The Jamaica Hope cows are a dairy cattle breed. They raised for milk production, and chiefly are also referred to as Montgomery-Jersey or even Jersey-Zebu.
The strain has a high resistance to ticks and tick disease and is heat tolerant. And milk can be also produced by the strain even.
The strain has gained popularity and is extensively exported into some countries in the Caribbean, also in addition to Latin America. There are about cows out there of the breed today. It has been suggested for ensuring greater diversity, the Hope cows should be bred.
Jamaica hope cattle characteristics
Jamaica Hope cows are moderate-sized animals. They’re animals that are multi-colored, and they can be either horned or polled.
The average live body weight of the mature cows is about 500 kg. And live body weight of the older bulls ranges from 700 to 800 kg.
Jamaica hope cattle benefits
The Jamaica Hope cows are a dairy breed of cattle. They are used for milk production.
Jamaica Hope cows are breed and heat tolerant. They are nicely adjusted to Jamaica’s climate. The breed has resistance to ticks and tick diseases.
Milk that is much can be produced by them even in the bad pasture soil typical to tropical climates. The cows are good milk manufacturers.
And on average the cows can produce approximately 2500 kg of milk per lactation span of approximately 305 days. Their milk is composed of great quality.
History
Breeding for the creatures started in 1910, and there has been an attempt to develop an animal that was corrected to the island’s climate.
The effect of the breeding program was that the Jamaica Hope cows strain. The whole process was to a great degree the work of Dr. Thomas Lecky, a leader in ancestral agriculture.
The Jamaica Hope cattle breed consists of roughly 80 percent Jersey, 15 percent Zebu and 5 percent Holstein. And the breed makes about 50 percent of the total cattle population on the island out.
Initial breeding (a government initiative) began with Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Holstein Friesian, Jersey, and Red Poll cattle breeds. Red Poll, Brown Swiss, the Ayrshire and Guernsey cows were discontinued by a process of elimination. 1952 ended breeding of this Holstein Friesians.
The Ayrshire and Brown Swiss cows were discontinued from 1928, Red Pol in 1938, and Guernsey cattle in 1943. And in 1920 that the Zebu element was included through the debut of one Sahiwal bull imported from Pusa, India.
The Jamaica Hope cows breed is the only tropical milk breed of cattle that results from crossing Zebu with regular cattle (apart from the Indian Taylor strain, and the recently developed Australian Milking Zebu).
Hello, I am Siddartha Reddy . A fulltime farmer and blogger who love to share all his farming experiences. Also, a strong supporter of sustainable farming practices. Thanks for visiting our site, let’s make this world a better place to live. Say No to Chemicals and plastics.
