Questions for those of you with Dexters?

[Bricore]

I am thinking about buying a Dexter. I would like to know more information on them.

Do they live as long as other cows (or do they have a lot of issues because they are so small?)

How much do they cost?

I'd love to hear anything else you might have to say about them. I want to learn all I can about them before I go and buy one.

I have been looking on the internet to find some for sale here in Alabama. I can't seem to find any. Anyone on here with some for sale in Alabama?

Thanks in advance,

Dora Renee' Wilkerson

[copperhead46]

I'll jump in first, the rest will be along later Dexters live as long and I think are productive longer than bigger cattle. Dexters are not "mini's" they are naturally small so they don't have the problems that the mini breeds do. I find them to be some of the hardiest cattle I've ever had, and I've had just about all breeds. Here's a link to the Dexter website and you can look there at the breeders directory and find breeders in your area. http://www.dextercattle.org/ As for price I sell my weaned heifers for $700.00 usually and my bull calves sell for $300.00 to $400.00 dollars. I sell steers for butcher too, usually for market price for calves in the same weight catagory.
They are also very easy to handle, usually a pretty calm animal, and they are the easiest cattle I've ever had as far as being easy on fences. I have only had one cow have a problem calving, he was upside down, but the vet pused him back in, and he flipped over and came right out.
Here's a link to a Dexter forum that you might check out too, you can glean a lot of info from the people there. http://dextercattle.proboards.com/index.cgi? I hope that helps a little, check out these two sites and you can pick up a lot more info.
P.J.

[genebo]

I can't add much to what Copperhead said.

The oldest one I have here is 18 years old and looks as healthy as a 6 year old. Sweet and gentle still, just like the rest.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[Farmsteader]

What are you buying the Dexters for ? Raising calfs?Milking? What i want to know is how do you milk these shorties ? Is it more comfortable to milk a larger Cow? Wife and i are average size, 5'6" and 5'11", but we don't want to do the Limbo trying to milk .
Take Care, AJ

[matt_man]

I know all you Dexter fans with not be happy with this but...this comes from personal experience with the breed.

Before you decide on buying one, I would weigh out what you expect or want from a cow. We started with a couple of Dexters thinking that they would be the perfect fit for us but ended up being completely the opposite. I guess my advice would be to make a list of your goals or expectations from the cow you want and go from there. We took a big loss both time and money wise on the ones we had that ended up being not what we wanted/needed.

What are your milk needs? You'd be lucky to get a gallon/day from a Dexter after it feeds it's calf. I only got 1 gallon/day total from the cow we had, no calf. She was halfway through her lactation at that time and I don't know what she was giving after she freshened; we sold her as bred. It is possible that she might have given 2 gallons/day fresh.

How much do you want to spend? You can spend just as much money on a Dexter as you can for dairy or dairy cross cow. I think average price most places is at least $800 to $1200. Most people who raise Dexters only have registered animals and with that comes a higher price tag. Is paying the same price for a smaller animal, just because it is smaller worth it to you? I have not spent for than $1000 for any of my Jerseys and they are all small and easily handled.

Also, the Dexters that I have seen and been around have not been the calm, well natured cattle that they are advertised as being. I think that is personal to the animal and the way they are raised. Our 600 lbs cow we had cut my DH legs right out from under him and drove him into the ground and he was just trying to lead her to the stanchion for milking. She just was having a fit about being led on the rope that day. I prefer my cows to be more personable. They don't have to be lovey dovey but I want to be able to work with them easily since I work them by myself mostly.

As far as your question about longevity. Age has a lot more to do with living conditions that breed IMO. Animals who have lived a hard life and been through a lot of stress are not going to live a productive, long life no matter what the breed. We have a 13 yr old Jersey who acts and looks just as young as our 6 yr old.

They are harder to milk because of their stature and while it is true that they eat 1/2 as much they give 1/4 as much milk. This is a comparison of the Dexter I had and my first Jersey. It was still more cost effective as far as feed/milk ratio to have the Jersey.

Rachel

[Wags]

Dexter height can vary greatly and some produce more milk than others - a few have been noted to produce 5 gal a day when fresh. A raised milking stanchion usually takes care of the short leg issue. The floor of mine is 6" off the ground.

Hardly think it is fair to say that single Dexter is representative of the whole. I have two half sisters that are only a week apart in age and their personalities couldn't be more different.

[genebo]

Not all Dexters are of the short legged variety, either. While a short Dexter may be only 38" tall, an average long legged Dexter is about 42" tall, with plenty of ground clearance.

Even a Holstein cow's teats are less than a foot off the ground, It's only a matter of inches between the ground clearance of all of them.

I'm sorry to hear about Matt Man's bad experience, but I realize that things like that do happen. You have to be careful when you buy not to get someone else's problem.

A Dexter that gives a gallon a day while simultaneously feeding a calf is about what you'd expect. She's really making about two and a half gallons total. A Jersey will probably give 4 gallons a day, total. Most dairy cows don't nurse their calves, so you get to keep all the milk. It makes it seem like you're getting more.

If you need a lot of milk, then you should go for a dairy breed or two Dexters. If you only need a gallon a day, it's wasteful to pay for the feed to produce more milk than you need.

That's the value of a Dexter. It's sized to suit the small landowner with moderate milk needs. It's very cost effective when matched to your needs.

There is an All Dexter dairy in upstate New York that makes some of the best cheese you ever lapped a lip over.

Dexter beef has been judged to be the best in the world on several occasions and alway ranks high on anybody's scale. They also yield higher than most beef cattle. There's no trade-off on the beef.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[Mark T]

If docility is what you are after, select a calf that has been bottle-raised.

Dairy calves are almost always raised on the bottle. Most Dexters are raised with their mothers.

It's funny that there is a new "what do you think about Dexters" thread - just last night I was rereading Drew Conroy's book on Oxen. In his evaluation of breed docility on a scale of 1-10, with a 1 being very docile and easy to work with and 10 being the most excitable, Conroy rated the Dexters as a 9. He notes that their small size does make it easier to control their attitudes. FWIW, he rated Guernseys as the most gentle, with Holsteins next.

I've written before about the daily interaction in dairies creating a genetic trend towards calm animals (who cares if the beeves out in the back 40 are wild? I only mess with 'em three times a year).

You can do a search for my earlier economic calculations about Dexters, but I'll just content myself by saying that the glowing blurbs about Dexters being the ideal cow almost always come from... People with Dexters to sell.

[genebo]

Mark T,

I'm in central Virginia, too. Why don't you stop over and see my Dexters. I guarantee you'll have a good time. Bring the kids.

I won't try to sell you anything, I promise.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

[DJ in WA]

[QUOTE=Mark T;3723711]I've written before about the daily interaction in dairies creating a genetic trend towards calm animals (who cares if the beeves out in the back 40 are wild? I only mess with 'em three times a year).
(/QUOTE]

Beef raisers are more and more concerned about docility. The Limousin breed created a docility EPD (Expected Progeny Difference) rating system to score cattle on docility and to predict how docile their offspring would be. Supposedly the breed has improved.

I think I heard Angus has gotten into that system too.

While in the back 40, it may not matter so much, but when heading for the feedlot, less docile, more easily stressed cattle get sick more often and don't gain as well.

I'll throw in my usual pitch for Jersey/beef cross cows. Cross with lowline angus to reduce size like this one with 10 month old steer calf out of mostly lowline bull. Still giving over 1 and 1/2 gallons daily of which calf gets 1/2 gallon to go with weed/grass hay (paid $20 per ton).