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Miniature Jerseys Make "Cream You Can Slice
When cream is so thick you can slice it with a knife, you know it's rich. That's how thick and rich the cream was from one of Fonnie Thoman's miniature Jerseys.
"I had to water it down in order to churn it," she recalls. "It kept burning up the electric motors on the power churns."
Miniature Jerseys, on
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Miniature Jerseys Make "Cream You Can Slice 28-6-6 When cream is so thick you can slice it with a knife, you know it's rich. That's how thick and rich the cream was from one of Fonnie Thoman's miniature Jerseys.
"I had to water it down in order to churn it," she recalls. "It kept burning up the electric motors on the power churns."
Miniature Jerseys, once very common, have become rare. Thoman, a breeder of the more common large Jersey, searched for them for decades before finding a breeder in Iowa. Today she is one of a handful of breeders bringing the breed back from near extinction. She traces her herd back to animals imported from the Isle of Jersey in 1909.
Miniature Jerseys are usually in the 38-in. to 42-in. height range and produce 2 to 4 gals. of milk per day. Cows weigh 600 to 650 lbs. with bulls around 800 lbs. Cows and bulls are very gentle and easy to handle. Thoman says the small animals require as little as 1 to 2 lbs. of feed per day in the winter and do well just on pasture.
Although her herd has been as large as 57 head, it now numbers 27. She has a 3 year waiting list of buyers for heifers, but she does have embryos and semen for sale.
"Embryos are $750, and most of the semen is $50 per straw," says Thoman. "If you buy 10 straws, I pay shipping. If you buy a cow when one is available, I give a couple of straws with her."
With miniatures, you pay more for less. Heifers sell for $1,500 to $2,000 as their mature size decreases. Bulls sell for $1,500 and bred cows for $2,500 and up.
Thoman says breeders have the option of crossing a miniature bull with full-size Jerseys and selecting for miniature characteristics. After four crosses, the resulting 7/8 breed can be registered as a pure miniature.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Fonnie Thoman, Riverview Farms, 21019 State Rte 7S, Crown City, Ohio 45623 (ph 740 256-1724; email: belfair@zoomnet .net); or Miniature Jersey Registry, P.O. Box 942, Rochester, Wash. 98579 (ph 360 273-7789).
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