Hi Folks,
Cow size isn't much of an issue. In my opinion, it doesn't
make any significant difference. Fat and protein
percentage in the milk are the real issue between breeds.
Obviously the two most successful of the 5 major dairy
breeds are Jerseys and Holsteins. Which happen to be the
smallest and largest breeds.
I'm going to ramble on a little about cow size related and
Jersey vs Holstein:
---
Some for what we think is a size advantage of the smaller
Jerseys might really be a personality advantage. Accept
for "snap" kicking they generally behave better.
For example, If you push a Jersey sideways (so you can
access her udder) she is likely to move over in a ladylike
manner.
If you do the same to a Holstein, she is likely to surge
back and tramp on your foot using most of her size
advantage.
---
Calving ease was mention by someone as related to size.
I don't believe that it is related to size...it's related to
stupidity and ..... cow proportions.
Calving ease bulls is an ideal marketing concept in that the
concept is self fullfilling ... narrow pelvis cows.
The concept was originally conceived by the bull studs as a
way to sell more semen from some of the less popular sires.
Eventually it became institualized and is now widely
accepted as a best or recommended practice.
But at the time, it was regarded by most as somewhat
comical. At the time we didn't think the bulls stud guys
were developing a marketing concept, we just thought they
were desperate for money.
We never used calving ease bulls and never suffered for it.
We did the opposite...bred for wide rumps.
You don't need calving ease bulls if you don't use them.
If you DO use calving ease bulls, you HAVE to use them more
and more.
The logical way to avoid calving problems is to select for
wide rumps so there is room for the calf to exit. A wide
rumped adult pelvis is portportionally much wider than a
wide rumped infant pelvis.
By the way, the concept of pushing Crisco in around the calf
(and waiting for it to melt) is a heck of a lot more
valuable than the calving ease concept.
---
Within the Holstein breed, the big cows win at the shows and
also get stuck in the free stalls.
Those are my two main personal issues with cow size. My
solution to the conflict, of course, is to tear out the
free stall partitions. <grin>
---
The best cows I ever owned were the absolute worst cows in
the herds they came from, mostly on account of size.
I used to buy "gutter" cows out of eastern Ontario. The
barns and stalls were small in that area ... quite a bit
smaller than in western Ontario.
This was the result of seasonal calving and a tradition of
feeding very little grain. Grain was scarce there. The
Scots in there counted out oat hulls to the cows like they
were dollar bills.
The cows were just naturally smaller there, because seasonal
and low grain reduce mature stature of cows. The barns in
eastern Ontario reflected generations of that management
style.
Seasonal calving persisted longer in that area than anywhere
else in North America. It persisted in isolated corners of
eastern Ontario into the early 70's when it was killed off
by the new quota system, or maybe because the seasonal
graziers just got too old to continue milking.
A typical "gutter" cow from eastern Ontario was a Rockdale
President (or similiar), that was so big she laid with her
udder in the gutter. These "gutter" cows were always
armour-plated with shit, had dinged hocks, wouldn't milk,
and hardly ever showed any sign of heat in the barn season.
They were worthless in that environment.
I bought those cheap. The sellers were darn grateful. Back
in Ohio, on a loose pack, those huge cows bloomed and made
tremendous show cows and great milk cows.
With regard to their milk production, their environment was
infinitely more important than either their size or milk
production genetics.
By the way, I think any cow can be made into a high
producer, even those by minus bulls. It's just a matter of
finding the "key" to unlock them.
Of course, in today's dairy world, nobody is looking for the
"keys" to those special cows. They just get shipped.
---
Jersey's take more barn space and more labor per pound of
milk than Holsteins.
Even though the Jersy stalls are smaller than the Holstein
stalls, you will find that the extra number needed (to
produce the same number of pounds of milk) will result in a
much larger and more expensive barn. Do the arithmetic and
you will see what I mean.
You also have to put the milking machine on many more times,
with Jerseys than with Holsteins, to get the same amount of
milk.
I grant that these considerations are less important
nowadays with more equitable milk pricing.
But these considerations were once very important. And so
obvious, in those earlier years, that (back then) Holstein
breeders could hardly believe that the Jerseys guys were
such gluttons for punishment.
--
Kindest regards,
=======================
F. W. Owen
Owenlea Holsteins
9430 Spencer Road
Homerville, Ohio 44235
e-mail fwo@bright.net
home page http://www.bright.net/~fwo
voice & fax 330.625.2369
=======================
