NURSE COW INFO

[Anonymous]

I AM THINKING ABOUT BUYING A DAIRY COW AND MAKING HER IN TO A NURSE COW AND RAISING BABY CALFS ON HER CAN YOU MAKE MONEY THIS WAY OR IS IT A BAD IDEA.

 

[Anonymous]

A hundred years ago, or it seems like that long ago anyway, we used to raise calves on angus X Holsteinf cows. The cow would feed 4 or 5 calves at a time. At about 6 - 8 weeks we would pull those calves off and graft another bunch on . It' ahrdto tell if you could make money t it. Your local market and the cost of groceries for them can change the whole equation

dun

> I AM THINKING ABOUT BUYING A
> DAIRY COW AND MAKING HER IN TO A
> NURSE COW AND RAISING BABY CALFS
> ON HER CAN YOU MAKE MONEY THIS WAY
> OR IS IT A BAD IDEA.

 

[Anonymous]

Not a bad idea, depending on your calf market.

I have a Jersey X Hostein cow that feeds 16 calves per year -- 4 sets of 4 calves, weaned at 10-11 weeks. But I don't graft the calves onto the cow, I'm milking anyway, so I milk her too and immediately bottle the milk and take it to the calves. I feel better knowing exactly how much milk each calf is getting, and when she comes to the point where her production slacks off, I know it and can supplement with replacer if necessary.

The profit off of the calves raised off of this cow last year, paid the feed & hay bill for all the cattle (6 head on drylot). Not a lot, but worth what little time I put into them.

Ann B

> I AM THINKING ABOUT BUYING A
> DAIRY COW AND MAKING HER IN TO A
> NURSE COW AND RAISING BABY CALFS
> ON HER CAN YOU MAKE MONEY THIS WAY
> OR IS IT A BAD IDEA.

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[Anonymous]

> I AM THINKING ABOUT BUYING A
> DAIRY COW AND MAKING HER IN TO A
> NURSE COW AND RAISING BABY CALFS
> ON HER CAN YOU MAKE MONEY THIS WAY
> OR IS IT A BAD IDEA.

I used to do that with an old holstein cow. I remember making money at it but not enough if I didn't enjoy it also. The trick for me was having a nice gentle easy going cow that would let all four nurse at ounce, and one that will let you push those calves heads under her in the beginning. You've got me thinking of buying another one now. I guess I did enjoy that.

 

[Anonymous]

> I used to do that with an old
> holstein cow. I remember making
> money at it but not enough if I
> didn't enjoy it also. The trick
> for me was having a nice gentle
> easy going cow that would let all
> four nurse at ounce, and one that
> will let you push those calves
> heads under her in the beginning.
> You've got me thinking of buying
> another one now. I guess I did
> enjoy that. how much is enough and do you have any good wisdom about this that may help me. how did you pick your cows.

 

[Anonymous]

> I AM THINKING ABOUT BUYING A
> DAIRY COW AND MAKING HER IN TO A
> NURSE COW AND RAISING BABY CALFS
> ON HER CAN YOU MAKE MONEY THIS WAY
> OR IS IT A BAD IDEA. I have three jersey nurse cows, I'll let them have a calf then I'll buy another calf and put it on her,I'll sell them at about 300lbs and buy another calf and put on her,if she is in condition.

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[Anonymous]

I happened across someone selling a nurse cow when I did it. It would be much simpler to find one that has experience. If not, you could contact some dairys in your area to see if they have a cow that they thought would be suitable for that. The money you would make would depend on the market when you sell. I had to sell 3-4 calves to make up what I spent on the cow. The hardest part for me was finding quality beef breed calves, i didn't want dairy calves. At the time they were not much cheaper to buy and sold for a lot less.