Dariy Cattle

[angus4ever]

I am whating to get some dairy cattle and i currntly have blck angus and i have narrowed it down to 3 breeds brown swiss ayrshire and guernsey but i dont reallt know much about the breed and woundring if any of you have worked with any of these breeds and have any ideas which ones are better

 

[RockyPhoenix]

Personally, I am partial to Brown Swiss! They have big frames, produce quite a bit of milk and are easy keepers. They don't get sick very often and they'e basically gentle giants! I don't know much about Ayrshires. Guernseys tend to be a more fral breed, they are a more rare breed so if you're interested in that then I would choose those! Hope this helps some!

 

[Cricket]

The farm I work at has at least a few of each of these. I would agree with R. P. about the Brown Swiss. They're kind of a pain where I work, because we have a lot of Jerseys, and having a big slow cow with a lot of speedy twerps can cause traffic jams in the parlor. I REALLY don't like BS/Jersey crosses--sometimes you get a really big cow with a Jersey attitude and it's not good! Guernsey's are nice, but a little too apt to go at a dead run at the least provocation. Ayrshire are great --they seem smart, calm, and I believe they have the lowest somatic cell count of any breed. My very favorites are Ayrshire/Jersey crosses.

Did you read Farmerboys posts about looking for a cow? There's a lot of good info there. Sometimes I think it's less about best breed and more what you personally like. How they are raised can make a huge difference in their personality.