Tell me about dexters please

Yes I did awesome cow! Thanks

Good advice!

A few years ago we were in about the same place you are, we had the land and wanted cattle. We had very, very little experience with cattle; I was raised around horses, but husband was a city boy with a country heart. We did the research you all are doing now, visited some breeders, and we chose the Dexters.

We were nearing retirement, both near 60 and not large people (5' 4"ish). We wanted a smaller breed of cattle, easier to handle with a good disposition, one that could be dual purpose for both beef and milk. We started with a few bred cows and young heifers, and within 2 yrs bought our bull. We're up to nearly 30 now, and still love them. We've never had health problems (knock wood), or calving problems....along the way we learned how to band and ear tag. We'll be sending our first steers off to freezer camp in the fall; I'm not looking forward to it, but I know they've lived as naturally as they could and they've had a good life. We've had a good number of ranchers with 'regular-sized' cattle show an interest in our Dexters, especially with the drought we're in. The Dexters don't eat as much as the larger breeds and require less land. For a small homesteader, we think they're just about perfect.

We haven't started milking yet, but plan to next year. With our ladies, we've noticed that our short legs have larger udders than the long legs.

I'd suggest going to visit a few breeders near you. Doing the research is great and truly needed, but seeing them and talking to breeders is really a good idea. Most would understand the need to see without buying pressure; we've found most Dexter breeders welcome sharing their experiences!!

Thank you what a great story . Im just looking for one cow for milking and to have several calves for our freezer ! Thanks for your insite !

Please don't let that "chrondro" thing scare you off of Dexters, and the PHA (water baby) is not just in Dexters, several breeds have the gene. I've had Dexters for years and have never seen either of these so called problems. As long as one of the parents is a long legged varity, chondro is not an issue. You have a wonderfull breeder in Parachute, Co. Don't know how far that is from you, but they have great, hardy little animals, with wonderfull dispositions. Scott and Judy Nocks are the peoples name. You can look on the ADCA website for breeders in your area and make contact to go see what they have, most of us are proud to show off our Dexters. Don't let color make you pay extra, if you are just wanting a milk cow, or beef calf, the end product is the same. Think about height, for a milk cow, the short legged animals are wonderfull, but some of them are too short to put a milk bucket under, You might also consider de-horned or polled so that you don't have the worry about horns. Right now we are in such a drought and I'm sure glad I have Dexters instead of big cows, they don't eat a fourth as much feed and are still looking good, even on short grass and 30 days of 100 degrees.

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given the oppurtunity, a cow will always take the wrong gate...Baxter Black
www.newdaydexters.com
Irish Dexter Cattle for sale..............

Thank you for your insite . Im on top of the Okla panhandle in the far east corner of Colorado just 8 miles from okla. and 30 miles from Kanses... I will look up the Colorado Breeder . I think Im closer to Breeders in Ks or Okla....
We are drought here too only 2 tenths of an inch since last year ... I have only 10.6 acres so I buy hay and feed all the critters anyway ... Dexters may be the ticket for a family cow or a Dexter Jersery cross..... Thanks for your comments!

Judy and Scott would be a long drive for you, as they are up here by Grand Junction, on the Utah side of the state. My husband found someone who is selling off their herd of 8 Dexters in Oklahoma City area on Craigs List. I'd suggest looking at the ADCA and PDCA websites for breeders in your area. I think there is a breeder in Buena Vista, CO. You might try to attend the CO State Fair. There might be some Dexters exhibited there and I'm sure the owners would love to talk Dexters with you. There are a lot of breeders in the midwest, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas area, so you should be able to locate a few breeders to talk to close by.

I think if you do your research on the lines and cattle that you want, you will be very happy with any Dexters you may buy. When we bought our two bulls, we asked if they were PHA and Chondro free. Most breeders test their stock for both of these and are honest in their representation of their stock.

There is also a Dexter forum where you can locate more direct information on this wonderful breed. Here is the website: http://dextercattle.proboards.com/index.cgi.

Good luck!

Yes I looked at one site but listed only one breeder in Colorado.. Im so much in the corner of Colorado ,where I am, I can see the lights of three towns in the distance all in three seperate states!! Mayby Kanses would be a good place to find a family cow...I will check your sites.... Thanks Very Much!

I'm not sure how you only saw one breeder in Colorado, but here's the ADCA membership list by state; Colorado people are listed on pages 3 and 4. Try this:

http://www.dextercattle.org/PDF%20files/current.pdf

You can also look on the ADCA's Pedigree Finder by state; that's on page one of the ADCA website (www.dextercattle.org). You should be able to find quite a few in Kansas as well.

You can also get in touch with the regional director(s) for those areas; they're listed under Leadership on page 1 of the ADCA website.

Ok I'll check it out Thanks !