VLOG of her arrival here!
Check out a video blog of her late night arrival here!
I have wanted a jersey cow since I was a child. When you have a favorite animal you can’t exactly pinpoint when you knew they were your favorite- they just were. I will say in hindsight I know my love of cows probably solidified when we would visit my Great Grandma Irene’s farm in Oconto Falls, WI. We would only do it every so often, and it was always a place of wonder for me. Growing up in a military family, we lived in suburbs and housing so farm life was not something I was readily exposed to, and it became my favorite place when we did make it out to the countryside.
Her farm was what felt like in the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin- on a scenic road surrounded by fields and a far off tree line. One day I will do a post on her farm; it is just so special to me. It is the reason I wanted a barn wedding, I found beauty in the stone foundation of the old weathered barn, and the attic loft in the small farm house that was a dreamy oasis to write in. Looking out from its window I would stare at the apple tree in the yard and just felt like I could create a whole new identity for myself one day to enjoy that view all the time. Across the road was “Cousin Dick” (honestly, I am not sure if they were even related or what the deal was there) but he raised calves I am assuming that came from a dairy farm. As kids visiting, we would walk down the hoop shed with hundreds of baby calves just so cuddly and ready for attention, who wouldn’t fall in love with cows?
Now, it is so funny to me to be full circle. Living in an old farm house out in the country raising a family of my own. So, nevertheless my whole life I have quite literally wanted my own cow. Over the years of looking and learning my own, I gravitated toward the sweet, fawn colored Jerseys. The more research I did, I discovered miniature jerseys. The Jersey Cow is known for their high butterfat content and cream (a baker’s dream), and so not only did that appeal to me, but the mini version meant less milk than a standard. When the average jersey (according to stats) produces 5-6 gallons a day, and a mini produces 2-4, that’s quite a difference. Not coming from a farm family I knew it would be a chore enough to get used to having a dairy animal and the idea that we would have 2-4 gallons of milk to manage each day was already intimidating! I knew the smaller producing option would be a better fit, and thus our search for a mini jersey began.
I will do probably a separate post on mini jersey’s in more detail– the more I researched (and the more homesteading has became popular) the more factors came into play. Coloring, genetics, disease testing, beta-casein, etc. are all different for each cow. The more specific you get, the harder it will be and the higher the price tag for your cow. I knew I preferred the lighter colored jerseys, didn’t really have a preference on painted vs. solid just that I liked the lighter faces/coat coloring. Of course we wanted to invest in a healthy cow from a disease-free herd and that had good genetics for safe birthing, good conformation, etc. The Beta-casein is a whole other conversation, but for our family we did decide to pursue a cow that was A2A2.
We began our search casually when we moved to the farm in 2020, knowing finding her would require patience and time. Along the way there were a few we almost went with- but ended up either not getting because someone beat us to them or we passed for a variety or reasons. In April 2023, I saw a post for an A2A2 heifer who was a year old. She was a beautiful light color, not too short (ideally we wanted a taller mini or short mid-size for milking ease). I immediately commented and started chatting with the poster. The photos posted of her listing are below!
She was a twin (with another heifer which is key for fertility), and the owner has both and was wanting to simplify. The cow was special to her and she really wanted her to go to someone who would love on her and not just treat her like a cow– being a twin myself I felt like it was fate! We talked and I told her our family’s story; my love of cows and how special she would be to us. Long story short, we hit it off and couldn’t stop talking (the owner and I). We facetimed so I could meet her online, and agreed to purchase her.
It took a few weeks to iron out logistics– Vanilla (her name was Bella at the time) was going to need to be shipped to us all the way from a small town in North Carolina. An added expense, but not unusual for finding the mini jersey of your dreams. After much coordination, a vet check, and a final farewell, Vanilla was on her way to us on a Thursday evening. About 18 hours later she arrived late Friday night and was safely unloaded in her new home! We can’t be more in love!
Stay tuned for an update on how her first week at the farm went! 💛