Which Dexter should I buy?

[eam]

My husband and I have decided to sell our goats and 'trade up' to a cow. We've all but decided on a Dexter and I've found two in our area (well, sort of our area) to buy. I'd like help in deciding. This will be our first cow but we raise sheep and goats along with assorted poultry so it won't be our first farm animal.

Here are the details:
Dexter 1: 7 year old cow, never been milked (owners let the calf stay with mom), currently dry, been running with a bull since May. What is the likelihood that she's bred? About an hour away. $700.00

Dexter 2: 2 year old heifer, owner won't breed her for us so we'll have to go AI once we get her home. Bought for a family member who was building a farm but they ran out of money and don't want the cow. 3-4 hours away. $900.00

I have a picture of Dexter 2 but no pictures of Dexter 1. Both are registered, both are black, both are short legged.

I realize there are loads more things to consider and if I knew more, I'd probably consider them. On the face of it, though, does anyone have any advice / recommendations?

If this actually happens, I might be hanging out more on this board than the goat forum!

Thanks in advance.
Elizabeth

[RoyalValley]

Sounds like with both you won't have milk for a while. I would think that the dexter 1 should be bred, which would take alot off of you as far as AIing and you have to find out what AIing costs in your area for dexter 2. You'll obviously have more time out of the 2 yr old, but 7 is a decent age as well.

Unfortunetly, you don't know what kind of quantity of milk you'll get with either one.

Financially the dexter 2 is going to be more money w/ AI and the further travel.

Ask if either of their mothers were milked and what they gave.

Hope that helps a little bit.
Good Luck.

[Trisha in WA]

My advice is keep looking. Both have too many unknowns in my opinion. Cow #1 may be a real rodeo to teach to milk, and with no certainty about how much milk you may get. Dexters can be very nice milkers or really poor milkers depending on their parentage. If you really want a Dexter, I would look for a breeder who has Dexters with milking lines specifically.
Good luck what ever you decide.
Trisha

[cathleenc]

I 'think' that the short legged version of Dexters are not the better milking lines... but could be wrong.

I've learned with goats that to get a great milker I need to make milking ability/performance/heritage a top priority. If I were looking for a milking cow I personally would make sure that milking performance was one of the known factors, either for that animal specifically or for her dam and granddam.

[sunflower-n-ks]

OK, I am so new to cattle, I have not even owned one yet. I have talked to a few people about the dexters with the idea of perhaps getting one in the future. One thing that has been openly discussed by the people I have talked to is the "bulldog gene". As I understand it, it is a recessive gene that if both parents carry it and the calf inherits a copy from both parents, then the calf is badly deformed and will not live. So you need to know if any cows that you are looking at have the gene or not. It is ok to buy one that has the gene, but you will need to know if the bull that is used also carries it. My uneducated guess, is that since both of those cows have short legs they probably do carry the gene.

Now, if I am wrong on this, please correct me. The breeders I talked to DNA their stock so they know.

[postroad]

Originally Posted by sunflower-n-ks

OK, I am so new to cattle, I have not even owned one yet. I have talked to a few people about the dexters with the idea of perhaps getting one in the future. One thing that has been openly discussed by the people I have talked to is the "bulldog gene". As I understand it, it is a recessive gene that if both parents carry it and the calf inherits a copy from both parents, then the calf is badly deformed and will not live. So you need to know if any cows that you are looking at have the gene or not. It is ok to buy one that has the gene, but you will need to know if the bull that is used also carries it. My uneducated guess, is that since both of those cows have short legs they probably do carry the gene.

Now, if I am wrong on this, please correct me. The breeders I talked to DNA their stock so they know.

You are going to start a fight with this post.

It is factually correct however.

[kmorisett]

Chondrodysplasia is a recessive defect as was said, and can only be an issue if both parents carry this gene. However, you can't go by "short legs" to tell if a cow is a carrier. Both long and short legs can be carriers or not be carriers.

[Jay]

I agree with Trisha in WA.
Find yourself a nice cow that is already trained to milk. It will be much easier on YOU in the long run. You will also know past calving history, and how much milk she typically gives. With these two, you don't have a clue of how much milk you'd be getting. A quart? Two quarts? A gallon, or two?? Not fun when you are counting on so much per day for household use/cheeses, etc.

The older one will be more set in her ways and probably harder to deal with and train. Fighting/training a cow for milk day in and day out is a big headache and sometimes a heartache. I would attempt it...BUT I've been around cows most of my life. I would not wish this on someone who is just starting out with cattle.

The younger one there is no guarantee she can even have calves....so I'd pass. (unless you want a vet to do a soundness/health exam on her before you buy.)

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

First cow should be one who has good milking manners. A/I is a pain when you don't have another cow/steer/bull to ride her and tell you when she is ready.

[eam]

Thanks, everyone, for all the opinions and advice.

The problem with passing on both of these and watching for a cow with good milking records is that Dexters are few and far between in this area. It's hard to say when the next one might surface, let alone a suitable one. It's actually kind of surprising that I even have a choice! Having said that, though, we certainly don't want our first cow experience to turn us off from cows completely.

Does anyone know if what cathleenc thinks about short-legged not being the better milking lines is the case?

I am familiar with Chondrodysplasia, not knowledgeable mind you, so will keep this in mind. The two Dexters we're considering are from small, one or two cow kinds of family places so I don't know that they've done any testing. I can ask, though.

I'm open to any and all advice. Thanks again for your help.
Elizabeth

[cowkeeper]

Chondrodysplasia is not recessive. It can sometimes be hard though, unless the dwarfism is quite exaggerated, to tell the difference between a carrier and a small non-carrier. Go to the ADCA site www.dextercattle.org and click on 'Genetics Info'. This will also give you information about PHA, a newly discovered lethal recessive in Dexters.
As for milking ability of chondro vs. non-chondro, there should be no difference, as the animals could have identical family lines. Personally, I would look for a non-chondro if you have the choice, because you need some room under for the milk bucket. Of course, a chondro carrier cow can have calves of both types, so you could breed to a milk-line bull and save a long-leg calf from the mating.
If possible, find out the pedigrees of these cows and what the dams were like for udders/milk..ck

[agmantoo]

Dexter 2 has no history other than she was not bred and remains so at 2 years old. There may be a reason as she may not have cycled or is infertile. I have a really nice looking Jersey heifer the same age that failed to get pregnant and I bought her to butcher.

If you are not going to milk Dexter 1 she could be OK for you as she is a known producer. You may find she is docile and will cooperate in letting you milk her, if not, the most you have lost is the milk for the house.