FarmI wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
I know this is OT but I thought I might get some help here and I
don't quite know where else to ask.

We have acquired a cow. Technically I think she is a heifer but I
am not 100% sure. She is Jersey about 6 years old,

That's quite old for a heifer.

That is the difficult part. Due to force of circumstance the previous owner
was not (and will not be) available to supply all those details. What was
passed on third hand was the herd (of 4) was between 6 and 8 years old and
some had had calfs, that two might be the daughters of the other two. I am
not competent to determine such things as age and parity. Tilly is fairly
large for a Jersey and in fine condition but her udder is only about the
size of a rockmelon and quite tight against her body. Is that significant?
What should I be looking for?

I assume you'll be using AI to impregnate her?

Yes

Make sure when you get her in calf to check out the
EBVs of the bull whose semen is supplied. The EBVs are exciting
figures that tell you facts like 200 day milk, scrotal circumference
etc. but the thing you really want to know is birth weight so look
for a birthweight figure that is a minus figure because what that
means is that the calves from that bull should be lighter in weight
at birth. You don't want a plus figure for a heifer - you are
looking to have a small calf first up.

Good tip thanks.


a buxom blond with fake tan on
the face and too much eye makeup. Her name is Mootilda. She is tame
enough to come and eat out of a bucket but we want her to become a
house cow.

Where do I find out about doing the best thing for her?

You could try the library or online ask in the misc.rural newsgroup
but be cautious there. If Pete Heubner from NZ answers you, he's
reliable as are a few of the Americans but excercise caution as some
of the Yanks are quite clueless.


The local library doesn't have much which I find a surprise this being a
beef area. Perhaps such knowledge is normally passed on gentically.

She will have
plenty of good grass and clean water and eleven horses for company.
A herd of cattle to be her mates is out of the question right now,
she will just have to commune over the fence with the neighbour's
beef cattle. As long as she doesn't get too friendly with that
Bubba the bull. He is already blowing her kisses through the fence
and I am sure that he only wants her for her body but she won't
believe me.

Bloody Bubba will be in your paddock given any probs with your
fencing - if you haven't already, string an electric line along the
fence he's hanging over.


Done.

It's the same with daughters, they never listen to me either.

Ha! Daughters (or sons) never listen to their parents until they hit
their mid 20s.


That is when parents, regardless of their age, suddenly uncover a rich vein
of knowledge that they never had before :-)

For those who
think this conversation is getting a little lurid I will have no
choice but to become quite involved with her (Mootilda's) sex life
if she is going to start turning grass into milk. Thank God that
part isn't the same with the daughters, although I think it entirely
possible that they have several stomaches each, their mother does
all that and I just get to hear what is good for me. Sometimes I
have to run around with my fingers in my ears yelling "la la la"
loudly. Are there any good books or web sites that I can study?

David and Gerda Foster wrote a book about slow food and there is a
lot of discussion in there about their Jerseys because they have a
number of them that they use for milk and for making cheese - it's
been some time since I read it but I do remember that they seemed to
know what they were on about with their Jerseys (solange was the name
of one - lovely name for a cow) but it wasn't a specific 'dairy cow'
book. It's a great read anyway for someone of your interests.


Thanks

I also suspect that there wouldn't be a huge amount of info on the
Net about managing a home dairy cow as having one is rather uncommon
these days. If I was looking on the net, I'd be looking at
homesteading, self sufficiency, self reliance or even voluntary
simplicity, simple living type sites.
One pice of advice I would give is to make sure you have your milking
bail and calf lock up built and ready for action long before the cow
is due to calve and get her used to going there regularly.


Plans are on the drawing board already

David