Eleanor (Profitability from Jersey cows)

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Hey thanks @Double R Ranch !
Lots of folks used to feed extra milk to their piggies. I don't have much interest in piggies. If ya get a bottle broke calf it'll be a cake walk! Won't even have to fool with grafting the calf. But I reckon yours will let another nurse while her own calf is nursing too huh?

We had a good morning here. The frustration is very much worth the reward! I've let her out of her trailer house. They are all mingling today in the big pen. We will see how it goes...
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In my experience, mix a partial bottle for the heifer, to get her excited to nurse, as you take the bottle away she should go to the cow to nurse,being she is still hungry. This has always worked for me. You may need to do it a few times.
 
debbiea said:
In my experience, mix a partial bottle for the heifer, to get her excited to nurse, as you take the bottle away she should go to the cow to nurse,being she is still hungry. This has always worked for me. You may need to do it a few times.
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I've certainly done that before! Usually it's just to get em started. Tonight was great tho!!
Shes learned that behind is the safest place.
Love a milk muzzle!
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MurraysMutts said:
Hey thanks @Double R Ranch !
Lots of folks used to feed extra milk to their piggies. I don't have much interest in piggies. If ya get a bottle broke calf it'll be a cake walk! Won't even have to fool with grafting the calf. But I reckon yours will let another nurse while her own calf is nursing too huh?

We had a good morning here. The frustration is very much worth the reward! I've let her out of her trailer house. They are all mingling today in the big pen. We will see how it goes...
View attachment 26901
Click to expand...
We plan to get some pigs but not while it's constantly flooding. I don't want to bottle feed but it is an option. I am hoping to have success like you are doing. Looking for a calf this week. If I could get it to do what yours is doing and nurse off the back two that would be perfect. Congrats on the success yet again!
 
Double R Ranch said:
We plan to get some pigs but not while it's constantly flooding. I don't want to bottle feed but it is an option. I am hoping to have success like you are doing. Looking for a calf this week. If I could get it to do what yours is doing and nurse off the back two that would be perfect. Congrats on the success yet again!
Click to expand...
Smaller calves are easier to handle.
Shes 60lbs or so.
I've tried handling 95lb animals and they are difficult. Especially if they are frisky. 😆

I've also held one off milk for about 24hrs and they usually become quite the aggressive nurser.

That lil heifer can get to all 4 quarters from behind. Some folks milk what they need first, then let the calves have the rest.

Good luck! Hope it works out. Feel free to update!



I'm getting a late start today. But they have not nursed her. Even tho they are all together. Bag is full. Calves are shying away. I'm sure they are waiting for me to feed.
 
I did not get a picture, but she's allowing the bull (banded now) to nurse without being fed. So I've got about a week into this lil project. Seems about normal really. The lil heifer will come right along. I've still gotta go get her and shove her under there. She still thinks I'm mama for the time being.

So I tagged em and banded the bull while they were nursing. 🤣 🤣 🤣
Try that out in the field.....

Check that out. No kicking! Doubletime!
Alright!
Alright!
Alright!
20230304_172826.jpg
 
Well here they are!
I'm gonna feed em a while before I sell em. The 2 Herefords were not raised by Eleanor. I bought the smaller one super cheap. And the bigger one is gonna be me next breeding bull. He came from a local sale. Was sold by some neighbors.
There are 2 lil heifers that didn't grow as well as I'd like. The lil short eared black heifer is just small. And the bwf small heifer
These lil farts are eating GOOD!
Hay and cubes. They are even eating the big 20% cubes.
20230305_080958.jpg20230305_081000.jpg
This morning the lil steer was already nursing Eleanor. Idk if the heifer had nursed yet or not. But I fed Eleanor and shoved the heifer over there. She went to half heartedly nursing. It APPEARED she already had milk on her face. But I'm guessing. They will be penned at least another week until I figure out what I'm doing. I'm out of seperate pen areas. I'd like to have Eleanor and her 2 seperate so I can easily feed em differently.
 
MurraysMutts said:
Good luck! Hope it works out. Feel free to update!
Click to expand...
I got a text from a dairy lady friend of mine this morning. She had an unexpected bull calf. I declined at that time (we have flooding coming again) only to have back to back missed calls a bit later. Apparently they aren't worth anything at auction. She said she's lucky to get $10-$15 for them. So basically it costs her money to ship them. She said she'd give him to me to take him off her hands. Well... Yep. I brought him home. Not what I was looking for but if it works out it will hopefully be beneficial for us. A butcher steer at the least. Plus lighten up our milk load. He's part brown Swiss, part holstein and part jersey. He's a whopper. He's bigger (not by much) than our 1 month jersey heifer our cow calved. 36 hours old when I picked him up. Several feedings of colostrum. They have a closed herd and take really good care of their animals even bull calves. He was calling when I put him in the corral and our milk cow (jersey) came running from the field. Shocked me. Gave her a bit of alfalfa pellets and was able to get the calf (not the brightest calf) to latch on a few times. He has trouble with the teat locations currently but did get his belly full. A few minor kicks from our cow but all in all I was shocked. She really didn't mean the kicks. She was standing over him and her calf this evening and sleeping with them tonight. Being it was evening when I brought him home there hasn't been much movement on their part after dark so we'll see what morning brings. I put him on the opposite side than the heifer likes to nurse on. Hopefully we have success. Feel hopeful after all your posts and seeing her reaction tonight. These jerseys are something else! Definitely not an Angus. :ROFLMAO:
 

Think she will make milk?

I gauge by their behavior, not their bags or springing. One of my 10-year-old cows calved a couple days ago and her front quarters weren't full, nothing "woah!!" from the back side view. But I know how she rolls and she doesn't fully come into milk until after she calves. But she did make a...
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Thread crossover!!

I have not decided yet, but Eleanor may only get to raise 1 for her last part of her lactation.
 
And here we are!

Now remember I've got $1575 in this group including the cost of the cow.

I've got roughly $600 in feed/hay since the start.

So $2175 is the number to beat.


The short eared black heifer and the smaller bwf heifer sold together. They weighed 210lb average
$856.80

The bigger steer (he was well over 100lbs when purchased) weighed 323lbs average. He sold with Bessies steer
$762.28

The bigger bwf heifer weighed 305lbs
$637.45

Income $2256.53
Costs $2175
Roughly $81.53 to the good. I now own the cow pretty much free and clear!

I understand there is other considerations such as land costs, taxes, etc etc etc...
But for the lil guy who wants to play, here we are!

She will be raising at LEAST one more calf. I've got her and Bessie penned together with 4 calves right now. My plan is to move them next weekend to the south acre after the calves have it all figured out and they are bonded. I'll update as we go of coarse!
 

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