Standard vs Miniature Size Cattle

[djinwa]

Back to the original topic.....

I've fiddled with various breeds for small acreage over the years.

For milk, I would avoid a pure dairy cow unless you are good at dealing with problems associated with higher production - milk fever, mastitis, etc. Not affecting all cows, but you never know what you're getting for genetics. I've also gotten cows from dairies that end up with chronic mastitis recurring. Usually a reason they're selling them. Not to mention too much milk is a pain. And one cow needs dried up to have a calf so a few months will have no milk. As Nesikep mentioned, many dairy cows have too small teats for hand milking. And if you start by hand milking a dairy cow, better have good forearms and technique. Better to ease into it with lower production.

So I liked a Jersey/beef cross for milking. And bred to a beef bull, get a nice beefy calf. My favorite was a Jersey/Lowline cross. Also had a jersey/Hereford cross I liked, but even she gave more milk than we needed. Some dairies breed their jerseys to beef bulls so you can find a crossbred heifer.

If you milk two crossbreeds that calve different times of year, will have milk all year long (unless you want a break).

As for standard vs mini. Standard breeds vary widely in frame size, so you can go smaller. I have around frame 2 to 3 where many go 5 to 7. Guys like Pharo Cattle Co. have smaller standard bulls where I got semen to breed AI.

Not a fan of long hair and black cattle due to more heat issues and matted mud, manure, etc. Red angus good way to go. I'm also experimenting breeding British White cows to black angus bulls and getting white calves. Which are pretty by the way. Why have ugly cows? Just don't haul white calves to sale barn. The major breeds have better quality selection for semen.

And I'm now milking a British White beef cow a couple times a week for milk for just me and my wife. Advantage of milking beef or beef/dairy cross is the calf can take it all when you don't want to milk.

 

[farmerjan]

Back to the original topic.....

I've fiddled with various breeds for small acreage over the years.

For milk, I would avoid a pure dairy cow unless you are good at dealing with problems associated with higher production - milk fever, mastitis, etc. Not affecting all cows, but you never know what you're getting for genetics. I've also gotten cows from dairies that end up with chronic mastitis recurring. Usually a reason they're selling them. Not to mention too much milk is a pain. And one cow needs dried up to have a calf so a few months will have no milk. As Nesikep mentioned, many dairy cows have too small teats for hand milking. And if you start by hand milking a dairy cow, better have good forearms and technique. Better to ease into it with lower production.

So I liked a Jersey/beef cross for milking. And bred to a beef bull, get a nice beefy calf. My favorite was a Jersey/Lowline cross. Also had a jersey/Hereford cross I liked, but even she gave more milk than we needed. Some dairies breed their jerseys to beef bulls so you can find a crossbred heifer.

If you milk two crossbreeds that calve different times of year, will have milk all year long (unless you want a break).

As for standard vs mini. Standard breeds vary widely in frame size, so you can go smaller. I have around frame 2 to 3 where many go 5 to 7. Guys like Pharo Cattle Co. have smaller standard bulls where I got semen to breed AI.

Not a fan of long hair and black cattle due to more heat issues and matted mud, manure, etc. Red angus good way to go. I'm also experimenting breeding British White cows to black angus bulls and getting white calves. Which are pretty by the way. Why have ugly cows? Just don't haul white calves to sale barn. The major breeds have better quality selection for semen.

And I'm now milking a British White beef cow a couple times a week for milk for just me and my wife. Advantage of milking beef or beef/dairy cross is the calf can take it all when you don't want to milk.

Agree on most everything said. Have milked several dairy/beef crosses over the years, but usually the first year 50/50 cross, the cow made too much milk for just the calf if I didn't milk at least once every day. The next generation 25/75, the calf could use any I didn't have time to get to milk; like long hours at work. That is why I mentioned a full size jersey and using her as a dual purpose nurse cow/milk cow. Put 2 more calves on her and then be able to milk when wanted/needed. Have no experience with british whites but they are pretty in the pictures. One reason I like the belted galloways, cute to look at. And I had a few, years ago when there was a farm in the area that would sell some at the stockyards, and I bought several as small feeders for alot less than the "good" feeders. Loved their dispositions, great mothers to their calves.
Black cattle aren't my first choice, but when you are running the numbers we are, you have to breed for the market or you will lose your *** at the sale barns. My son and I both like red cattle, have several red polls and they are hot weather grazing cattle....
One of my jerseys has small teats and it is a pain. My old guernsey has larger, longer teats and you can easily milk her. All my cows are nurse/milk cows. They all get extra calves and I milk whomever when I need milk. As soon as I get my joint issues under control and some decisions made, I want to milk more as the demand for milk is unbelieveable and I can do cow shares. I have 6 that can be milking by next fall, and I want to have things in place so that they can be raising calves and/or contributing to a milk share program. I raised an avg 3 calves per cow last year and didn't push their production at all, just grass and a little grain for the first month or 2 while I was getting calves established. They should have been bred for spring 2017 calves again, but I held off due to my joint difficulties, and now retirement is looking more likely, so by next fall will have time to do it better.