Dexter Cattle discussion

Saralee Couchoud wrote:You might not like black cows but they bring 10% more at market. That said, I have red cows because I like the heritage breed Milking Devon. The good points far out way the sale price difference. In 15 years I have not had to pull one calf. My neighbor raises Angus and pulls about 1/2 his calves. Mine also live and produce into the late 20s not 10 years like modern cows

I agree but I really don't plan to sell at the barn... If I sell it will most likely be for breeding to another rancher or possibly to a close friend or relative who wants to put meat in the freezer.  I know Greg Judy will sell all his "long-legged" cows when he identifies them... he wants a small frame and he deselects those who don't fit this trait.  So, he says even though Red doesn't bring as much, the long-legged Red brings more than if he brought his best short-legged cow cuz that's what conventional farmers will buy... They like the "biggest, tallest cow" for their herd.

But also, you get more lbs per acre raising short-legged red cows (at least with South Polls)

I got enamored with Red Devons for beef cattle and had a fellow who owned a herd of about 60 - he and a few others likely single-handedly saved that breed from extinction - they formed a breed organization for Red Devons and over a period of years it has come back and is thriving.  The marble up finishing on grass is what I hear.  But very expensive.

Gray Henon wrote:Will Dexters marble up if grain finished?  We raised a grassfed steer several years ago.  It was good, but the meat didn't have the slightest bit of intramuscular fat.  I'd like some marbling on the next one.

I don't have cows so I might be dumb, My understanding was grass finishing doesn't produce the heavy marbling.
Intramuscular fat is a sign of metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease I hear.  Everything about grassfed is better for the health or the ruminant when compared to high grain intake.
I love to eat, but i'm not a beef connoisseur so I cannot speak on breed. From my experience the yellow fat is the flavor which comes from the grass while the white fat is juicy without as much flavor.

If you finish them on grain the omega 3 to omega 6 ratio goes from 1 to 5 for grass finished to 1 to 15 for grain finished. You can get just as much marbling in the meat and still have grass finished if you finish them on alfalfa. And it doesn't matter what breed, this is true for all. However, a big Holstein will eat 3 times as much and give about the same number pounds of beef as a smaller breed and the smaller cattle will taste better. That is because something like a Holstein is all bones and appetite. They are not thrifty

Hey there!
First time dexter grower here.
Our 7 year old mama (Nellie) has a one month old steer calf (Soot). We would like to separate them soon to start milking her and do a calf share.

My question is: since the calf is so small, he can fit through a lot of openings. I have a large wire dog kennel that would fit him perfectly if it is deemed safe....

So my plan is to have them both in one stall overnight, so they can be together, but with him in the kennel.

Advice?

My family and I are currently on the hook for two Dexter calves that will be ready/halter trained by late Nov to Dec this year.

We went and took a look in person this past Saturday. They really are some beautiful cows. The skiddish ones they had would still take cookies out of your hand. The halter trained ones (Bull included) we like pet dogs coming up for a scratching.

The seller is catching them today to start the halter training process.

I am going for homozygous polled (though hetero is fine too), Red/or Dunn, A2/A2 milk, non-chondro, non-PHA.

Then over time we hope to step up the quality of udders and genetics that gain heavier beef.

Just looking to keep a few cows long-term... and then being able to sell heifer calves to pay for hay some years... and grow out steer for the personal fridge.

Subscribed....

I haven’t been on here in a while because I am still not getting notifications of posts to this thread. I have read through some of the new to me posts. First comment I have is purebred Dexters do not come in silver. The accepted colors are red, black and dun. Dun is a brown color. “White Dexters” are not purebred Irish Dexters. They are a different breed resulting from crossing Irish Dexters with British white cattle. They have their own registry and are not eligible for registration in PDCA, ADCA or the Legacy Dexter registry.

There were questions about Dexters and climate. The PDCA has a new slogan, “any size acreage, any sustainable climate, Irish Dexters will work for you”. This breed is truly adaptable to any climate that can sustain life. Other questions involved milk production, calf sharing etc. Dexter cow milk production depends on the individual cow, how she is fed, how many times a day she is milked, her bloodlines etc. One can expect at least a half gallon a day from low producers up to as much as two to three gallons a day. Butterfat content can approach 5%.

Many readers of this thread have numerous questions. It is exciting to see a growing interest in this amazing small breed. Our breed association, Purebred Dexter Cattle Association PDCA has several sources for information on the Irish Dexter breed. I’ll list them here:

dexterstoday.com
Is the PDCA website and offers all kinds of info on the breed.

dextermarketplace.com
Is the place to buy/sell Dexter cattle and locate breeders.

Dexters Today E-magazine
Is our PDCA electronic magazine and can be found on our website. You can subscribe and get on our email list. Comes out bimonthly.

PDCA has a mentor program for those needing help in several different areas including milking. Mentor program info can be found on our website.

Dexters today community is our FaceBook discussiongroup. Ask any questions for open discussion.

More PDCA sources for info and help are being developed and will be available in the near future.

For those interested in becoming a breeder and developing an Irish Dexter herd, the PDCA has launched a breed improvement program called DexStar. DexStar uses genomic testing and phenotype evaluation to help breeders improve their cattle and ultimately the breed.

Ron Metz wrote:I haven’t been on here in a while because I am still not getting notifications of posts to this thread. I have read through some of the new to me posts. First comment I have is purebred Dexters do not come in silver. The accepted colors are red, black and dun. Dun is a brown color. “White Dexters” are not purebred Irish Dexters. They are a different breed resulting from crossing Irish Dexters with British white cattle. They have their own registry and are not eligible for registration in PDCA, ADCA or the Legacy Dexter registry.

There were questions about Dexters and climate. The PDCA has a new slogan, “any size acreage, any sustainable climate, Irish Dexters will work for you”. This breed is truly adaptable to any climate that can sustain life. Other questions involved milk production, calf sharing etc. Dexter cow milk production depends on the individual cow, how she is fed, how many times a day she is milked, her bloodlines etc. One can expect at least a half gallon a day from low producers up to as much as two to three gallons a day. Butterfat content can approach 5%.

Many readers of this thread have numerous questions. It is exciting to see a growing interest in this amazing small breed. Our breed association, Purebred Dexter Cattle Association PDCA has several sources for information on the Irish Dexter breed. I’ll list them here:

dexterstoday.com
Is the PDCA website and offers all kinds of info on the breed.

dextermarketplace.com
Is the place to buy/sell Dexter cattle and locate breeders.

Dexters Today E-magazine
Is our PDCA electronic magazine and can be found on our website. You can subscribe and get on our email list. Comes out bimonthly.

PDCA has a mentor program for those needing help in several different areas including milking. Mentor program info can be found on our website.

Dexters today community is our FaceBook discussiongroup. Ask any questions for open discussion.

More PDCA sources for info and help are being developed and will be available in the near future.

For those interested in becoming a breeder and developing an Irish Dexter herd, the PDCA has launched a breed improvement program called DexStar. DexStar uses genomic testing and phenotype evaluation to help breeders improve their cattle and ultimately the breed.

Awesome post! I shall look into those resources. I do indeed have a desire to build a decent genetics herd over time. Just a very small herd.

Here is a pic of the grass fed bull/ sire of the calves I am buying. He is Dunn and carry's Red. I see the potential…

Hello friends you are talking about Dexters that originated in Ireland and are the smallest breed of non miniature cattle. But can you tell me more.

I understand that Dexters are actually a triple-purpose breed (meat, milk, working). Has anyone any experience training Dexters to the yoke or driving them with farm equipment/wagons?

Hi Ron. Love your posts but haven't found anything yet about raising Dexters as newbie homesteaders. It's just my hubby and I, retired, kids all grown & feel a large cow produces too much milk for our present needs. We've heard lots about Dexters, milk production, easy to handle and a smaller milk yield. Are they pretty forgiving for newbie homesteaders to raise? I've had loads of experience with horses for close to 40 yrs but absolutely none when it comes to cows. We recently relocated to New Brunswick Canada and have read that they're a pretty hardy breed, being able to tolerate an East Coast winter.  We have a small barn with 22 acres of mixed forest growth & pasture. We'd hate to be the one's that call the vet every time our cow has a runny nose, so to speak. Should we start out with Dexters or maybe something even smaller like a Scotish Highlander? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Christine Cooling wrote:Hi Ron. Love your posts but haven't found anything yet about raising Dexters as newbie homesteaders. It's just my hubby and I, retired, kids all grown & feel a large cow produces too much milk for our present needs. We've heard lots about Dexters, milk production, easy to handle and a smaller milk yield. Are they pretty forgiving for newbie homesteaders to raise? I've had loads of experience with horses for close to 40 yrs but absolutely none when it comes to cows. We recently relocated to New Brunswick Canada and have read that they're a pretty hardy breed, being able to tolerate an East Coast winter.  We have a small barn with 22 acres of mixed forest growth & pasture. We'd hate to be the one's that call the vet every time our cow has a runny nose, so to speak. Should we start out with Dexters or maybe something even smaller like a Scotish Highlander? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Our two girls have been pretty good so far. The lady we got them from had started the halter-training process so they were a little more accustomed to people.

Both have totally different personalities. I can still(so
Long as I have a cookie in-hand and they are currently hungry (early morning)) put their halters on in open pasture. One is like a puppy wanting scratches and the other is always ready to bolt/timid. Pretty much fine until you break out a bottle of fly spray or something. Lol

Anyways, the cows have been easier than the horse we are currently learning to manage still too.

Going to try and get them AI’d late this summer so they can have their first calves around their second birthday so they will be more productive over their lives.

Looking forward to using them as seed to start a herd.

We went with homozygous polled so their calves will alway be hornless not matter what.

We went with red so they would have less issues with flies and heat. Up North, black would probably be the color of choice.

Pay attention to genetics. It makes a difference. The one up front will be turning one on July4th and she is much thicker than the shy one in the rear… who turned one around April 20th (but she was also pulled from her mom way too young). She is catching up though and he better/slick fur.

My Asian wife, who is 100lbs after a thanksgiving meal, has no issue helping me walk them around on rope. I was strong though and broke them well. Otherwise, may need to hook them up to a tractor is something and creep along slowly while someone holds the rope and pretends to be the one pulling.

Yes, those are the same two heifer calves as in a few posts prior to this one. They are probably at least 5x bigger now weight wise. MUCH shorter than my 50” fence too. Lol

See the step-in post behind them…

Oh, I usually don’t do anything with them other than come watch them for a little while every day and talk to them. Check their water, and move them when needed (usually just by calling them and opening the rope to a new section). They come running every time for that fresh grass.

Hey man! Got some good info from this blog post. https://www.farmbrite.com/post/cow-gestation-table

In the southeast (before the weather went crazy) the pasture requirement was an acre per cow for a standard beef animal. Now that we have too much rain in the spring and first half of summer and then none at all for the last half and fall, it’s not so easy. I have always thought a belfair cow (which is a cross between a jersey and a dexter) would be about perfect if milking is the goal. A jersey can make 6 gallons of milk a day but the dietary requirements are pretty astronomical. A dexter would thrive where a jersey would starve, from what I understand.

I always thought the Scottish Highland Cattle was the best, especially for homesteading. The fur is great, i'm sure you can use it to make into yarn, (or find some type of use for it), the milk and the meat. Not to mention, they have great personalities, & they even come in miniature for smaller farms. I don't think they can be beat, personally. Forgot to mention, they do well in bad weather & you don't have to do anything special, they are very hardy, just make sure their coats are in good shape.

Lexie Smith wrote:In the southeast (before the weather went crazy) the pasture requirement was an acre per cow for a standard beef animal. Now that we have too much rain in the spring and first half of summer and then none at all for the last half and fall, it’s not so easy. I have always thought a belfair cow (which is a cross between a jersey and a dexter) would be about perfect if milking is the goal. A jersey can make 6 gallons of milk a day but the dietary requirements are pretty astronomical. A dexter would thrive where a jersey would starve, from what I understand.

That is an interesting point of view there. Thank you for sharing.

From my point of view (attempted homesteading on several acres)... a few milk-oriented dexter cows would probably produce way more milk/cheese/butter than my family would ever be ablet to consume. They LOVE cheese too!

Being able to have some cows that are not in extreme discomfort from NEEDING to be milked is a bonus as well.

That being said, I am probably never going to milk them more than a few times to see what it is like (Which should be horrible since they will be getting milked for the first time. lol )... and to see what raw milk is like. I REALLY want to make some butter and mozzarella cheese... which is a same-day-event and easy apparently (Besides the shaking for butter). Both Dexters and Jersey cattle have a very high butterfat content in their milk.

After that... I shall be done milking and retire from my milking career... unless the shelves go bare at the stores.

One of my girls is extremely beefy... and will likely end up beef-oriented genetics. The other is very petite... and will probably be milk-oriented genetics (in theory). We shall see!

My neighbor across the street keeps hitting me up with questions about them. He is now interested in eventually getting either a mini Jersey or a Dexter. He is years out from being ready though probably.

Ashley Redding wrote:I always thought the Scottish Highland Cattle was the best, especially for homesteading. The fur is great, i'm sure you can use it to make into yarn, (or find some type of use for it), the milk and the meat. Not to mention, they have great personalities, & they even come in miniature for smaller farms. I don't think they can be beat, personally. Forgot to mention, they do well in bad weather & you don't have to do anything special, they are very hardy, just make sure their coats are in good shape.

One of my buddies had a herd of them a few years back. I still see him posting up artful pictures of the breed he finds online. He Loved them for his climate up in the NE. I have a feeling he will be getting some more once he finds some acreage here for them.

I will say this... their calves are fluffy little furballs that are not-shy and curious. There is a "Animal Safari" in the mountains here in Virginia. They had several animals of this breed. A large bull that stuck his head into my truck and belched... and several small calves that came right up and ate from our hands. My wife started squealing and stomping her feet with excitement. lol

Marty Mitchell wrote:

Ashley Redding wrote:I always thought the Scottish Highland Cattle was the best, especially for homesteading. The fur is great, i'm sure you can use it to make into yarn, (or find some type of use for it), the milk and the meat. Not to mention, they have great personalities, & they even come in miniature for smaller farms. I don't think they can be beat, personally. Forgot to mention, they do well in bad weather & you don't have to do anything special, they are very hardy, just make sure their coats are in good shape.

One of my buddies had a herd of them a few years back. I still see him posting up artful pictures of the breed he finds online. He Loved them for his climate up in the NE. I have a feeling he will be getting some more once he finds some acreage here for them.

I will say this... their calves are fluffy little furballs that are not-shy and curious. There is a "Animal Safari" in the mountains here in Virginia. They had several animals of this breed. A large bull that stuck his head into my truck and belched... and several small calves that came right up and ate from our hands. My wife started squealing and stomping her feet with excitement. lol

I know they are a favorite with homesteaders. Probably because of their open personality. & Besides, who wouldn't want a bull with that temperament? Lol.

I just found your post and have not read through this whole discussion yet. So please forgive me if I'm asking if it's already be asked. I just got a property that has 2 acres. I don't know the quality of the pasture yet but am under the assumption that I will have to fix it. I want to raise a Dexter for milk and use the calf for beef. Is it possible on such a small pasture if I can boost it quality enough? There is a large pasture behind the property that looks like hay field or some kind of pasture and I see cows out in it. But it is very big.thank you for your time. And now to read all the posts here.

You could go a long way in the attempt to feed the cow on that much acreage, depending upon the fertility of your soil and your climate but it also depends upon the dietary needs of the particular animal. Lots of people, including myself, supplement my pasture with hay I buy from a local farmer as well as alfalfa pellets I buy from Azure standard. My great aunt kept a milk cow by tethering it to a steak that she moved around as needed. “Where there’s a will there’s a way,” I guess.