Is this jersey cow close to calving?

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farmerjan said:
I haven't seen her with other cows, but I will concur with your brother. A cow that starts to use her horns is a bully. And she will get worse. I had a cow that had horns and for 2 lactations, 4 + years, was fine. Then she started using them and became a real b#@*h with them. I caught her hooking calves and so that winter when it got cool, she got her come-uppence and we took them off. She sure got a surprise the first time she went to use them and "nothing happened" because there were no horns. In a group of all having horns, there are few bullies. But when there is one with horns, they become insufferable. She will hurt someone.....

I assume that you are up for the daily milking since you don't think she will take calves. If she does not get milked out then she will get mastitis and you will lose a quarter or 2 at the least.... It takes some dedication so you really need to get the mindset of milking. The less grain you give her will help to keep her production down, but they are bred to milk, so what ever her genetic potential is, her system will try to reach it. Less grain will keep it a smaller amount, but they will milk the fat off their back in the beginning..... alot of hay will help but she will lose weight.
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I love your directness! It is refreshing. 💜

When I asked my vet about dehorning her and whether it was painful, his country boy reply was, "God GOD, yes!" That put me off, but I saw her go after a 400 lb calf yesterday right in the ribs. I will not have that! So, I guess a makeover is in her future when it cools off down here in Alabama.

Good news! I found her former owner and got some history on her:

I called the sale barn! They gave me a phone number for the former owner. This was after spending frustrating time trying to find a database to search with her AIN. (840) Is there a searchable database?? I found a Charolais one.

Audrey's momma was killed when a tree limb fell on her, so they pretty much raised her. The former owner raises beef cattle but got a couple of jerseys to teach his grandkids the old ways. She raised one calf. Didn't have any trouble with calving. He did mention the bullying part. Said she would be about 4 years old.

Here's the interesting part— she is bred to a brangus bull. 😮 Here I was with dreams of a doe-eyed, buckskin calf! Black will do. 😀 Will bring more money if it's a bull. Im keeping a heifer! 🤞🏼

Plus, I am rethinking the milking part. Maybe I'll try an extra calf on her. Either way, I'll be up bottle feeding or milking! Actually both if she refuses it.
 
It will NOT HURT HER ...IF... the vet uses a lidocaine type shot to numb it. Our retired vet friend has done several for us... mostly some bought cows, but a couple of my dairy crosses that did not get done young. They will be a bit sore after it wears off... but not really much. The big thing is to get them NUMBED up good... in a good headlock chute... get them cut off and then tie a baling string around the base to slow the bleeding...acts like a tourniquet the vet should pull out the bleeders which causes them to heal better inside and they don't bleed as much.... pack the holes with some cotton and spray with blue cote or something for the flies... in 24-36 hours you can untie the baling string around the horn base and it shouldn't bleed.... the cotton usually comes out on it's own.... have never had any problems with any done like that.... It is funny to see them decide to hook someone and nothing happens...

Heifer cross calf ought to make a good momma... bred back beef... get some nice calves... could even milk a 1/2 beef jersey cross...

If your vet is not "up to" the dehorning, find one that is. It is very doable... and you will be glad that you did it.

So glad you got some info on her... 2nd calf bred brangus ought to be fine for calving...
 
farmerjan said:
It will NOT HURT HER ...IF... the vet uses a lidocaine type shot to numb it. Our retired vet friend has done several for us... mostly some bought cows, but a couple of my dairy crosses that did not get done young. They will be a bit sore after it wears off... but not really much. The big thing is to get them NUMBED up good... in a good headlock chute... get them cut off and then tie a baling string around the base to slow the bleeding...acts like a tourniquet the vet should pull out the bleeders which causes them to heal better inside and they don't bleed as much.... pack the holes with some cotton and spray with blue cote or something for the flies... in 24-36 hours you can untie the baling string around the horn base and it shouldn't bleed.... the cotton usually comes out on it's own.... have never had any problems with any done like that.... It is funny to see them decide to hook someone and nothing happens...

Heifer cross calf ought to make a good momma... bred back beef... get some nice calves... could even milk a 1/2 beef jersey cross...

If your vet is not "up to" the dehorning, find one that is. It is very doable... and you will be glad that you did it.

So glad you got some info on her... 2nd calf bred brangus ought to be fine for calving...
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Thank you for the detailed info. I think my vet has done it many times. I will follow your advice and make sure she gets numbed really well.

I'm trying to envision what a Brangus/jersey cross would look like. I'm assuming it will be black or brownish. Hopefully, it will have her doe eyes and the rest I don't know.

Odds of having horns? 50-50? Or higher for horns? I'm guessing higher. Google is not a very good helper on finding pictures of Brangus/jersey cross calves.
 
NewMoo said:
Odds of having horns? 50-50? Or higher for horns? I'm guessing higher. Google is not a very good helper on finding pictures of Brangus/jersey cross calves.
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The odds of horns are either 50% or 0, depending on the genetics of the bull. If he's homozygous polled, none of his offspring will have horns when bred to a Jersey.
 
NewMoo said:
After months of checking her every day, she has finally lost her mucous plug. So it appears we will have a calf within the next two weeks or less. This photo was taken yesterday, January 8.View attachment 11928
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How exciting!!
Looks like she's gonna have enough milk for a few!
Can't wait to see that new baby!
 
At least you know that she wasn't bred when you got her and that the April breeding is her actual breeding date. She looks to have a nice udder. If you want to put at least one more calf on her.... after she calves and the calf gets colostrum.... say no more than 24 hours.... lock her calf in a stall and turn her out. Get another calf.... you can get it right when she has calved or even a day or 2 ahead if you want to feed a bottle.... and then when you bring her in for her calf to nurse, put the other calf on her also. Some cows will just say..... okay.... some will kick.... I tie their head or put in a head catch or something when I am going to milk so they are used to having their head confined somehow.... make sure the calf gets to nurse and after 24 hours, the milk going through the calf will be from this cow and she will start to recognize the smell.... ever notice that cows go around smelling baby calves butts???? Some will just take the calf, some are skittish, some are not going to do it at all.... but if you want to milk then you are going to have to develop a routine where she will want to come into the barn and keeping her calf separate will do it. If you have a small lot where she can't go "get lost" and hide her calf, then she will learn to come in for milking... grain is a great incentive.
She looks really good compared to when you got her.
 
farmerjan said:
At least you know that she wasn't bred when you got her and that the April breeding is her actual breeding date. She looks to have a nice udder. If you want to put at least one more calf on her.... after she calves and the calf gets colostrum.... say no more than 24 hours.... lock her calf in a stall and turn her out. Get another calf.... you can get it right when she has calved or even a day or 2 ahead if you want to feed a bottle.... and then when you bring her in for her calf to nurse, put the other calf on her also. Some cows will just say..... okay.... some will kick.... I tie their head or put in a head catch or something when I am going to milk so they are used to having their head confined somehow.... make sure the calf gets to nurse and after 24 hours, the milk going through the calf will be from this cow and she will start to recognize the smell.... ever notice that cows go around smelling baby calves butts???? Some will just take the calf, some are skittish, some are not going to do it at all.... but if you want to milk then you are going to have to develop a routine where she will want to come into the barn and keeping her calf separate will do it. If you have a small lot where she can't go "get lost" and hide her calf, then she will learn to come in for milking... grain is a great incentive.
She looks really good compared to when you got her.
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Thank you for the wealth of information. I have a high risk heifer due to calve in less than a month. (high risk for pulling due to size— small for her 25 months) I may bottle feed her calf using extra milk from the jersey. I doubt the heifer will have much milk.
 
Funny you should mention that. I caught a week old calf eyeing her this afternoon. I told him I knew she looked delicious but he better keep his distance from her. She doesn't have a lot of patience with the babies. I hope she'll have patience with her own.

We already have two milk bandits swapping mommas. I probably wouldn't notice a couple more!
 
We have a baby! In these pics, HE is three days old. As tall as some of the 2-4 week calves. I'm in love. Momma is being excellent with her mothering.

Many thanks for your advice and encouragement!
 

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MurraysMutts said:
❤ 😍 💖 ❣ 💕 💘
View attachment 12174
This one came out of a jersey cow/hereford sire! He is in Bessie's thread...
I'll add a pic of him all grown up for inspiration! He brindled pretty nicely...
View attachment 12176View attachment 12177
Someone may be along shortly to discuss your calf's underbite!

Love him!!!
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Underbite! Hilarious! Do you think mine will brindle with age? I'm thinking about keeping him as a herd sire and split off my heifers to a separate location. What do you think? I may need to wait and see how he grows off.

Yours is cute as a button with those teefies showing!
 

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