Sometimes people ask the question, is it better to buy a  mini Jersey heifer or a cow. That answer really depends on your experience and what you’re looking for.

In my opinion, for a newbie who doesn’t know cattle, maybe someone who is looking for a family cow – it is better to start out with a heifer. Even if they have to wait a year or so for milk, they can raise that heifer with the family.

Especially a family with young kids, a heifer will be much more adaptable to all the commotion that kids make. Kids move faster, they touch less gently, and the heifer will get used to that. Then when they calve, they will be more used to being handled and touched. Or if they get edema, they’ll be more comfortable with someone squeezing under there.

On that note, I absolutely recommend getting a heifer that has been bottle raised, what I like to call a “show heifer”. These little heifer calves have been humanized (been around humans a lot). With a bottle-raised calf, you won’t run into issues of the animal being hard to train to you or your family.

You see, when I hand-raise a calf, that calf has bonded with me since it has been a baby. Then when it’s time for her to have her own calf, she’s been with me this whole time, she is completely comfortable having me around during calving. Sometimes they even come and lick me first before they lick the calf. That is a trust that is hard to come by from a dam-raised calf.

The wild ones are dam-raised out in pasture and have very little human interaction. Of course, each individual cow/heifer is different. Some will tame down a lot faster, and some are strong willed. 

The only benefit of buying a cow, or a bred heifer, rather than buying a young heifer, is that you’ll have milk ASAP. But be warned, if she’s not used to you, she likely won’t let you handle her during her pregnancy, during calving, or may even give you trouble during milking. Imagine too all the hormones that go with pregnancy & birth, and she may be more standoffish than normal.

If you are considering buying a dam-raised calf, I would not recommend one that has been with their mother for over 6 months. They will be wild and difficult to raise.

For more info on bottle vs. dam-raised calves, read this post.

If you happen to find an older heifer who has never been bred, it’s a good idea to out why. Ask the questions – did she never settle with a bull? Or was it that the owners didn’t try breeding her? Or perhaps they couldn’t afford to buy semen and keep trying AI? Perhaps life got in the way, or perhaps the heifer was too small to be bred. Every cow and every situation is different.