# Jersey bull/steer calves for beef?



## CountryGoalie (Aug 31, 2004)

Hello!

My family would have the opportunity to purchase a very young Jersey bull calf this coming spring from a Mennonite dairy near us. I have heard that Jersey steers raised on their mother's milk are very good for beef... what about if they have had to be raised on milk replacer? Also, how many times a day do they need to be fed (or "nursed", as it were)? How early on would you castrate them? Is the meat as quality, if the calf has been raised on milk replacer rather than his mother's milk?

If we decide that it might be for us - which hinges mainly on the willingness of my father - we will be purchasing more informative literature. I've done quite a bit of reading on the internet as far as family milk cows go, just not much on raising a calf from that young of an age. So, I'm just trying to get some info.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

CountryGoalie said:


> Hello!
> 
> My family would have the opportunity to purchase a very young Jersey bull calf this coming spring from a Mennonite dairy near us. I have heard that Jersey steers raised on their mother's milk are very good for beef... what about if they have had to be raised on milk replacer? Also, how many times a day do they need to be fed (or "nursed", as it were)? How early on would you castrate them? Is the meat as quality, if the calf has been raised on milk replacer rather than his mother's milk?
> 
> If we decide that it might be for us - which hinges mainly on the willingness of my father - we will be purchasing more informative literature. I've done quite a bit of reading on the internet as far as family milk cows go, just not much on raising a calf from that young of an age. So, I'm just trying to get some info.


I raised mine on replacer. I think it was 1 qt twice a day. The meat is good, but they do not put on a lot of muscle compared to other breeds. Some people are put off by the yellow fat, but there is nothing wrong with it.


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## annie716 (Oct 4, 2006)

We raised 2 this past year, they were free from a farmer my son worked for, I wouldn't recommend it, if I did it again I'd put my money into a beef steer. We just sent them to the slaughter house last week & will get the meat later this week or next but I doubt it will be 200# a piece and not worth the money I have in feed and replacer. They just don't grow fast and are very lean so prob won't be to tender either. Ours were just over a year old and just weren't growing so I decided to quit dumping money into them. They're also a little to playful in the pasture and could be dangerous to children or others that might not be paying close attention or be used to animals. One of ours took a dislike to my 2 yr old grandaughter (who of course loves animals & has no fear & I couldn't let her within 10 feet of him or he would try to rip the fence or stanchion down to get at her. I got them each when they were about a week old and fed each one a bag of milk replacer (a quart twice a day) to the tune of $50 a bag, then the hay and grain all year as we didn't have a large enough pasture to support alone. I'm afraid to add it all up (not counting the hours spent feeding & cleaning up after them) cuz my meat will probably be more per # than it's worth.


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## jerzeygurl (Jan 21, 2005)

we almost exclusively eat jersey


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

I have two Jersey steers who were bottle fed. No real complaints, other than they grow slow, with that in mind they also eat less. I will not slaughter my Jersey boys until they are two years old. The Holsteins that I raise hit the freezer @ 12-18 months old depending on how much meat ya want. Jersey meat is outstanding if you don't mind the wait. I band the boys @ about one month old. In the attached photo, the Holstein is 1000 pounds @ 12 months old, the Jersey's are 5 months old. Quite a difference in size I'd say....


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)




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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

enjoy the pics, they should give folks ideas and perspective regarding these two common cattle breed.


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

Good Jersey beef can come from a slaughter priced cow being culled out of the milking line just as readily as from a steer with a lot of input costs.

If you are going to bottle feed I'd recommend Holstein over Jersey.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

Like Jerzeygurl, we eat Jersey or Jersey X exclusively and that is by choice. We have enough other breeds to be able to pick and choose but the Jersey gets the thumbs up every time.

What you feed it as a calf will have little bearing on the taste by the time it comes to killing it. Yes, they are slower to grow and never attain the huge weights of breef breeds but as already pointed out, they also eat less and have the added advantage in that they don't pug up the paddocks so badly when reared on wet country. We've killed Jersey steers out at 400lbs meat as 2 year olds. Don't think that's anything to complain about.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## henfruit (Dec 27, 2006)

annie are you sure they both castrated? could be why he was mean.i had one i thought i had done properly with a band.but he was always mean.when he went to the butcher they told me he was still intack less the bag.het did not have much fat on him.


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

It seems that many of the beef breeds do provide Cadillac beef, but also at Cadillac prices, while the lowly Jersey steer will provide Mercedes beef at Volkswagon prices.

The guess is that it all depends on what one has the most of: money or time. If one has plenty of money, one may pour it into a beef breed to be done with the growing in short order, but if it is time one has in greatest quantity, get a Jersey steer, let him into a paddock to graze, give him some hay his first winter (he won't eat much), and butcher him the second winter.

Of course, if one is buying the calf, bottle feeding with bought milk replacer, renting pasture, buying hay, feeding grain from the feed store, and letting the butcher do the final work (for no small fee) any beef will be spendy.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Jersey is the best beef in our family's opinion. The older cows make excellent roast and hamburger and the younger steer makes for excellent steaks, roasts and hamburger.


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

For reference material I suggest _Raising a Calf for Beef _ by Phyllis Hobson. A Garden Way Book. Likely you can find it on eBay, half.com or one of the Internet book sellers.


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## Oregon Julie (Nov 9, 2006)

We raise Jersey drop calves on our three cows, two Jersey cows and a Brown Swiss/Jersey cross. The calves come free from a local organic dairy, as did the two Jersey cows. Since they cannot treat with antibiotics if they have a mastitis issue they are culled. We bought the Jersey cows with three quarters functioning and they have raised two calves at a time each wth no problem. The Brown Swiss X came from a local 4H girl who decided she no longer wanted to show a dairy cow. Taffy is 4 now and has been owned by this young lady since she was a couple of weeks old, so very gentle and halter broke well.

I would NEVER raise drop calves if I had to bottle them. Too much work, too much money in replacer. We have such a low amount of expense into our steers as they grow up that the aspect of keeping them longer and getting less meat then a beef breed is not a problem for us. 

We may just be darn lucky but our Jersey cows just take any calf we toss in with them. They are dry right now, due in April/May to freshen. The Brown Swiss X has a single calf on her and is due during the summer, so he will be pulled in another couple of months to allow her a rest.

BTW one thing about raising up drop calves is that, IMO, it is very important to get them with a good start. The wife of the dairy farmer that we get ours from makes certain that they have gotten a good dose of colostrum and that they are thriving. She does not call us the moment they hit the ground and say come get them, she gives them a few days to be up and running well. I see people buying day old calves at the auction and while I realize they are cheap I do wonder how many survive because they look like they fell out of mom, got tossed in a truck and hauled to the sale. Not a good way to start out life.


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## jerzeygurl (Jan 21, 2005)

get better gains if left bulls, we eat them as bulls...

jerseys are also known for good returns for the ammount of feed given, they are smaller grow slower, but also eat a lot less


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## luvrulz (Feb 3, 2005)

Our ext office highly recommends jersey calves for beef. They usually rate as prime beef according to our guys. Bottle calves are always slower to grow and put on weight - doesn't matter the breed. Their usually more friendly and eager for himan company..... We love our jerseys and most everything in our pasture is a jersey or jersey cross. 

If we were only doing this (raising our own food....) because it was cheaper, we'd be out of business. You can't consider the overall cost per lb as the only factor - we also factor in something for better and healthier eating!


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