What do Jersey cattle look like?

Answer 1

Jerseys come in a variety of colours, from light fawn to almost black. The calves are born a fawn colour with black noses, dark eyes, black hooves, and a dark tail switch. The cows can be solid fawn with a dark face, nose, eyes, and ears (except for cream-coloured rings around the nose and lips and eyes), dark stockings on the front part of four legs, and a dark tail switch. They can also be black with a fawnish "saddle" in the middle of their backs and rump, since most Jersey cattle are darkest around their fronts and their hips. There are also what is called "broken" colour varieties of Jersey cattle, which is simply patches of white that are sometimes similar to the white patterns on a darker Holstein cow. Most jersey cattle have a dark line that stretches from the base of the head all along the spine to the tip of their tail. This is what we call "line-back".

Jerseys are smaller dairy cattle, with the largest cows only weighing around 1200 lbs and the smallest at no more than 800 lbs. The bulls can weigh between 1200 and 1800 lbs, and are very masculine both in the shape of their bodies and in their temperament. Jerseys are able to grow horns, but this is a trait that is shunned in some countries like the US and Canada, and thus polled varieties are encouraged over horned Jerseys. If there are calves born with horns, they get cut off or dehorned.