# Raising bottle calves on goats milk...



## Shayanna (Aug 1, 2012)

Pretty new farmer here. I have a couple goats and one jersey steer (4 months old and eating hay and grain.)
I have heard on the goat forum about people raising bottle calves on goats milk, then selling them as feeder steers to make a little money back. DH LOVES the steer we have and would like to get more in the future, but I want to make this as economical as possible. What is the longest you can strictly bottle feed a calf? Ideally, we would like to get the calf/steer in winter (whether early, mid, or late depends on the answers) and bottle feed it until spring, raise it on pasture through spring summer and maybe some of fall, then sell them. What are your opinions on jerseys vs. holsteins for meat? I realize those are dairy breeds, but we can get jerseys for $50 down the road or holsteins for $80 an hour away. What would be the fastest growing?
We wouldn't be doing too many, maybe just 2-3 per year. Just brainstorming here, but any advice would be much appreciated.

PS. and forgive my silly questions, but I have heard somewhere about calf hutches that you can put the bottle through the wall or something of the sort so you don't have to hold a bottle for each individual calf? Is it possible to make these?


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

What is the big deal about holding a bottle for a calf? I have lived on a farm all my life and have never used the bottle holders, I use this time to bond with the calves and watch them to see how they are doing. I like my Jersey cows and calves, and I have grown up with Holsteins. Holsteins will eat a bunch of feed before they are ready for market, they are just bigger framed animals. I would never drive an hour for a holstein calf unless I needed one real bad. Myself, I would go the jersey route, but that is my opinion. You can feed a calf for months on milk, but I would give some grass hay for them to nibble on during that time. So you could get a calf in November and feed it till spring if you wanted, then put them out on the fresh new grass come spring. Now thats only going to make this calf/calves around a year old, They are not going to be huge, but will still make good eating. Any more questions just ask. > Thanks Marc


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## Shayanna (Aug 1, 2012)

How are Jersey's and their growth rate? I realize it wouldn't be anything close to an angus. but do you think it would be worth it? How much do you think they would sell for the next fall?


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## Shayanna (Aug 1, 2012)

Also didn't ask the most important question. How much milk do they need per day? I googled it and someone said a qt, mixed half and half with water to start, twice daily. Does this mean the calf is getting a gallon total of milk daily or half a gallon?


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## sammyd (Mar 11, 2007)

We have raised quite a few calves on goats milk in hutches.
There are wire holders you can buy that hold the bottles, they slip over the welded wire used for the fence in front of the hutch. 
We prefer Holsteins. 
Yes the calf should be getting near to 1 gallon a day. The Jersey will take a little less to start.
We did cut our goat milk but usually put 1 1/2 quarts milk and the rest water in a standard 2 qt bottle. After a week or so it was full strength.

If you are looking to sell the animals you had better check your market. If you are sending them to a sales barn the Jerseys will sell cheaper than the Holsteins. If you are selling to private parties it would pay to ask them what they prefer.


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## Crazy Farmgirl (Oct 21, 2012)

If you go the jersey route then in order to make any real profit you will want to find a private market fro then and avoid the sale barn, they are basically worthless there. Also Jerseys will not gain as well as holsteins, but the holsteins can really put away the feed!! 

I raise jerseys for hamburger only, the fat has a distinct flavor that many people don't care for when you do a standard cut. Holstein yields better and we do standard cuts on them and find very little difference from a standard beef cow as far as flavor but the yield pound for pound is less.

You must know that doing these dairy calves can get costly, you need to be able to absorb the loss if one or several die.


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## kycrawler (Sep 18, 2011)

Crazy Farmgirl said:


> If you go the jersey route then in order to make any real profit you will want to find a private market fro then and avoid the sale barn, they are basically worthless there. Also Jerseys will not gain as well as holsteins, but the holsteins can really put away the feed!!
> 
> I raise jerseys for hamburger only, the fat has a distinct flavor that many people don't care for when you do a standard cut. Holstein yields better and we do standard cuts on them and find very little difference from a standard beef cow as far as flavor but the yield pound for pound is less.
> 
> You must know that doing these dairy calves can get costly, you need to be able to absorb the loss if one or several die.


 

I agree with the first and last portions of your post but the middle paragraph is pure bull. Feed a jersey and angus beef the same the jersey fat will be yellower than the angus i cant tell any differance in the taste . MOST Jersey steaks are smaller though


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## Sparkie (Aug 16, 2012)

kycrawler said:


> I agree with the first and last portions of your post but the middle paragraph is pure bull. Feed a jersey and angus beef the same the jersey fat will be yellower than the angus i cant tell any differance in the taste . MOST Jersey steaks are smaller though


Agree. Since it looks different people think it must taste different. Jersey meat is actually better than angus meat, it's sweeter.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

We do this every year - minus the goats. Ds is getting quite chunk put away for college by doing this. Last year, we bought 4 jersey calves. We feed them milk replacer ($7-80) per calf. We feed 2 qts twice a day, starting off with a bit less and gradually working up. Depending on the calf, we bottle them for 8-12 weeks. When about 4 months old- we sell them for $250. I don't have a lot of pasture and don't want to keep them through the summer. In early Jan-Feb, the calves were $10 each. We haven't checked for this year. You can feed them milk for as long as you want especially if it's free. 

We love jersey meat. I can't say it's because it's specifically jersey, since it might just be that it's very fresh meat from a younger steer, rather than an older dairy cow. The fat is yellow but if it's processed correctly, there is not difference in taste. Not processed properly the parts with thick fat on them can taste rancid. We keep them about 18 months if we are putting them in the freezer. We had a holstein that just got too hard for me to handle and he went at 14 months. Ours average about 1000 lbs and we get about 5-600 lbs of meat from them. 

From last year's crop we kept 2 - we're going to sell one in halves or quarters as they go to the butcher. Or maybe we'll just keep the meat- depending on the price we can get for him. Last time we sold part of one, we got $2.50 a pound. I see them advertized on CL here for $1.50 now. I can't do it that cheaply.


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## Hannah90 (May 2, 2012)

Callieslamb, 

You said you're getting $250 a piece at $250. Are you selling them private market as feeder calves?


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## Crazy Farmgirl (Oct 21, 2012)

kycrawler said:


> I agree with the first and last portions of your post but the middle paragraph is pure bull. Feed a jersey and angus beef the same the jersey fat will be yellower than the angus i cant tell any differance in the taste . MOST Jersey steaks are smaller though


I grass feed, no grain at all. I like the Jersey meat IMHO there is a distinct difference in the flavor compared to my Herefords. They are processed the same. Everyone has their own opinion of the taste be it good our bad, MOST everyone I sell to has noticed the difference and prefer to have the Jerseys made strictly into burger.


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## Hannah90 (May 2, 2012)

I have never tried Jersey meat. However, I have heard some folks say it does have a different taste. It could also be just the difference in grass raising vs grain. If they are eating silage that could make a difference as well. People taste things differently.


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

Just wanted to note my experience with Jersey meat. My husband and I are older and we both agree that Jersey meat is the best beef we've ever had. The old timers around here agree. Ours get no grain, we raise them on hay/grass. Very tender, flavorful, just perfect. 

They don't gain as fast as a Holstein or get as big, but on the other hand a lot of that Holstein carcass is just bone. That you've had to feed for 2 years.


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

I raised both Jersey and Holsteins on goat's milk. We put one of Jerseys in our freezer. YUMMY! I always hold the bottles for the boys. I don't know, I like being close to the calves. Plus, they really get attached to me and I can get them to follow me anywhere. It doesn't take them long to drink the bottle and I can feed two at a time. I start them off with a smaller amount of milk and gradually get them up to a 1/2 gallon in the morning and a 1/2 gallon in the afternoon. I start to wean the boys around 4 months old and sell them at 5 months. I have two leaving this week for $350 a piece.


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## 65284 (Sep 17, 2003)

Crazy Farmgirl said:


> I grass feed, no grain at all. I like the Jersey meat IMHO there is a distinct difference in the flavor compared to my Herefords. They are processed the same. Everyone has their own opinion of the taste be it good our bad, MOST everyone I sell to has noticed the difference and prefer to have the Jerseys made strictly into burger.



Are you saying that Jersey fat has a distinctive taste on a roast, but that roast ground into burger doesn't?  Not saying you're wrong, but I can't imagine how grinding could change the taste of fat.


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## happydog (May 7, 2008)

After the first few days I transition my calves from a bottle to a bucket with a nipple. It's easier to clean, holds up to two gallons, and it hooks on the wall so I don't have to hold it.


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## Crazy Farmgirl (Oct 21, 2012)

65284 said:


> Are you saying that Jersey fat has a distinctive taste on a roast, but that roast ground into burger doesn't?  Not saying you're wrong, but I can't imagine how grinding could change the taste of fat.


Not at all, the difference is the way its cooked. Roasting puts the flavor through the meat but in burger the faster cook time and the fact that the fat cooks off makes the difference. We also trim a lot of the fat off so the burger its very lean.


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