Jersey X Calves

Galloways4life

Im thinking about buying a few jersey cross calves for finishing as bull beef at around 16months...anybody got any experience of finishing these type of stock, what sort of weights can one expect at weaning, housing, slaughter etc...?? any info greatly appreciated!

Farmer Pudsey

Read the article in this weeks Journal about intensive finishing of bulls at 16 months, you would want to be off your rocker alot of work to make money for Larry he is licking his chop's at the taught.

The finishing of these bulls before they are about 22-30 months is crazy unless you get a contract @ 4.5-5 euro/kg. If they are at the right price like 50-70 euro's by all means carry them this year, over winter, back out to grass house in October 2013 and finish in Jan 2015 and you might have achance of making money.

If they are calves that are only a month old now with meal you will be lucky to house at 210 average so they will be too light for finishing in early 2013. If it is reared calves Jan/Feb born they may be 240 kgs on average at housing or a bit with it I'd imagine that they would average 220 -230 kgs average at slaughter around 16 months the other issue you will have is the grade's they will only be P+/O- on average so at present these are making 3.9 a kg with a struggle so you will average 850-875 a head after deductions at best.

This is all an educated guess I could be completely off the ball/wall.

If there is a market for them for export at 400kgs@ 18-20 months @ around 1.75/kg to Libia/Iran they might be a worth a gamble

sh1tstirrer

I have done exactly that with a small number of jersey crosses reared from calves . Ended up breaking even. Trying to fatten jersey crosses is like trying to fatten greyhounds. Buy decent calves instead that will be worth feeding.

Farmer Pudsey

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

I have done exactly that with a small number of jersey crosses reared from calves . Ended up breaking even. Trying to fatten jersey crosses is like trying to fatten greyhounds. Buy decent calves instead that will be worth feeding.

Nothing I mean nothing is worth feeding to finish at 16 month especially dairy crosses read rge journal article.

sh1tstirrer

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

I have done exactly that with a small number of jersey crosses reared from calves . Ended up breaking even. Trying to fatten jersey crosses is like trying to fatten greyhounds. Buy decent calves instead that will be worth feeding.

Nothing I mean nothing is worth feeding to finish at 16 month especially dairy crosses read rge journal article.

Ok, but I never mentioned finishing them at 16 months.

Farmer Pudsey

I have finished them at 24 months now i had only four bought them as weanlings 230 kgs and they killed 320 kgs average last january now they graded 0- and one P+ and were fat grade 2+ to 3-. Nothing fancy but they left a good margin

real stig

Any kind of Jersey is going to struggle to do well at factor time. If they are x with hereford/good shape, etc. then maybe but I'd be slow to chance it myself