Raising Bottle Babies

We're not experts by any stretch of the imagination, but we're definitely learning a thing or two about raising bottle-fed calves. There's a dairy not too far from here where one can get newborn male calves for a song...

Now there's a few reasons why there's a market for Jersey bull calves. First, they're affordable. Dairies aren't interested in bull calves. All the heifers are AI'd. Second, they make great organic fertilizer for your pastureland and garden area. Using a paddock system boosts the benefits. Next, as we have researched the beef markets, we've found that many consumers today are eating Jersey beef. Of course, they don't fill out like the beef breeds, but much of the research concludes that the meat is just as good. Another advantage to raising cattle, and small scale farming as a whole, is the experience for, and character building in, children. Almost a dozen years ago, someone gave me a piece of wisdom I'll never forget; it went something like this..."Children need something to "give" themselves to.." Now that I've got children of my own, I realize just how true this statement is. They'll devote themselves to something. Our hope is that it'll be something with eternal value and significance.

Live deliberately.