In November of 2024 we welcomed two calves, back to back. Lilibet Luv calved, unassisted, five days before her due date with a beautiful little heifer. We named her Tin Stone Demi Luv to carry on the “Luv” legacy of her dam and grandsire. Demi was 21″ at birth and up and running almost immediately – Lilibet did such a good job!
Not to be outdone, Mabel calved the next day, even though she was not due for another 10 days… and not only was the early calving a surprise, but despite being bred with sexed semen, she had a bull calf! It’s impossible to be bothered too much because he turned out absolutely perfect – he honestly could not be cuter!
Mr. Darcy was 20.5″ at birth and both are staying so small – we have been very happy with the Cedar Ridge Otis babies. Both Demi and Mr. Darcy have found their new farms and while we will miss them, we love sending our beloved animals out to make the mini Jersey breed a little sweeter.
Milkers and Upcoming Milkers
Future Milkers
We milk our girls once a day and use their delicious milk to make butter, cheese, yogurt, chocolate milk and, of course, ice cream. Our girls average about 2-4 gallons on once a day milking… pretty perfect for a homestead cow!
Current Herdsire
Reference Sires
Follow us in Instagram to really get to know our little herd… we post regularly and are pretty sure our miniature Jerseys are some of the cutest out there!
The girls enjoying a snack in the sunshine ☀️ We now have four girls in milk and at the coldest time of the year no less… next year we’re aiming for no calves in December or January 🥶 #ettatheminijersey #pumpkintheminijersey #minijersey
Turns out the old wives tale about the dam’s poll hair, at least in this case, was wrong ✨ Etta gave us a 24 inch, 52 pound, absolutely adorable heifer 💖 We blanketed her and moved her out to our enclosed hay barn where she has a warm heat lamp and a deep straw bed 🏡 So far her ears are staying warm and she is eating like there’s no tomorrow… three bottles in the last 16 hours! We are so excited to finally have her here 💛 #ettatheminijersey #minijersey
What a morning ✨ After checking Etta last night at 9:00pm and 12:30am, and seeing no sign of labor, I went back to bed pretty sure she wasn’t close to calving. But when I got to the gate at the 4:30am check, I could tell from a distance that she wasn’t alone. I ran to the end of the paddock and at her feet lay a curled up, completely still calf. It was 12° and I could feel ice on top of its head… I scooped it up and ran for the house. We laid it on the dogs’ bed and covered it in towels and blankets, rubbing it to get it warmed up, as it lay there shivering. But 30 minutes later, by the time we had the colostrum thawed and warmed up, it was trying to stand up 🙏🏻 It drank a full bottle of Pumpkin’s colostrum, promptly fell asleep… and seems completely fine 😭 After losing Pumpkin’s calf I’m acutely aware of how blessed we are to have a happy ending – God is so good 💛 #ettatheminijersey #minijersey
First pic is Etta the other day, the second pic is Etta right before she had Lilibet two years ago. They say poll hair can reveal the sex of the calf: smooth hair means a bull, crazy hair means a heifer. I’m putting my money on a bull this time 💙 #ettatheminijersey #minijersey #calfwatch
Possibly one of my top five least favorite things to have to do to my girls… hoof trimming 😳 And I think they hate it even more than I do 🤣 It’s impossible to find someone to come to the farm so we have to trailer – and then can only take girls who are open, so the timing has to be just perfect. And then the girls *hate* being restrained, and having their feet messed with… and ultimately almost always end up having a diva-level hissy fit 😅 And yesterday was no exception. Good thing my girls are so dang cute 🥰 #pumpkintheminijersey #minijersey
We moved Etta up to the front pasture 🏡 She and Pumpkin will get turned out on these few acres every morning and sleep in the calf shed at night… it should work well for her as she gets close to calving and will allow us to be more hands on when the calf arrives 🙏🏻 Mabel and Lilibet will now stay out with the heifers and sleep in the hay shed (or mini barn if they prefer) as there’s only room for two girls in the calf shed… it’s Etta and Pumpkin’s turn to get a little extra pampering 🥰 #ettatheminijersey #ettajanebutters #minijersey #calfwatch
So happy with this little hay shed my son built 🙏🏻 Only issue is making sure the big girls let the younger girls have enough time to eat 🌱 Still making adjustments as how we do things and watching condition on each of them super closely… stewarding dairy cows well is a 365 day a year job 😅 #crickettheminijersey #minijersey
So grateful for our Old Spot barrow that we were able to grow out so nicely – it is always so sad to take them to the processor 😭 Thankfully he just had one bad day… they were able to butcher him within a few hours of us dropping him off 🙏🏻 The hard makes us just that much more thankful for every bit of this meat that will feed our entire family for the next year 💙 #gloucestershireoldspot #gospigs #pasturedpork
Etta’s due date is less than a week away ✨ She is getting dairy ration twice a day now along with ACV and XZelit, a supplement to help prevent milk fever… thankfully she’s a superstar and gobbles it up without complaining 🤩 Admittedly I am nervous as her calving date approaches – we’d be so grateful if you’d keep her and her calf in your prayers 💛 #ettatheminijersey #ettajanebutters #minijersey #calfwatch
My friend Tim, who has been keeping Rango the last few months, sent me these pictures of him the other day… definitely looks like he’s enjoying himself up there 🥰 Hoping to go get him soon! #gettingchubby #rangotheminijersey #minijersey
Little Cricket looking more grown up all the time 🥹 She is 18 months old now and is due with her first calf right around her second birthday 🥰 I love all my girls but Cricket and Lottie have an extra special place in my heart ❤️ #crickettheminijersey #minijersey
Day two post snowstorm and today the sun is peeking out ☀️ Cows are doing great and while not necessarily enthralled with the white stuff, they don’t seem to mind it one bit ❄️ #mabeltheminijersey #minijersey
We were a few minutes late to milk this morning and Lilibet was already outside, waiting for us and wet 🥹 The temp was just above freezing and she was wet enough that when we were done milking, we put her and Mabel back in the calf pen so they’d have extra time to eat, get warm and relax in their little barn… pretty sure they were happy with the deal 🥰 #lilitheminijersey #minijersey
Woke up to a big blanket of snow ❄️ I brought some extra hay out for them and Etta and Pumpkin were happy to dine alfresco 🍴 Etta is showing small signs of her approaching due date – hoping the weather is a bit more moderate when it’s go time 🙏🏻 #ettatheminijersey #ettajanebutters #pumpkintheminijersey
Mini Jersey or teddy bear? Goodness, Miss Lottie is looking especially floofy 🧸 #lottietheminijersey #minijersey