Jersey Nurse-cows and foster calves.
A nurse-cow is one that raises calves born to other cows and Jerseys, with their strong maternal nature and the high butter-fat content of their milk, make particularly good nurse-cows. It is so satisfying to see bobby-calves become
part of a tight knit family group,
to
thrive and grow like mushrooms. I get tremendous joy out of watching groups of calves
playing and hooning around the paddock as they do in the fading light at days end.
And it's even more enjoyable when their Mamma's join in! Without
doubt, it's my favourite time of day.It is the 'bobby calf' that we New Zealand calf rearers hand-rasie or foster onto our nurse-cows. "What is a bobby calf?" 'Bobby calf' is the term used for young calves that the dairy farmer has no use for. These 4 day old calves are either sold to hobby or commercial calf-rearers, or sent to the works for slaughter. In pre-decimal currency days, unwanted calves sold for the princely sum of a 'bob' - which was a slang word commonly used for a 'shilling' (10 cents). The term 'bobby calf' continues to be used today despite calf-rearers paying anywhere between $40 and $120.
It is the practice of the New Zealand dairy farmer to run a beef bull with his cows after the period of artificial breeding has ended. These bulls, known as 'clean-up bulls', inseminate any cows that didn't conceive artificially or have perhaps aborted since being AI'd. The resulting calves are known as 'dairy/beef' bobbies, and once weaned are in demand by commercial beef farmers as potential breeding cows in the case of heifers, or bulls/steers for beef. The most common 'clean-up' bulls used are Hereford, Angus and Murray Greys.
Over the years I've raised crossbred calves
from
each of the above breeds, but the most financially rewarding have always
been the Hereford sired calves. This cross is known as 'white-face'.
They are a big, strong calf that grow rapidly when raised on a Jersey
cow. It's been my practice to have the Jerseys raise two or three sets
of foster-calves per lactation, depending upon how early in spring she
calved, her ability to hold condition and of course, the current pasture
growth. The market for 'white-face' calves is strongest in late
October, November and early December, so once the earliest calves reach
150kg, I sell them and put new calves on the cow. I leave the final set of foster-calves on the cow until the Autumn beef weaner
sales in March/April, by which time they weigh between 250-300kg. There is not a big market for Jersey heifer calves
raised by
the small-holder here in New Zealand and it has only recently become
profitable to raise Jersey bull calves. Dairy replacements are
raised by the hundreds, sometimes thousands, on commercial dairy farms. Luckily, I've been able to sell Jersey heifer weaners to
other small-holders who are, like myself, farming cows without the use of chemicals. It's
pleasing to see a growing demand for experienced house/nurse-cows.
More and more folk are wanting to grow as much of their food as
naturally as possible and are realizing the worth of a good house-cow.
Mothering-on new foster calves can sometimes mean a few days of back-breaking work as the big white-face calves often find it a mind boggling exercise to locate the teats
on a
little Jersey cow and need guidance to do so. The 'modern' Jersey cow
has been bred for increased milk production and her udder is a lot
larger and therefore lower to the ground than that of the historic
Jersey cow of Jersey Island, her place of origin. I've even seen some
bright calves get down on their knees to nurse more comfortably and just
check out the adjoining photo! I'm
sure the white-face calf is shouting 'cheat'!Scouring, due to the high fat content of the Jersey milk, is always a concern when mothering-on dairy/beef calves. To help prevent scouring, I will pull a calf off the cow if I think he's over eating. With careful management, by day 3, their tummy's have usually adjusted to the rich milk and they're ready to run with the cow 24/7. From then on, it's just a matter of checking them each day to make sure all are well fed, happy and healthy and that there's no problem with the cows udder and teats. I've had very little problem with calves cutting teats and I put this down to the calves getting sufficient milk, pasture and straw.
A nurse-cow requires a humungous amount of quality feed, and I feel, must have good quality food in front of her 24/7 if she's to remain healthy and keep her condition. My cows are pasture fed (although I have at times fed thin, bought-in cows, boiled barley to put some flesh on them) but I buy in good quality barely straw for roughage and allow the cows and their calves free access to it. For winter, I also buy in lucerne hay to supplement Autumn saved pasture, and as a treat for whichever lucky cow that I happen to be milking for the house. Calves as young as 2 days old will copy their Mamma's or other calves actions and begin to chew on straw and lucerne which is great as this roughage accelerates the development of the calf's rumen.
Most years I've bought a Jersey-Hereford cross heifer calf and raised her on a cow for around 9 months. They are a red bodied calf, white sox and a brockled (splotchy) red and white head. This cross is beautiful eating at around 18 months - the marbling would be equal to that of the Wagyu breed. The fine veins of fat running through the steaks really bring out the flavour and ensure it is juicy. I can't explain why, but heifer beef always tastes better to us, than steer. I have beef animals killed on the property by the local Mobile Butcher, whilst they're grazing in the paddock. This ensures tender beef every time as the animal has not been put under any stress.
©2009Midge Henderson
