3K is really on the high side for what I would classify as a commercial grade type cow. There is a beef shortage and overall cattle shortage but not a dairy cow shortage. Most places in our area are selling cows from 1200-2200 depending upon age, stage of lactation, production etc.

Bryce

Jersy and Guernsey both produce a lot of cream in their milk. stuff is wonderful. You will get a lot of milk. rasie some hogs to butcher. feed them the extra milk. they grow and fatten up nice on a diet of cracked corn and milk.

should be able to buy one for 2k

Had jerseys my whole life,are you looking to hand milk or get a milking machine?

In Wisconsin the Dairy Farm I worked for before and after school had Jerseys. They were easier to work with more Docile and gave more milk than Holsteins. If you feed them right they have more Milk Fat than others which is good for your Butter and Cheese Making.

Jerseys tend more heat resistant than Holsteins. Not intending to bash Holsteins but something I learned from my uncle.

Thank you for your support of the Jersey breed. You seem to know a lot about dairy cows. I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.

I've eaten quite a few dairy crosses and honestly there's no difference in flavor or tenderness. The major difference is in carcass and cutting quality.
With a jersey sized critter expect smaller cuts vs a big beef breed like a limousine, most dairy breeds won't marble as well as an angus but a dairy/angus cross steer grained well can, and dairy often has more bone than same sized beef particularly the holstein. And it may take more grain to make weight/marbling vs a beef breed.

Jersey cows produce the most butterfat. The bulls can be quite nasty.

I would not want to milk by hand. How fast her milk is removed effects her ability to hold her production up during her lactation.

They now have the ability to test the dna to determine what potential the cow has.

It’s not like it used to be. You can tell what you got before you buy her.

I knew you could purchase small milking machines but didn't realize how inexpensive they were.

https://www.amazon.com/PAULOZYN-Ele...amp;hvtargid=pla-1699931499262&psc=1

Of course I wouldn't expect longevity out of the cheapest on the market and would shop for a quality unit but even at a few hundred dollars hand milking would be off the table for me.

Well it would probably start off as hand milking. There is no power at the barn yet. It wouldn't be hard to get some there it's just not done yet. We also do not have running water down there so it would be alot of transport getting the machine back and fourth for cleaning.

The modern day dairy cattle have been bred to have small teets to fit a Milking machine better.
A cow with small teets is tough to milk by hand so Id pay attention to teet size there are till plenty of the old style jerseys around just takes a little looking. there is alot of extra work keeping a milking machine clean for one cow. My mom is 79 and can still milk almost as fast as a machine. A little practice and you can drain a hide in 5-7 minutes.
The old style jersey gives 2-3 gal. Per Fay that's plenty and the udder holds up better than those heavy Milker's.

You may get lucky if there's a jersey dairy farm close to home that wants to get rid of a cow with big teats.