farmerjan
Super Self-Sufficient
My opinion... couple of things comes to mind. The bull can breed any cow he can reach... so that means pretty much any cow. More often than not they all put that belt on the calf... and unless you go with a black holstein or a cross, the calf will be red. Not important for color as you do not sell in the commercial market.
If you are thinking about a "mini breed" ... then you are looking at alot of problems with possible difficulty calvings. Because belted galloways are not a mini breed. They are simple a little smaller sized normal cattle... The mini breeds are notorious for having trouble getting pregnant, and then calving....
But I think you are talking about a dexter. They come in red and black and dun so the calf would most likely have the belt and be reddish???? Again color is not important for your situation.
I do not personally have alot of experience with dexters. I know 2 people with them and honestly am not impressed with them. For a "homestead" perspective, they might suit you well since they are not known for alot of milk. You could milk share with the calf, and probably do okay so long as you do not feed her alot of grain so she does not make too much milk for the calf for all the time you are not milking it.
One word to the wise... DO NOT start with a heifer that has no previous experience with being milked unless you know what you are doing... get a cow that has been milked before and at least knows what it is all about. One of you has to know what to do and how to milk a cow... a heifer that is new to all this is less likely to allow you to do the milking when she doesn't even understand what is going on. The most handled/spoiled heifers are often the witchiest in the barn starting out. Give me a cow any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Milk sharing with a cow will allow you to milk when you need milk for the house and not be tied down to twice a day milking everyday. Many people do it. You lock the calf away from the cow for 12 hours and then milk her... then let the calf back with her. It will maybe miss a little milk for that milking but it is not going to hurt it in any way. The cow may not be happy about it, and many give some trouble with letting their milk down for a person to milk them... but most get along okay with it after a few times. Many people will milk once a day when the cow is making alot, then go to a couple times a week. It does allow people the flexibility to not have to be there all the time; go on vacations or away for a few days or something without worrying about the cow getting mastitis and such.
If you only want milk once a week or so... and it should keep good in the fridge for at least a week or more if the milk is from "clean cows" with healthy udders... then I agree to find someone and do some sort of barter situation... they take more time and effort than a beef cow... and will make more milk in the beginning than a calf can use so there is the idea of having a second calf to use the excess... or to milk frequently to keep them from getting mastitis until their milk slows down some... the less grain and extras will help to limit the amount of milk.... but they will also get thin if not getting an adequate diet so it is a balancing act.
Most people will graft a 2nd calf on a cow that has dairy in her background, and NOT feed any supplemental feed, and they can go on and raise a very nice pair of calves on good pasture....
A smaller sized jersey will give more butterfat than what I understand a dexter will give but again, I do not know that from direct experience. Jersey beef has a sweeter flavor and makes great eating. I have been eating jersey beef for over 30 years...
If you are thinking about a "mini breed" ... then you are looking at alot of problems with possible difficulty calvings. Because belted galloways are not a mini breed. They are simple a little smaller sized normal cattle... The mini breeds are notorious for having trouble getting pregnant, and then calving....
But I think you are talking about a dexter. They come in red and black and dun so the calf would most likely have the belt and be reddish???? Again color is not important for your situation.
I do not personally have alot of experience with dexters. I know 2 people with them and honestly am not impressed with them. For a "homestead" perspective, they might suit you well since they are not known for alot of milk. You could milk share with the calf, and probably do okay so long as you do not feed her alot of grain so she does not make too much milk for the calf for all the time you are not milking it.
One word to the wise... DO NOT start with a heifer that has no previous experience with being milked unless you know what you are doing... get a cow that has been milked before and at least knows what it is all about. One of you has to know what to do and how to milk a cow... a heifer that is new to all this is less likely to allow you to do the milking when she doesn't even understand what is going on. The most handled/spoiled heifers are often the witchiest in the barn starting out. Give me a cow any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Milk sharing with a cow will allow you to milk when you need milk for the house and not be tied down to twice a day milking everyday. Many people do it. You lock the calf away from the cow for 12 hours and then milk her... then let the calf back with her. It will maybe miss a little milk for that milking but it is not going to hurt it in any way. The cow may not be happy about it, and many give some trouble with letting their milk down for a person to milk them... but most get along okay with it after a few times. Many people will milk once a day when the cow is making alot, then go to a couple times a week. It does allow people the flexibility to not have to be there all the time; go on vacations or away for a few days or something without worrying about the cow getting mastitis and such.
If you only want milk once a week or so... and it should keep good in the fridge for at least a week or more if the milk is from "clean cows" with healthy udders... then I agree to find someone and do some sort of barter situation... they take more time and effort than a beef cow... and will make more milk in the beginning than a calf can use so there is the idea of having a second calf to use the excess... or to milk frequently to keep them from getting mastitis until their milk slows down some... the less grain and extras will help to limit the amount of milk.... but they will also get thin if not getting an adequate diet so it is a balancing act.
Most people will graft a 2nd calf on a cow that has dairy in her background, and NOT feed any supplemental feed, and they can go on and raise a very nice pair of calves on good pasture....
A smaller sized jersey will give more butterfat than what I understand a dexter will give but again, I do not know that from direct experience. Jersey beef has a sweeter flavor and makes great eating. I have been eating jersey beef for over 30 years...
