# Jersey Bull growth!!!! Help please!



## Moodplace (Mar 3, 2020)

I am new to this site and to owning a bull. I have a jersey bull I bought in June 2019 and I was told he was six month old and here it is, he should be 15 months and he is still smaller then my 4 year old Jersey Heifer. Can someone tell me if this is normal and they are just slow growers or did I get a dwarf..........


----------



## farmerjan (Mar 3, 2020)

Need some more pictures, especially from the side.  He could be just a smaller jersey.  There are now supposedly 3 sizes of Jerseys which I think is ridiculous.  Normal, small, and mini...... Jerseys are naturally a smaller breed.  I see no good to come out of this whole mini fad.  There are so many more issues with dwarfism genes, breeding problems, calving problems and such. 
The first picture shows him to look somewhat proportioned but the 2nd picture shows the head out of proportion to almost make one think a dwarf.  But I don't think he is a dwarf. 
How big is your jersey heifer?  And at 4 yrs old,  why is she still a heifer?  If an animal does not get bred and calve by 3 then there is a much greater chance of them not breeding. And they are much more likely to have more problems calving due to the pelvis not being able to "stretch" to accommodate the birthing of the calf.   
Can you post pictures of them both, possibly side by side?  
Do you have a "tape measure" that tells the weight of cattle?  Often they can be bought at a farm supply store.


----------



## farmerjan (Mar 3, 2020)

Jerseys are no slower growing than any other breed in general.  In fact, they are one of the fastest to mature as far as breeding goes.  I have had jersey and jersey/x heifers to come in heat way younger than I want......8 months sometimes even younger. 

Did you get this bull to breed your heifer with?  Honestly, jersey bulls are the last bull that anyone who is not very well experienced in cattle should ever have.  They can be very tempermental.  They are considered the most dangerous of all the dairy breed bulls.  I have been around dairy breeds of cattle for most all my life.  I would no more trust a dairy bull than turn my back on a grizzly bear.  There are exceptions to every rule.  They are that exceptions.  The sweetest dispositioned bull can turn on you in a minute.  And I would NEVER keep a dairy bull with horns.  

Not trying to be negative.  I am just talking from many years experience.


----------



## Moodplace (Mar 3, 2020)

I


farmerjan said:


> Jerseys are no slower growing than any other breed in general.  In fact, they are one of the fastest to mature as far as breeding goes.  I have had jersey and jersey/x heifers to come in heat way younger than I want......8 months sometimes even younger.
> 
> Did you get this bull to breed your heifer with?  Honestly, jersey bulls are the last bull that anyone who is not very well experienced in cattle should ever have.  They can be very tempermental.  They are considered the most dangerous of all the dairy breed bulls.  I have been around dairy breeds of cattle for most all my life.  I would no more trust a dairy bull than turn my back on a grizzly bear.  There are exceptions to every rule.  They are that exceptions.  The sweetest dispositioned bull can turn on you in a minute.  And I would NEVER keep a dairy bull with horns.
> 
> ...


----------



## farmerjan (Mar 3, 2020)

That jersey most likely got bred by the neighbors angus bull when he got in with your cows.  If she is starting to show a bit of an udder I will bet you dollars to donuts that she is one of the reasons the neighbors bull got in there to start with.  Don't keep trying to milk her.  You do  not want to mess up her colostrum production and you want the teat ends to stay "sealed" so no germs or bacteria get in there and cause mastitis .
His horns won't do him any good with coyotes.  They are too short to be effective.  We have coyotes here too, lost a couple of beef calves a couple years ago.  We shoot them on sight. 
No she won't have milk until she is bred and has a calf.   I  would like to see pictures of her and I could give you my opinion, (remember this would be from the pictures) but I would almost bet my paycheck she got bred. 
I have 5 jerseys and guernsey crosses that I use for nurse cows.  Guernseys being my favorites.   Not counting all our beef cows, as my son and I have a cow/calf operation, mostly angus and angus crosses.  We sell the calves after weaning as feeders at 450 to 600 lbs. 
Do yourself a favor and get him dehorned and then make him a steer to go in the freezer.  Then work something out with the neighbor to get the cow(s) bred by his bull so you don't have to mess with the bull.  Also look into possibly breeding her AI (artificial insemination) if you want a jersey calf.  You can use something called sexed semen, that will give you a 90% chance of a jersey heifer calf  .  I can try to help you find a breeder if I know your general area. 
You can go into your profile and at least put your state or general area where you are located so that any one trying to help you might be able to tailor their answers to your area.  I will be very glad to try to give you any advice I can but have no idea where you are located. 
My advice is try to pinpoint the time the bull got in with your animals, then count 9 months ( the average gestation for a dairy animal is between 265 - 280 days).    I think you are going to have a calf in about 2-3 months.... 
Angus usually throw smaller calves than other beef breeds and at the age your heifer is, she will hopefully have no problem "spitting it out", as we say here.  I have 3 of my 5 bred to our angus bull now.  The angus jersey cross bull calves make great steers for eating and the heifers make decent cows.  Some will make decent cows to milk, some make decent "beef cows" and bred back to a beef/angus, will produce a 3/4 angus calf that will make a good beef for the freezer too. 
Hope this helps.  Looking forward to seeing the new pictures.


----------



## farmerjan (Mar 3, 2020)

And belatedly, Welcome to BYH!!!!!!!


----------



## Grant (Mar 3, 2020)

The angus bull may have bred your heifer. If she is really young you may want to have her preg checked.


----------



## Grant (Mar 3, 2020)

And your bull is likely just small.  I don’t think it is a problem. He looks overall healthy.


----------



## farmerjan (Mar 4, 2020)

I haven't been able to see any new pictures that you said you updated.   The more I think about it I would be most inclined to think she got bred by the angus bull and you will getting a "surprise" calf in a couple of months.


----------



## farmerjan (Mar 11, 2020)

Well, no new posts or updates........ been a week.  Hate to not hear back on things.


----------



## Hipshot (Mar 11, 2020)

farmerjan said:


> Well, no new posts or updates........ been a week.  Hate to not hear back on things.



Maybe you didn't say what they wanted to hear.*I *wonder if the bull was a bottle calf .Won't grow out as well as a cow nursed calf.I would like to see a little more bullish look in one that age .For that reason alone I would clamp him .


----------

