And when we showed up here in 1978 with a herd of Jerseys, I'm told there
was much area giggling, and the unanimous thought that we'd be 'gone in a
year'. Jerseys are very profitable, and excellent graziers. Dick Conklin
----- Original Message -----
From: "FW Owen" <fwo@bright.net>
To: <graze-l@witt.ac.nz>
Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2004 6:27 PM
Subject: [Graze-l] cow size (was Grazing serasonal)
> 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
> =======================
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