Dexter vs Jersey -which one is The Best?

Well the heifer would depend on what bull you bred your cow to. If you breed to a bull that has a history of producing daughters with good udders then you will more than likely have a heifer calf with good milking potential.

Seems like most folks in the USA emphasis the beef side of the Dexter's dual purpose nature, and with a few exceptions (Celestial Farms being one of them) they don't pay any attention to udder conformation because they are only interested in the beef.

However, there are a some folks that do milk and are definitely keeping the milky side in mind when breeding. It is those lines that you would want if at all possible.

I have nothing against Jersey's - I just don't need that much milk, and I couldn't afford the going rate in my neck of the woods any way.

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Wags Ranch Nigerians


"The Constitution says to promote the general welfare, not to provide welfare!" ~ Lt. Col Allen West

We weren't getting enough milk from a dexter even for our own needs and we have people that get milk from us so Jerseys were a better fit. It is true that our Dexter ate 1/2 as much food but she only gave 1/4 the milk. I think the good milking dexter is the exception. I also don't like the shape of their udders and teats. They are more like a goat and for me the teats were hard to hold on to and milk. We also don't feed our cows grain. They each get 1 lb of alfalfa pellets at milking time and hay in winter. Over the course of a year, we spend less than $2 a day to feed all 5 of our bovines.

Out of that 4.5 gallons of milk we got from Heart, we bottle fed the calf 1 gallon/day and the pigs sometimes get anywhere from 1 to 3 gallons of milk/day depending on how full my fridge has gotten. We soak their feed in the milk to stretch out their feed.

Now that I have two in milk I am making a lot of cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese and of course butter. Butter freezes really well so I will have plenty even during the slow period when I have one cow dry. I make about 12 pounds a week. We do sell anywhere from 9 to 15 gallons a week.

Our original plan was to breed the dexters to mini-jerseys and get a better milker out of them. If I were you, I would try to find a cross. They should milk better than a dexter but not overwhelm you with milk either. I don't think that you would have trouble finding something to do with the extra milk even if you went with a lower producing jersey.

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Rachel K
(and sometimes Matt)

Parents to Danial, Jacob, Isaac, Clara, Sarah Jo, and twins Emma and Anna born 12/18/2009!

http://www.jerseyknoll.com

We have this discussion every few months. Everyone has different interests and needs. I try to avoid attachment to any breed in order to fit my needs as best I can.

I did goats (flavor problems), Jersey from a dairy (overproduction, mastitis), Dexter (poor milk/meat production).

Gave up, until I saw a Lowline angus/Jersey heifer for sale. She has worked well. Small at 46” tall. Milk once a day, and at freshening, get 1-1/2 gallons, down to a gallon daily just before drying up. Calf gets whatever is left. Like Haggis, usually leave calf on her half the day. Breed her to high-quality beef bull (Lowline) for a quality beef calf. Breeding to angus bull eliminates the need for disbudding. I even milked one of her heifer calves when she grew up (3/4 beef cow).

I figure better to have a lower milk producing cow by having it a beef mix, because that will give you better growing beef calves. Having a lower producing pure Jersey gives less beef.

Next time I need a cow, I hope to get a dairy to breed a good-uddered Jersey to a lowline angus bull out of a good-uddered cow. Now that isn’t going to be cheap. I paid $1500 for my cow when she was 6 months old in Feb ’04 and thought I was crazy. But I’ve already gotten much more than that back, and I’d do it again. A cow can be around for 10 to 15 years – get what is right!

Was taking pics today – here’s one of Heidi cleaning up the edge of the lawn with her boy (now steer) calf born May 24. He’s out of a mostly Lowline bull (red).

It depends on the individual cow and how much milk your family needs. Even a good milking Dexter won't produce the amount of milk that a Jersey cow produces. But I think that Dexters are hardier and can live on less feed. Dexters also produce a beefier calf, even if it is small. Our Dexters have never had milk fever; but we have had trouble with Jerseys and milk fever. Those are just some things to think about. As I indicated earlier, each cow is an individual, so she may not produce as indicated by her breed statistics. Sometimes you can get a crossbred Jersey for less money. They make wonderful milk cows. I have several Jersey/Red Angus cross cows, one I milked and the others are used for nurse cows.

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Visit the Christian Homesteader
http://farmwoman.proboards.com/index.cgi

Look at the bum on that baby! Now that is impressive. Looks like momma is feeding him really good!

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If you make it idiot proof,
someone will design a better idiot

We are trying to make the same decision.

If we do go with a Dexter, how do we go about finding one that is from a milky line?

If you decide on a Dexter AI bull, consider Brenn of Paradise. He's listed on the ADCA site under "AI Bulls". He's been tested to have both genes for A2 milk. His grandmother has a nice udder and teats and was milked twice.



Genebo
Paradise Farm

He is a handsome fellow Genebo and I love his look. He is on my short list as a possible match for my girls.

Happydog - Here is an article on Milking Dexters that you might find interesting.

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Wags Ranch Nigerians


"The Constitution says to promote the general welfare, not to provide welfare!" ~ Lt. Col Allen West