Anyway, what do you do different with Jerseys?  The guy I bought her from said you only feed them about 3pts of milk (2Xday of course) and that you have to take them to bed with you.  I don't think I'm hillbilly enough to take it to bed with me, maybe if its cute enough and can wear a diaper...  Just don't over do it with the milk and keep them warm- any other tips/advice??  I'm use to big Holsteins and beefer bbs but Jerseys are more "delicate?"

After we loaded Josie up, the guy said "hopefully she has a heifer" then his brother added "maybe she'll have twins!"  Oh I hope not!!  Let me raise a single before I get challenged with twins- they will be sleeping with me!!

I would also advise you to freeze up some of the colostrum - I usually do it in 1/2 gallon plastic jugs - just so that you have some on hand for a sick or weak animal.  Label the bottles with how many hours post-calving you milked it out.

While Jersey calves can be very tiny (ours this year only weighed about 35 pounds), they are generally very vigorous.  They aren't huge like Holstein calves, so they are rarely damaged during the birthing process.  Also, Jersey cows are built for easy calving.

I sharemilk with the calf, leaving them together 24/7 until the calf starts taking so much milk that I don't get enough for the house.  Then I start separating them for a few hours, usually during the day.  Once I'm not getting very much milk in the morning, I separate them around the clock, only allowing the calf to nurse when I'm done milking.  My cow always holds up plenty for her calf, sometimes to the point that I have to use the calf to get letdown started, clean her up, then milk.

I don't mind that because it gives me a relief milker, once the calf is about six weeks old.  If I've worked too hard all day, I can skip a milking with no issues.

Are you also a member of Keeping a Family Cow?  If not, I'd recommend you ask specific questions over there - http://familycow.proboards.com/index.cgi?

Post pictures of your cow - I like to see if I can guess when they are going to calve.  A shot from directly behind her (so I can compare her sides) and another from the side showing her pin bones (those on either side of her tail, are usually the best ones.  Also a view of her udder.  I love Jersey cows!

Karen

She's not a "family cow" just one of my dairy cows.  The barn is full of blah blah boring black and white holsteins.  I bought a red hol heifer calf and she will be bred red this fall.  Another 1 of my cows came from a red hol but her daddy must've been b/w cuz she's b/w.  She's bred to a red hol with sexed semen so I have, I think its 70%+ chance of a heifer and 50/50 shot at her being red- she's due around Christmas.  And then there's my Normande/hol X heifer- she's b/w but her funny spots and speckles make her stand out- she's bred to a jersey- Oh thats gonna be a funny looking BB!!

I'm hoping Josie calves on Sat since thats my only day off this week.  She's dimpled at her tailhead, "loose in the back" and her teats are starting to round and fill out- no milk leaking yet.  She lays on her left side most of the time so her udder is a bit loppsided.  I can't say I've ever noticed any of our other cows favor one side.  Thats about as close as I can get to a pict for you.

I can see the little calves being very vigorous.  I've seen big beef calves and little ones and I'll pick the little ones everytime.  Less stress on everyone.  Even if they get very very cold, the little ones will bounce back better than the big ones, in my experience.

I bought a Jersey size calf coat today for the calf.  My other coats are bigger for Holsteins etc.  Its red and will look so cute on her/him for my christmas cards!!

Our cow's second calf was born this spring.  About 5-6 hours before calving, her teats were so full they were shiny, but not dripping yet.  Since she was 8 days early, my friend predicted a heifer.  But it was a bull calf, very tiny at only about 35 pounds.  We named him LT for Little Tyke, as I knew he would grow fast and the full name wouldn't fit him for long.

I'm cheap and don't buy coats for my calves - I use old sweatshirts and they work just fine.

So is her right side still really rounded or has she gone slab-sided yet?  That's usually when they are getting really close.

Can't wait to hear that you have a new calf.  The mixes you have coming will be interesting to see.

Karen