan]

jan don't you raise Jersey cows?

Yes, I have a couple of jerseys, a guernsey, 3 1/2 jersey 1/2 holsteins, and 4 1/2 angus 1/2 dairy cows that I use as nurse cows. Want to do some cow shares for milk once I get retired so for now they just raise calves and I milk for the house. Have 1 in milk now, 3 calves on her, 3 more due in October. My joints have been a big factor in my not doing much milking lately. Plus I get jersey bull calves off a dairy that I test for when I have cows needing calves. The market has gotten soft for jersey steers lately and I am also tired of people that want them then don't have the money to pay when the time comes or change their mind and all that. Have gotten burned a couple of times, so if they are ready to go and buyers disappear, they go to the market. At least I walk out with a check that I know is good even if it isn't what I should have gotten. The going rate here is about .70/ lb and holsteins is in the .85 to 1.00 / lb.
I don't use sexed semen but get mostly heifer calves it seems. In fact our beef herd has been running 75% heifers for the past 3 calving seasons...we calve spring and fall. And we use anywhere from 4 to 7 bulls with cows scattered at different pastures, so it isn't the bull. Must be in the water !!!!!! I breed some AI and some get put out with the bull. Got my oldest hol/jer cow out with the beef bull, her last ditch chance.
Some of my angus/dairy cows will raise 2 calves if I keep them where they can get grained as it will drag them down on pasture with more than one calf. Most of the dairy girls will raise 3-4 and I figure that if I have to buy 2 calves to go on them plus their calf then maybe one is profit over and above the cost to keep the cow and some supplemental grain to keep her in good shape and milking well, so that she will also breed back. With the price of beef feeders down in the 1.50 plus or minus range, it just isn't very profitable to raise dairy steers, and holsteins are better than jerseys. I prefer the jerseys for beef in my freezer.

 

[Muddy]

:Growing bottle calves will be a good experience and education for you. How do you plan to market them? The feed cost and medicines for 3 months will be more than the selling price, but you will have fun losing money. You did not give your location, most locations their is not a market for them, you can always eat them. :2cents:

This is a broad brushed statement that is not factual but an opinion of yours.

:roll: :roll: to be honest I agree with Cowboy43 with his statement.

 

[skyhightree1]

:Growing bottle calves will be a good experience and education for you. How do you plan to market them? The feed cost and medicines for 3 months will be more than the selling price, but you will have fun losing money. You did not give your location, most locations their is not a market for them, you can always eat them. :2cents:

This is a broad brushed statement that is not factual but an opinion of yours.

:roll: :roll: to be honest I agree with Cowboy43 with his statement.

and you can agree but its not a factual statement its an opinion. It goes back to the old debate of selling hay for 20 bucks a roll and others say no it has to be 45.00 to make some money. Not everyone has to spend alot of money on meds etc and milk replacer. I raise holsteins because they IMO grow better. I can raise them very cheaply and most of the time without any meds other than the vaccines all my cattle get.

 

[Muddy]

This is a broad brushed statement that is not factual but an opinion of yours.

:roll: :roll: to be honest I agree with Cowboy43 with his statement.

and you can agree but its not a factual statement its an opinion. It goes back to the old debate of selling hay for 20 bucks a roll and others say no it has to be 45.00 to make some money. Not everyone has to spend alot of money on meds etc and milk replacer. I raise holsteins because they IMO grow better. I can raise them very cheaply and most of the time without any meds other than the vaccines all my cattle get.

So you just kick the jersey calves out to the pasture without any feed, hay or grain costs for three years? It cost so much to finishing (or growing) a Jersey steer to get the desirable results.

 

[skyhightree1]

:roll: :roll: to be honest I agree with Cowboy43 with his statement.

and you can agree but its not a factual statement its an opinion. It goes back to the old debate of selling hay for 20 bucks a roll and others say no it has to be 45.00 to make some money. Not everyone has to spend alot of money on meds etc and milk replacer. I raise holsteins because they IMO grow better. I can raise them very cheaply and most of the time without any meds other than the vaccines all my cattle get.

So you just kick the jersey calves out to the pasture without any feed, hay or grain costs for three years? It cost so much to finishing (or growing) a Jersey steer to get the desirable results.

read what I wrote again and see if thats what I said

 

[RanchMan90]

jan don't you raise Jersey cows?

Yes, I have a couple of jerseys, a guernsey, 3 1/2 jersey 1/2 holsteins, and 4 1/2 angus 1/2 dairy cows that I use as nurse cows. Want to do some cow shares for milk once I get retired so for now they just raise calves and I milk for the house. Have 1 in milk now, 3 calves on her, 3 more due in October. My joints have been a big factor in my not doing much milking lately. Plus I get jersey bull calves off a dairy that I test for when I have cows needing calves. The market has gotten soft for jersey steers lately and I am also tired of people that want them then don't have the money to pay when the time comes or change their mind and all that. Have gotten burned a couple of times, so if they are ready to go and buyers disappear, they go to the market. At least I walk out with a check that I know is good even if it isn't what I should have gotten. The going rate here is about .70/ lb and holsteins is in the .85 to 1.00 / lb.
I don't use sexed semen but get mostly heifer calves it seems. In fact our beef herd has been running 75% heifers for the past 3 calving seasons...we calve spring and fall. And we use anywhere from 4 to 7 bulls with cows scattered at different pastures, so it isn't the bull. Must be in the water !!!!!! I breed some AI and some get put out with the bull. Got my oldest hol/jer cow out with the beef bull, her last ditch chance.
Some of my angus/dairy cows will raise 2 calves if I keep them where they can get grained as it will drag them down on pasture with more than one calf. Most of the dairy girls will raise 3-4 and I figure that if I have to buy 2 calves to go on them plus their calf then maybe one is profit over and above the cost to keep the cow and some supplemental grain to keep her in good shape and milking well, so that she will also breed back. With the price of beef feeders down in the 1.50 plus or minus range, it just isn't very profitable to raise dairy steers, and holsteins are better than jerseys. I prefer the jerseys for beef in my freezer.

Same prices I see here on Jersey calves. How long does it take them to get to 500 lbs on moderate feed and grass?

 

[farmerjan]

Ranchman90: I find that if I raise the calves on the cows they are in the 500 lb range at 7-10 months. Depends on the size at birth, some are 40 lbs and some 60, and how long I keep them on the cow. The past few years I have only raised 1 "set" of calves per lactation, so they usually have 3 or 4 calves. I like them to be 400 at least when I wean at 7-8 months. I do creep feed them so to speak, but not a self creep but actually feeding them a couple of times a week. I only feed 2-3 lbs per calf of a 17% stocker feed with a little 14% sweet calf feed mixed in for the draw of the sweet feed. Took a holstein steer that I put on a beef heifer when hers died, and it didn't look like she had much milk and he weighed 600 at 7 months. He stood way taller than the beef calves on the other first calf heifers and was about 200 lbs bigger than they were.
Had a jersey that I didn't pull til he was about 10-11 months since I had trouble getting the cow bred back, there were 3 calves then I pulled one at 5 months as I could see her milk was dropping, left 2 on her; and the jersey steer, weighed about 600 and the other, jersey angus heifer weighed about 500. The better milking cows will naturally wean a bigger set of calves.
They all get some pretty decent grass and the cow gets grained for at least the first 4 or more months to keep her production up and her in a positive energy balance so she can breed back. Once I am pretty sure she is bred, I will cut the grain back or stop it all together as long as the grass is good. I also will usually have a roll of hay available even with good grass and the dairy cows seem to eat it more than any of the beef heifers.
Let's face it, I am asking them to wean off 1200 lbs of "calf" per lactation. They need the extra due to their physical makeup and the demands I am putting on them. The calves will also spend some time at the hay but I don't see them getting alot. It does help to firm up the real green grass effects.
Not for everybody, but since I don't have my own dairy, and I like my dairy cows, had to find a way to make it work and not be a losing proposition financially.

 

[RanchMan90]

Ranchman90: I find that if I raise the calves on the cows they are in the 500 lb range at 7-10 months. Depends on the size at birth, some are 40 lbs and some 60, and how long I keep them on the cow. The past few years I have only raised 1 "set" of calves per lactation, so they usually have 3 or 4 calves. I like them to be 400 at least when I wean at 7-8 months. I do creep feed them so to speak, but not a self creep but actually feeding them a couple of times a week. I only feed 2-3 lbs per calf of a 17% stocker feed with a little 14% sweet calf feed mixed in for the draw of the sweet feed. Took a holstein steer that I put on a beef heifer when hers died, and it didn't look like she had much milk and he weighed 600 at 7 months. He stood way taller than the beef calves on the other first calf heifers and was about 200 lbs bigger than they were.
Had a jersey that I didn't pull til he was about 10-11 months since I had trouble getting the cow bred back, there were 3 calves then I pulled one at 5 months as I could see her milk was dropping, left 2 on her; and the jersey steer, weighed about 600 and the other, jersey angus heifer weighed about 500. The better milking cows will naturally wean a bigger set of calves.
They all get some pretty decent grass and the cow gets grained for at least the first 4 or more months to keep her production up and her in a positive energy balance so she can breed back. Once I am pretty sure she is bred, I will cut the grain back or stop it all together as long as the grass is good. I also will usually have a roll of hay available even with good grass and the dairy cows seem to eat it more than any of the beef heifers.
Let's face it, I am asking them to wean off 1200 lbs of "calf" per lactation. They need the extra due to their physical makeup and the demands I am putting on them. The calves will also spend some time at the hay but I don't see them getting alot. It does help to firm up the real green grass effects.
Not for everybody, but since I don't have my own dairy, and I like my dairy cows, had to find a way to make it work and not be a losing proposition financially.

Good job. Although not for everybody, looks like a winning proposition from an ROI perspective. Being able to replicate these results seems to be the key element here.

 

[BK9954]

Around here you can sell 10 month olds for about $500-$600 for heifer bulls. You will even see ads on craigslist sometimes of people looking to buy a jersey bull. I got one I have with some heifers. A lot of people do it. The guy I got mine from sold all 6 of his 10 month olds on craigslist. Going to the auction is a slaughter. I would rather eat him myself. I took a young one early this year, got .38 a pound. For .38 a pound I will eat jersey steaks all day.

 

[BK9954]

But at 18 months they can get mean and dangerous, this guy is about to take a ride after he is done with these last girls. That old trailer in the background he flipped and pushed about 10 foot upside down, almost into the electric wire. Any jersey I have had have torn everything up they can get to.

 

[Muddy]

Around here you can sell 10 month olds for about $500-$600 for heifer bulls. You will even see ads on craigslist sometimes of people looking to buy a jersey bull. I got one I have with some heifers. A lot of people do it. The guy I got mine from sold all 6 of his 10 month olds on craigslist. Going to the auction is a slaughter. I would rather eat him myself. I took a young one early this year, got .38 a pound. For .38 a pound I will eat jersey steaks all day.

Here, many folks begging anyone to buy their Jersey bulls even at lowest prices but many people won't touch the jersey bulls. There are plenty of cheap "beef" bulls available to most people (longhorns, Corrientes and highlands), at least here.

 

[dave_shelby]

I have been thinking about a Jersey cow for our family as we have some neighbors who never seem to have enough to go around. Price for Jersey cows seems high, then I saw this https://harrisonburg.craigslist.org/grd ... 82495.html. They are heifers so who knows.

 

[skyhightree1]

I have been thinking about a Jersey cow for our family as we have some neighbors who never seem to have enough to go around. Price for Jersey cows seems high, then I saw this https://harrisonburg.craigslist.org/grd ... 82495.html. They are heifers so who knows.

Dave I am looking for one as well

 

[dave_shelby]

I have been thinking about a Jersey cow for our family as we have some neighbors who never seem to have enough to go around. Price for Jersey cows seems high, then I saw this https://harrisonburg.craigslist.org/grd ... 82495.html. They are heifers so who knows.

Dave I am looking for one as well

These gals or any old Jersey heifer?

 

[BK9954]

Around here you can sell 10 month olds for about $500-$600 for heifer bulls. You will even see ads on craigslist sometimes of people looking to buy a jersey bull. I got one I have with some heifers. A lot of people do it. The guy I got mine from sold all 6 of his 10 month olds on craigslist. Going to the auction is a slaughter. I would rather eat him myself. I took a young one early this year, got .38 a pound. For .38 a pound I will eat jersey steaks all day.

Here, many folks begging anyone to buy their Jersey bulls even at lowest prices but many people won't touch the jersey bulls. There are plenty of cheap "beef" bulls available to most people (longhorns, Corrientes and highlands), at least here.

Not sure if its the guys doing roping with the corrientes and longhorns, or the ornamental look of a longhorn in Tx, but they seem to go a little higher then jerseys. You can find em cheaper every once in a while but the roping industry has them marked up a little higher usually.

 

[Muddy]

Around here you can sell 10 month olds for about $500-$600 for heifer bulls. You will even see ads on craigslist sometimes of people looking to buy a jersey bull. I got one I have with some heifers. A lot of people do it. The guy I got mine from sold all 6 of his 10 month olds on craigslist. Going to the auction is a slaughter. I would rather eat him myself. I took a young one early this year, got .38 a pound. For .38 a pound I will eat jersey steaks all day.

Here, many folks begging anyone to buy their Jersey bulls even at lowest prices but many people won't touch the jersey bulls. There are plenty of cheap "beef" bulls available to most people (longhorns, Corrientes and highlands), at least here.

Not sure if its the guys doing roping with the corrientes and longhorns, or the ornamental look of a longhorn in Tx, but they seem to go a little higher then jerseys. You can find em cheaper every once in a while but the roping industry has them marked up a little higher usually.

We have very strong rodeo community here, so these roping cattle are common and usually cheaper. Lot of roping bulls brought less than $500 at a sale few weeks ago. I seen lot of Jersey bulls for the sale on Craigslist but nobody touch them when the roping bulls are getting sold pretty quickly.

 

[skyhightree1]

I have been thinking about a Jersey cow for our family as we have some neighbors who never seem to have enough to go around. Price for Jersey cows seems high, then I saw this https://harrisonburg.craigslist.org/grd ... 82495.html. They are heifers so who knows.

Dave I am looking for one as well

These gals or any old Jersey heifer?

Prefer a heifer to halter break and let the kids raise it up.

 

[TexasBred]

Some dairymen down here will raise hte holstein and jerseys after steering them up to about 900 lbs. then sell them at auction....they'll all head straight to the feedlot....the do pretty well with them.