Wanted: Mini Jersey

[Minamyna]

Hello--

I have thinking about getting a mini jersey, but I haven't called anyone yet. I see most of them are $2500 and up. It seems like they are in high demand, is that true?

Anyways if anyone has info for me or a cow for sale (either milking or not) I would be interested. I don't have $2500 right this second to get one, but if someone had one for a little less or wanted to lease one out for feed and /or milk sharing I would be interested.

Also if anyone has one and can tell me how they like it that would be cool.

Thanks
Jenna

[MrsKK]

I don't have a cow for sale, nor do I know of any, but I can say that I really like handmilking my own cow.  I started out with her as a six week old heifer and am glad that I did start from the ground up.  That said, I have to also let you know that I am bulldog stubborn and won't give up until I figure it out - a good quality to have if you are starting out with a heifer that has never been milked before.

She's had two calves now and is raising her third foster calf.  I like to sharemilk with a calf so that I have a relief milker for times when I'm too exhausted or if I happen to get sick.  I went on a trip in early April for a week and the calf took care of milking for me.

I really enjoy handmilking, but I also enjoy her dry period so I can have a bit of a break.  I REALLY like the dairy products we are able to make from all of the rich goodness that is just there every day.

[mtncheesemaker]

Hi Jenna;
There are a couple of regular jerseys for sale in my neighborhood. I know my milk supplier has at least one for sale. I am in western Colorado, south of I-70, near Glenwood Springs.
PM me if you want more info.
Pam

[BigCheese]

Hi Jenna,

You seem a bit far from me (Northern CA) but we have Jerseys for sale. Before getting them we were looking into the mini market but found that if you just get a small Jersey, the difference from a "mini" is very little, except they are much cheaper. So now we keep small Jerseys. We breed them with our mini Zebu bull in order to make a smaller cow with good milk production, then sell them to families who could not handle a full Jersey amount of milk. Sounds like what your looking for. Of course the catch is that we have only had bulls by them so far  :P. Next calf is not due for 4.5 months. Hopefully a heifer!

Let me know if you happen to be interested despite the long distance.

[Minamyna]

Thanks Everyone! I am pretty interested in both situations. My idea with the mini jerseys is at least I could sell the babies for a good price!

What did you do with your bull calves?

[BigCheese]

Well, actually we are vegetarians and never slaughter our animals. So we keep the bulls or sell them to like-minded individuals.

[Minamyna]

Why did you choose zebu? Does it have anythign to do with not planning on eating them?