BETTER WAYS TO SPEND TIME THAN PULLING CALVES!

A study from USDA in 2005 showed Jerseys in the United States to show almost a 20% superiority in the number of easy calvings (with very low incidence of very difficult calvings) than other, larger dairy breeds evaluated in the same study, regardless of lactation. Likewise, figures from the Canadian Dairy Network in 2005 show first lactation Canadian Jerseys to have 96% unassisted or easy pull calvings, while cows in subsequent lactations have 99% unassisted or easy pull calvings. It is very easy to see that calving Jerseys can involve a lot less labour time, and produce more healthy calves and healthy cows free of dystocia. With a 1994 study from the University of Guelph estimating that a hard pull can cost approximately $150 more on average than an easy pull, and with a surgery costing on average up to $535 more than an easy pull, the financial aspects of calving ease are easy to envision!

According to Adrian and Vreni Haeni of Lone Pine Jerseys, milking over 100 cows in Didsbury, Alberta, they say that “in our minds, Jerseys, fertility, and calving ease go together like three peas in a pod. Over the past few years, we have had a calf survival rate of 98.5%, with the large majority being unassisted calvings. Calving ease and fertility are guaranteed on our farm, because we have Jerseys!