Dairy Heifer: To Raise, or Not to Raise?

Parmesan

Just born
Joined
Apr 28, 2016
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
4
Hi everyone, I'm new here!

I am a 4H member, and have been interested in raising a dairy heifer (preferably Jersey) for the past few years. I have never raised a young calf (let alone any cattle, in general).

I live in a small town, but am somewhat close to neighbors. It's too small to have "city limits".

Now, I cannot keep this calf forever. So, I have decided I will sell her back to a dairy once she is ready to be bred. From what I've read, Jersey's are faster at maturing than other breeds. Thus, this means coming into heat at a younger age, in theory. Does this mean they can be bred earlier, or should they still wait till they are 1year+? I want to raise 1 calf (with the company of my goats). Will she still have the regular signs of heat (like bawling, pacing, etc.), even though she'd be the only bovine around? How long will she be showing these signs of heat?

I know it's pretty much impossible to avoid complete noise from an animal, but I was just hoping to hear some experiences with this. Some things I've heard about heifers in heat (bawling day+night for 24 hours... sleepless nights...) seem pretty intense. Is that normal for all heifers/cows?

Thank you for your help! I'm pretty much on my own for this decision, and don't want to jump into it unprepared!:D
 

canesisters

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 29, 2012
Messages
1,236
Reaction score
5,363
Points
413
Location
South Eastern VA
Hi. I'm mostly a 'lurker' here but I thought I'd chime in on this one.

First, does it have to be a jersey? I mean, are there any other breeds available near you? A high production dairy cow can be a real challenge for your first time.

A calf CAN be raised alone, but like any other herd animal, they will be much happier and better behaved (usually) if they have buddies.

My girl was an only cow and she was quite vocal about coming into heat. Some, however, are silent and that makes getting them bred really tricky.

Jerseys have a smaller frame than many other breeds and so should be bred later than most in order to give them the best chance of an uneventful birth.

If you have room, buying a cow with a calf and raising the calf as your 4h project would be a better idea. Being raised on it's mom's milk instead of replacer might even give your calf an edge in the ring. :)

There is a forum that is just about keeping a small backyard 'herd' of dairy cow(s) and there is a TON of great info there if you want to check them out in addition to all the experienced folks who can help you here. "Keeping A Family Cow"

Good luck - dairy cows are a HOOT!!
 

Mindi

Ridin' The Range
Joined
Mar 16, 2015
Messages
50
Reaction score
42
Points
58
Location
IA
We raise bucket calves, in fact have 46 right now that we get bull calves from a Wisconsin dairy and occasionally get a heifer in the mix that we feed out until slaughter. We rarely if at all have any noise or any problems really with them as they mature. I know that the heifers we do get are more likely part of boy/girl twins. The reason the heifers are given up is when she is a twin she has 90% infertility rate. So that still leaves a 10% chance for a fertile heifer. The ones we have noise from is a stag that when castrated, the vet has missed a nut, so that steer is borderline bull and just bellers out annoyingly. This probably doesn't really help, but just thought I would throw it out there. Good luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: TAH

Latest posts

Top