Why are almostall the jersey cows I see for sale bred to other breeds?

[ChickensAreSweet]

Wow! There are many more reasons than I thought there would be!! Thank you all for your responses.

I had an old-fashioned idea of having a "jersey family" and keeping ALL the offspring until they died a natural death. Oh well- had no idea jersey bulls were so unmanageable.

Thanks again!

 

[WIChookchick]

Actually I found this online, and its not that pricey...

he price of Jersey semen can vary anywhere from $5 (on sale and multiple purchase) up to $45 for sexed semen. Jace has been $40 for awhile. Top bull, dead now..so price is even higher.
The sexed semen tends to run in the $35 plus range due to the extra work involved, but it is a trade off. Higher chance of heifers, but it requires someone who really knows what they are doing.
MiniJerseys are in the $50+ range per straw. Cheapest I found was $50 or $75​

 

[HeatherLynn]

Also, some might be bred back to get mixes heifers on purpose. I have been looking at Jersey/holstein mixes. Supposedly this will give a milk with not as much butter fat to it. I am not sure where I read about it but I know I came across it several places. I would have no issues buying one of these for a milk cow personally.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Artificial insemenation: Conception rates won't be near as good as with natural service. It is quite difficult to know when the cow's in heat (especially if she's not with other bovines). You have a very small window during the time she is in heat to get her bred. With sexed semen you should buy two straws because it has been weakened while being sexed in the lab. With sexed semen you can expect 90% heifers and 10% bulls. AIing is not for the inexperienced. You would need to pay your vet or the semen rep to AI your cow.

Plus points to AI include: Being able to get top genetics at a good price. Not having to put up with a bull. Being able to purchase sexed semen. Not having to feed the bull. Using rare breeds if you like (such as Ayrshire).

If you decide to use Jersey semen, MAKE SURE that he sires good teat length. Most of the sires today sire daughters with tiny teats. With larger teats you get more of a squirt (milking won't take as long), and when the animal has just freshened tiny teats can sometimes be impossible to hand milk. Now a days they're breeding smaller teats into the dairy cows because they machine milk most of them anyway, and there's a lesser chance of injury with smaller teats.

 

[arabianequine]

I can find jersey bull calfs all day long here for free too. I personally love their meat and no many others that feel the same way and would not have any other cow for meat. You don't get as much meat off a jersey cause they usually are a smaller cow but I don't care for the price I would take a jersey over a holstein for beef all day as well.

This year we are getting angus though.

Jersey heifer calves are hard to find for sure though.

My jersey bulls were pretty friendly which can lead to danger. Some more rambunctious then others. One we could never really touch. I raised them all the same.

I do think people cross them to get a bigger beef cow.

 

[dewey]

It's something that has been done for years. It's wise economics. It produces a nice milker while making the bull calves more marketable, and at the same time freshens the full breed cow. Among others, every year I'd raise a couple of H/A cross steers, butcher 1 for me & sell one at market weight to cover the cost of mine. I think it's a better deal if you're looking for a decent family milker since the steers take longer to get to market weight and have more bone to meat ratio...but not a bad deal either way.

 

[S&N Livestock]

Im a certified AI tech and most of the big dairy farms pasture breed their heifers to beef bulls mostly angus...Due to the fact that the jersey bull is most of the time mean...When they are milking 100's even 1000's its hard to AI all the replacement heifers and dont want to take the risk of someone getting hurt in the pastures...Then after they calve out for the first time they focus on genetics thru AI...Another reason could be that she is a hard breeder... dairy semen isnt as powerful as beef semen and alot of times a cow that wont take AI with dairy semen will settle with beef semen...

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Really great info! Thanks to all who have posted. I definitely understand better now! (And don't want to touch a Jersey bull with a 10 foot pole!)