What should a Jersey cow look like and what makes them one of the most popular dairy breeds worldwide?
The breed originated on the island of Jersey and has been in Ireland since the 1700s. Lily Overend purchased her first Jersey cow in 1894 and they have remained in Airfield ever since. The breed can now be found worldwide from Rwanda to the USA to New Zealand.
Jersey cows are a small dairy breed and usually weigh between 400-450kg.
They are characterised by their fawn colour and black nose with a white muzzle around the nose.
They can also have white spots on their body like Buttercup in the pictures who is a great example of a typical Jersey cow.
The Jersey Cow is very docile making them easy to manage and this is helped by them calving easily and having great fertility.
Jersey milk has a distinct yellow colour and contains higher quantities of buttermilk and protein than Holstein milk.