Jersey Cows
Grady
A2/A2 Polled Jersey Bull
(Unregistered)
Grady is a well built bull, from great milking lines. He is very healthy and correct. He is polled (naturally hornless), which is a trait I like in our dairy cows.
He is also tested positive for the sought after A2/A2 gene. Research seems to be showing that cattle with this gene produce milk that is easier to digest, and which most lactose intolerant people can drink. Since the A2/A2 gene is hereditary, Grady will produce only A2/A2 calves, if bred to an A2/A2 cow, or A2/A2 or A1/A2 calves if bred to an A1/A2 cow.
I am very excited to have him as our current herd sire, and am thrilled with the calf we have had from him!
Grady is available for sale.
He is also tested positive for the sought after A2/A2 gene. Research seems to be showing that cattle with this gene produce milk that is easier to digest, and which most lactose intolerant people can drink. Since the A2/A2 gene is hereditary, Grady will produce only A2/A2 calves, if bred to an A2/A2 cow, or A2/A2 or A1/A2 calves if bred to an A1/A2 cow.
I am very excited to have him as our current herd sire, and am thrilled with the calf we have had from him!
Grady is available for sale.
FELDMAN FAMILY BLOSSOM
D.O.B. November, 2006
AJCA registered OA
A1/A2
*Sold; reference only.*
D.O.B. November, 2006
AJCA registered OA
A1/A2
*Sold; reference only.*
Blossom is one of our two original family milk cows. She is a good producer, giving between 2+ gallons in the early part of her lactations, and then after two or three months leveling off to around 1 1/2 to 3/4 gallon per day. Since we don't feed any grain at all to our cows, this is pretty good.
She has calved five times, and four of the calves were heifers. Of these four, three were polled, and we have kept two of them (Buttercup and Bayberry). All her heifers have had her good udder and temperament. She has a nice build, and one of her heifers (Buttercup's full sister) won fourth place in the GA state show.
She is very good-tempered, and is an excellent mother, gladly taking any calf that will try to nurse. In fact, she will nurse multiple calves without any complaint, and will keep right on nursing them as long as they want. When Buttercup had her first calf, she was still trying to nurse, and one day we looked out in the pasture and beheld our beef steer nursing on one side of Blossom, and Buttercup on the other side with her newborn calf nursing off her as she nursed off her mama! After a few days, Buttercup figured out the new routine and didn't keep trying to snatch a meal off the milk bar, but Blossom still will let three calves nurse off her at once. The amazing thing is that her udder is so good this has not caused any problems for her beyond a few bite marks on the teats, which are now nicely healed.
The only downside to having such a strong udder is that it is rather tough and can really exercise your hands at milking time! But if you machine milk this is not a problem. In our case, we've just built up some good muscles by milking!
She has calved five times, and four of the calves were heifers. Of these four, three were polled, and we have kept two of them (Buttercup and Bayberry). All her heifers have had her good udder and temperament. She has a nice build, and one of her heifers (Buttercup's full sister) won fourth place in the GA state show.
She is very good-tempered, and is an excellent mother, gladly taking any calf that will try to nurse. In fact, she will nurse multiple calves without any complaint, and will keep right on nursing them as long as they want. When Buttercup had her first calf, she was still trying to nurse, and one day we looked out in the pasture and beheld our beef steer nursing on one side of Blossom, and Buttercup on the other side with her newborn calf nursing off her as she nursed off her mama! After a few days, Buttercup figured out the new routine and didn't keep trying to snatch a meal off the milk bar, but Blossom still will let three calves nurse off her at once. The amazing thing is that her udder is so good this has not caused any problems for her beyond a few bite marks on the teats, which are now nicely healed.
The only downside to having such a strong udder is that it is rather tough and can really exercise your hands at milking time! But if you machine milk this is not a problem. In our case, we've just built up some good muscles by milking!
As you can see, Blossom is quite calm (well, most of the time!)
OA FELMAN FAMILY BUTTERCUP
Buttercup is Blossom's heifer calf from her second freshening. She is polled (naturally hornless), and is very good tempered. She freshened with her first calf on 12/29/2015, and her second in February of 2017.
Buttercup is a wonderful milk cow. She has a beautiful udder, is very easy to milk, and is a good producer. So far she has only calved in the winter, so I don't know what her peak production would be like if she had plenty of grass, but so far she has peaked at around 3-4 gallons per day. She is gentler than Blossom, and seems to have gotten all of her good traits without any of her bad ones. I trained her to milk tied to a post in the pasture, and she gave me very little trouble, taking to the milking routine like a duck to water. Her milk, like Blossom's, is rich and creamy.
William and Justice (12 and 10) milking Buttercup.
*For sale*
Feldman Family October Bayberry
"Berry"
D.O.B. 10/10/2016
Polled, A2/A2
Berry (AJCA registered Grade) is about 43" tall at the shoulder. She is polled and A2/A2. Her mother, Blossom was our family milk cow for years, and Berry reminds me a lot of her. Berry is four years old, and Blossom is still producing at the age of 13. Berry isn't producing a whole lot right now - right around 3/4 to 1 gallon per day, but our pastures are dry and very overgrazed at the moment, so she's not getting an abundance to eat. With her good genetics and pretty build, I had hoped she would be our next family milk cow when Buttercup is past production, but I have decided that I like larger (mid-size Jerseys, and we are downsizing again. Buttercup is still too good to move on and someone has to go, so Berry is available for sale.
This is her first freshening and she is fairly well trained and easy to milk by machine or hand. Occasionally she forgets her manners and kicks, but she's getting better and better. Her teats are still small, but time will fix that. She has a beautiful, though small udder, very much like her mother's. I don't think she will every be a massive producer, but I expect she should mature to give around 1 - 1 1/2 gallons consistently on grass. She calved with no complications at all and is a devoted mother. She leads very well, is not at all pushy, and though she is a bit shy, she is easy to handle.
This is her first freshening and she is fairly well trained and easy to milk by machine or hand. Occasionally she forgets her manners and kicks, but she's getting better and better. Her teats are still small, but time will fix that. She has a beautiful, though small udder, very much like her mother's. I don't think she will every be a massive producer, but I expect she should mature to give around 1 - 1 1/2 gallons consistently on grass. She calved with no complications at all and is a devoted mother. She leads very well, is not at all pushy, and though she is a bit shy, she is easy to handle.
Barbacoa
A2/A2 Jersey Bull
(Deceased: reference only.)
How to Milk a Cow