[SallyintNorth]

Good beef-cross calves fetch £200 to £450 at Carlisle at the moment.

But Ayrshire or Jersey bullocks fetch tenners 

[sokel]

We have decided to keep them on Blossom powder Anke as thats what they have been reared on and TBH there is only another month or so  of feeding milk going on the age they stop the milk at the farm.
If we get along ok with these 2 we will go for younger next time and try Goats milk.

VSS some of our goats give a gallon a day each  when they are in full milk

[MKay]

This year I would like a Jersey cow with a heifer at foot and a bull calf fostered on, Does anyone know a breeder or farm up north who might be willing to provide somthing like this?

[ballingall]

We always used to buy (or be given) young calves which we always reared on goats milk sokel. No issues at all. In fact, often when we were given them, ours would do better on the goats milk than the other ones did on powdered.  Best success story was a limision (sp?) cross calf bought for £5, fed on goats milk and grass, then sold after a few months for £220! We had a Hereford cross at the same time, nice calves both of them.

I'm not sure that this would be financially viable today - the days when you could buy a limX calf for a fiver are long gone. You would be lucky to find anything much under £200 today. Also, it is a long time since we kept goats, but how much does it cost to produce a gallon of goat's milk?

Yes VSS you are correct this wouldnt be financially viable today- you will note I mentioned that was was in the very early nineties- which was 20 years ago.
 
I have no idea how much it costs to produce our goats milk, as we have the goats anyway for breeding/showing/home milk production. That they feed orphan lambs/calves etc is just a bonus.
 
They do produce a lot of milk, certainly over a gallon and some of them over 8 litres a day.
 
Hope the calves do well for you sokel.
 
Beth

[SallyintNorth]

This year I would like a Jersey cow with a heifer at foot and a bull calf fostered on, Does anyone know a breeder or farm up north who might be willing to provide somthing like this?

In a word, no.  Most of the Jerseys about are dairy cows, so do not rear their own calves let alone another.

Having said which, many farms have a Jersey or two to rear orphaned calves.  Mostly they probably don't put her to a Jersey though, so if you were wanting a Jersey heifer calf at foot that would be hard to find.  And she would be an older cow.

You can buy in-calf Jerseys from some dairy herds, so I guess you could enquire whether any would take an order for one with a new-born calf; and perhaps they would be prepared to set a foster calf on her for you.  I think you would be looking at a lot of money though - maybe £3000 or even more.

The only other approach I could see working would be finding a 'nursemaid' (older) Jersey who has been used to suckle multiple calves but isn't suitable for use in the parlour.  Again you could maybe commission the farm to produce her as the outfit you describe.

I'd be interested to know how you get on.

[TheCaptain]

we got Betty (Jersey X Friesian) + calf (heifer BB X) because her udder was buggered and was going to the knacker man. Ask around or at least make yourself known, as they do occasionally own up. Her udder is dropped, no good for commercial milking but fine for rearing calves and milking by hand! (All the princely sum of £400!). Our calf made £638 at market and she calved another one the day before we took her.

[jinglejoys]

I used to have a goat with huge bottle udders that dragged on the floor when full and tiny button teats that you couldn't milk for love ot money.I got her a calf and she learnt to stand on a bale while the calf suckled.Worked great till F&M when I couldn't sell the suckling "calf" or buy in another to ease her udder so she had to go on suckling even though the "calf" reached 18mnths,towered over her and when it "bumphed"would lift her off the ground but it was HER calf and woe betide any other calf that tried to suckle!

[domsmith]

A jersey with a heifer calf at foot!!!!! a miracle would be needed.

you can find jerseys by asking around, i think an incalf cow would be your only hope.

i got twinkle from a very big dairy that got rid because she wasnt in calf. after she calved 3 months later, it really was clear it was because of her udder, very small teats that the cluster falls off. so the dairy men must have just wanted rid, tell the boss she is barren and away she goes.
she is such a character, i still cant believe it!

[MKay]

Really! Fair enough, as if it isnt hard enough getting livestock up here already! As you say I will have to buy a Jersey and do the rest myself. Naturally I will do the leg work on google but does anyone know a Jersey herd in the north or central belt?