Craigslist dreamers

First of all, let me say that I have joined the living, and all that remains of the pestilence that held me prisoner is a cough.  Sometimes it's good to be under the weather for awhile, just so one can truly appreciate good health.  
Cliff and I watch Craigslist constantly for bargains.  His favorite window-shopping, of course, is for tractors.  He doesn't intend to buy another one right now, but he loves to find bargains and talk about what a good buy this or that one is... or what an outrageous price some people are asking.  
With me, it's Jersey cows.  If I could get another Jersey with Bonnie's personality for the right price, I'd scrape together the money and buy her.  I'm fairly certain I could get one for $500 or less at the auction, one that was pregnancy tested, because dairy cattle are down right now.  Unfortunately, as long as Cliff is working, we can't make those Tuesday auctions.  
I see some Jerseys for a decent price on Craigslist, but there's always some little something wrong, like this one: "I have a jersey cow open. She is 5 years old and had all her shots. She is open i have put her in with a red Angus bull but nothing so far so im sell her as open.  $600"  
It's been my experience that if you are selling her as open, she probably is.  I suspect breeding problems.  
Here's another: Butter is approx. 6 years old. She is bred (AI, Oct. 27th) for a late July/early August 2011 calf. I can't remember which bull she was bred to, but I could probably find out, if you care. 
I have had her one year, and she was dry when I purchased her, so unfortunately I can't give you any info about how much milk she gives. She didn't have problems breeding back, per se....I just didn't want to breed her for a winter calf, and then I was gone too much this summer to catch her heats. But when I finally did get around to having her AI'd, she took the first time.  When I bought her, 1 quarter seemed to have some mastitis. I treated that, but I don't know if she will freshen with 4 quarters, or only 3.  She has a good temperament generally, but is a bit on the skittish side right now. When I have worked with her more, she friendly's up pretty quickly.  Wouldn't be selling, except we need the money.  $750.  

I'm not really scared of the mastitis in one quarter, but I don't trust a cow that was not bred back for a year, and there's no way to prove she really is bred now.  Plus I don't want a milk cow that's on the skittish side; sorry.  

Then there's this one:  Registered Jersey cow, nice, no horns, hand milking now, only has 2 good quarters but giving a gallon a day--4 years old--call leave message,  $800.  

I have a registered, two-quartered cow.  I would not expect to get $800 for her, however, if I were selling.  Oh, and is this cow bred?  I've had too much experience with cows that won't breed.    

Here's one I would be interested in if the price were less:  For sale is a very sweet 5 year old bred Jersey milk cow. We bought her last spring and she has just been the easiest cow to milk and handle. She will follow you anywhere and she will lead with a lead rope as well. I felt very comfortable with my little kids around her as she is very calm and gentle. She is bred and is due to calve in March. She is bred to my neighbors Black Angus bull and should produce a nice calf. She is only a three quarter cow, but still produces very well. We would get 1.5 to 2 gallons a day when milking, but she is dry now. I was told when I bought her that she doesn't like to take on bottle calves, but I haven't had the opportunity to try it myself. The only reason I am selling her is we are moving across the country and it is just not feasible to take her with us.  $700. 

Bring the price down to $500 or less and I'll buy your cow.    

Poor Mama Cow

I kept Sir Loin away from his mother for ten hours today, then opened the gate and let them be together. I expected him to go running to her and start nursing, but he was in no hurry. Watch the video and you'll see her kicking in discomfort, but he keeps on sucking, and she puts up with it. For at least twenty-four hours, I won't have to worry about milking Bonnie.

Jerseys are small cows, and Sir Loin's father was listed on Bonnie's registration paper as a registered Jersey. I have my doubts, though. He isn't even six months old, and look at the size of him compared to his mom!

Old photos

I've been familiarizing myself with Iphoto, and in the process I've made a few trips down memory lane. One thing I noticed was that I have had Jersey cows in my life quite a bit, and have the pictures to prove it.

Cliff with our son Jimmy, 1967. That was my dad's Sears Suburban lawn mower, which we have now; it still runs.

This is me (was I really that slim?) with a registered Jersey heifer, "Donna's Generator Joy". Her sire was the top Jersey bull of that time. This wasn't long before she had her first calf.

I don't recall which cow this one grew up to be. I do remember the Waylon Jennings T-shirt I'm wearing there, though. I loved Waylon, and still do! May he rest in peace.

This is from the period when I was raising twenty-five to fifty baby calves a year. I had eight or ten calf hutches like the ones in this picture; that's my two oldest grandchildren, Arick and Amber, with me.

There I am with all the grandchildren I had in 1991. The dog is our old Chow, Brandy. Arick and Amber are each holding a baby goat.

I've always loved cows

After Cliff and I bought our first place, a small house on twenty acres south of Oak Grove, my parents offered to sell us a milk cow. I'm not sure of her breed, although I'm guessing mostly Guernsey. Her name was Suzie. I had never been able to figure out how to get milk out of a cow, and when we bought her I told Cliff, "You'll have to milk her, because I can't."

Within two weeks, I was milking that cow and loving it. Suzie was a character, a real family pet. That's Cliff's sister sitting on her.

We visited the Missouri State Fair one year. Walking through the dairy barn, I noticed the most beautiful cows I'd ever seen in my life. Until then, I hadn't realized how tiny Jerseys can be, and of course these were groomed for show, all sleek and clean (and did I mention tiny?). I had to have one.

It was like eating potato chips: I couldn't stop at one! I'd call the ABS Breeder guy and he'd artificially inseminate my cows with registered Jersey semen, and before you knew it we had a half-dozen registered Jersey cows.

My dream was to have a dairy, but I never actually took the plunge into that enterprise. I may as well have; we were tied down to milking twice a day every day, 365 days a year.

I had several milk customers, people who preferred raw milk with thick cream rising to the top rather than store-bought, pasteurized-homogenized stuff. Still, I had quite a surplus. One Jersey can give six or more gallons a day.

We bought "bobby" calves and bottle-fed them. We bought pigs and fed them milk mixed with wheat shorts for slop. (That's the grandson who is now 22 years old; our clothes make a real fashion statement, don't they?)

I churned butter and made cottage cheese, and ice cream by the gallon, and we drank all the milk we could hold.

My herd expanded, then grew smaller, as it became difficult to find bobby calves to raise and as they became increasingly expensive.

I think it was around 1991 that I tearfully sold my last couple of dairy cows. We were free to go places then, and spend a night or a week away from home. I loved the freedom. I missed my Jerseys.

Last February, after all those cow-less years, I could stand it no longer. I bought a Jersey calf and named her Secret.


I'm hoping to find a way to get out of milking twice a day. I intend to let her calf stay with her; as it grows bigger, a calf can actually take all that milk without getting sick. There may be a month or two when I'll have to milk to relieve Secret's full udder. Cliff and I only use about a half-gallon of milk a week, so we certainly don't need to milk a cow.

I'll worry about it when the time comes; she won't even be old enough to breed until May.

Here's a self-portrait taken last summer.

Notice I'm not wearing shoes in any of these pictures? I've hated shoes all my life. Nowadays, though, thanks to plantar fasciitis and arthritic toes, I have to wear the dad-blamed things... with expensive prescription inserts added.