Question regarding hay for Jersey Cow

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here and I joined so that I could get some clarification. I've been reading about Jersey Cows and feeding them and I'm obviously not understanding things correctly. I do not have any cattle and there are no plans to have any in the immediate future but I am trying to learn as much as I can about them and I feel like I must not be understanding the information i am reading.

From what I have read, a Jersey cow needs around 35 pounds a day in hay every day even when its out on pasture. Assuming that is correct, that is about 13,000 pounds of hay a year. In Florida, where I would hypothetically have this cow, alfalfa hay cost around 400 or so bucks a ton or so I gather from googling. So at 7 tons a year that is 2800 bucks a year just in hay. Is having a family dairy cow really that costly? I go through a lot of milk, butter, and cheese every year but I don't think I spend 3,000 dollars on it to justify spending even more than that for the sake of having a family dairy cow. If its really that costly just for hay not even counting all the other costs i just don't see how its possible for a regular person to keep a cow. So what is it im not understanding or is this all correct and people keep a family dairy cow for the sake of having the cow and to hell with the costs? Thanks for your time and please forgive my ignorance.

Ashlie

My question is this: Why bother feeding hay every day when pasture is enough to give a cow all she needs in roughage? If you're in the southern US where you practically can have pasture 365 days a year, and manage it well enough so that you are able to graze all year round, why do you (and not "you" as in you directly) need to feed that much hay to a dairy cow 365 days a year? It doesn't make any sense, economically nor financially.

Having a grazing system where you would have more than just the lone milk cow (you should always try to have at least one other bovine to make a herd, and it doesn't have to be another dairy cow) to use as a management tool to graze a pasture would significantly reduce your hay costs. Heck, in Florida of all places, you can reduce your hay expenses to zero! Not that you shouldn't have hay, but hay would be made available in times of drought or when pasture isn't productive, or it's so wet that when cattle go on there they put holes in the soil (called "pugging"). That way you can have about $500 worth of hay stored up for those "just in case" moments.

I should hope that any reasonable individual wanting to own a family milk cow or even just a handful would seriously consider managed grazing systems. Because those numbers that you pulled up more than likely came from a source that may be much further north than you that requires feeding hay during those months where it's next to impossible to graze cattle like up in Maine or in the Canadian province where I live. Then hay IS needed, for 6 months out of the year where lots of snow is on the ground and feed is very scarce if not provided. The other possibility is that it's a source of dairy cows raised in conventional operations where they are given feed 365 days a year until it's time for them to leave for the slaughter plant. But I'm only assuming here.

Either way, I'm standing by the fact that it's not exactly true that a dairy cow like a Jersey needs hay every single day even out on pasture. I'm also going to add that the amount of hay that a Jersey cow might need even on pasture is much less than what she would need come winter time. And for you, winter isn't exactly Winter Wonderland down there for 4 to 6 months.

What a Jersey cow might need more of if pasture isn't providing enough energy is grain or some sort of energy supplement. Supplements would only be given to a producing cow at around 5 lbs a day, if that. Not to mention allowing ad libitum access to a mineral/salt block.

On the other side of this, though, some people do like to have a milk cow as part of sorta a "hobby" and don't mind having to pay a bit for feed and vet bills. However, that also isn't exactly true because there are those that do pay attention to their costs and try to find ways that best meet their cow's nutrition, but aren't costing them an arm and a leg every year. Some side income from selling other products, or income from a off-farm job helps mitigate those costs quite a bit.

Thank you so much for your reply. What you said makes a lot of sense and it was what i thought myself. It just didnt seem logical what i was reading about having to give all that hay even when the cow has daily access to pasture. I understand that not all pastures are created equal and that you would have to supplement more on low quality pasture. Thanks again for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response

Not a problem! It is pretty important to understand and know the costs of feed, especially in times when it's really needed. Winter feeding can cost a person quite a bit, and sometimes a producer will unknowingly be spending around $2 per lb of feed per cow per day during the winter months, and that all adds up when that stretches out for at least 6 months! So you're welcome, glad I could be of some help.

Also remember you can breed her to a beef bull and keep the calf for beef for yourself or sell it at auction and make $500-$600 or so as a weaned calf.

I have a couple Jersey milk cows and I don't feed hay during the summer unless we run out of grass (which hasn't happened).

x2 on what SheepGirl said about breeding to a beef bull. We bred our first Jersey back to a Red Angus last summer so that her calf would be beefier than a pure Jersey. She calved last night with a pretty red heifer.

Also, we only milk once a day. They get to keep and feed their calves, but we start separating them at night (usually around 2-3 weeks old or when the calf stops leaving anything for us) and then milk in the morning. Cows and calves go back together for the rest of the day. We end up with happier, healthier (and fatter!) calves and more than enough milk for us. This means less labor for us. We aren't bottle feeding calves and best part is, if you need to be gone for a couple days and can't find anyone to milk for you....just leave the calf on the cow. That was helpful for us last summer with our sheep shows.

Our 2nd Jersey calved middle of April (we bought her bred to a Jersey) and she is currently feeding 2 calves (her own and an Angus heifer that we bought cheap at a week old due to her being blind - a week of antibiotics fixed that) PLUS giving us at least 3 gallons every morning.