Best way to tame the calf?

[Imissmygirls]

Jerseys have attitudes!
Notice that I didn't say good or bad... just attitudes.
We had some treasures and also some * ahem* ( fill in blank).
One thing we noticed is that many have VERY strong let-down reflexes and we thought that had something to do with the kicking.
Re: taming calf: definitely tie her at some point while very young. They need to learn that ties won't kill them, and they just have to accept it. If they learn being tied and haltering very young, they will remember it.
Re: dying... Wynedot, we had a 4H saying: If it's a 4H animal, it will die. NO matter what, it will find some strange insane way to get sick, die, get injured. Having a 4H animal was tantamount to the death sentence. We stopped asking why.

 

[kstaven]

We have been lucky and never had a mean Jersey. Can't say the same for Dexters though. Had a few that tried to kill me and have had a number of people seriously injured by them around here. Even the calves where crazy.

This is Kurtis eating his words. Got some new girls in from a dairy in central BC. One seemed a little nervous and refused to let down after arriving. No big deal there, considering the trip on the truck.

Next milking. Head shy and nervous but let down because she was so uncomfortable.

Next milking. Just bringing her in to milk and she flips out. Slamming me repeatedly into the rails in the milking area. Tries to stomp on me. I got out of her reach and she takes a head on run at me slamming into an overhead door and taking it off the rails. Slams through another gate and heads for the field. Gave her some time to calm and herded her back to a corral area. Went in with feed and she tries to run me down again and then crashes through another gate.

This is a definite first for me with Jerseys. I think her new name is going to be hamburger. that is if I'm not nuts enough to try her again in the morning.

 

[Farmer Kitty]

I hope your not to banged and battered!

Do you have a stantion to lock her in? I would lock her up in one and put the nose leader in. Then tie it to her hind leg on the side you need to milk her on. As I'm sure you know, cows kick backwards first and this way she yanks on her nose. I've had good luck breaking mean ones this way.

Good luck with her and if she is to bad make her into hamburger.

 

[wynedot55]

samething happened to the wife of a friend of mine,they milked jerseys till they soldout.she was trying to drive this 1st calf heifer into the barn so she could milk her.an she was behind her when she kicked her.breaking her lower leg.an slamming her into the side of the drippshed.it hurt her pretty bad.an she finally crawled or was found by her hubby.i cant remember wich.but i do know it was 6 months before she was back in the barn milking.